March 19, 2024

Review: EZ Tofu Press & The Driest Tofu Ever

Back when I was just going vegan, tofu was a pretty intimidating item to cook. That plastic tub made no sense to me. The first time I cooked tofu, I didn’t press it at all, I just cut it up and sautéed it. TERRIBLE idea. TERRIBLE. Later, a wizened vegan told me how pressing the water out of the tofu would help my dinner. Water out, flavor in. Made sense.

My first pressing attempt was with a plate and my hand. No joke. It was better, but uneven. My roommate (an engineering major) suggested using a second plate to press the two together. This actually worked great (despite the incredible mess) but caused “too many dishes”. You know how college kids do it.

Fast forward to today. Mrs. Isitvegan’s set up is to place the tofu between two wash cloth covered cutting boards. This method rarely fails us, but certainly isn’t fool proof, that’s for sure. Sure we have heard of tofu presses before, but never had a chance to try one, until the folks at EZ Tofu Press asked us if we’d like to try their take on the press.

How does it work? Slip a block of tofu between two plates, screw it down and watch the water pour out. It works exactly as described and helped make a great tofu dinner.

Now please watch the video. This video proves to me that veganism has made the leap to mainstream. Could this be the first vegan infomercial? I hope so.

How good is that? Typical, perfect infomercial. It has the clumsy, black and white gaff reel where something terrible ALWAYS happens, and quickly demonstrates the product.

Pros: The EZ Tofu Press works just like the video shows. In fact, when Mrs. Isitvegan set it up, she wasn’t prepared for the copious amounts of water this press would evict from the block of tofu and we had a bit of watery mess on our hands. However, it did produce dry tofu that was ready for cooking very quickly. In less than 10 minuets we ready to go.

Cons: One, the EZ Tofu Press is a unitasker. It has one function, one task, that’s it. Unless you fry tofu frequently, you may find this product taking up precious space in your kitchen. Two, the build quality is a little rough. While the EZ Tofu Press does exactly what it says it will do, it feels very much like a prototype. The bolts that hold the plates together are very tightly threaded which require a lot of spinning. Also, the rounded bolt heads on the bottom seem strange as the product can never lay flat. That made prepping the press slightly rocky but certainly did not interfere with the function of the press.

Overall, the EZ Tofu Press is a very straightforward gadget that would be great for someone who cooks a lot of tofu. It is quick, easy and low-tech. Pretty cool device.

And here’s a tip. Instead of jamming in a whole block, cut the block into 4 “steaks.” You can then press all 4 at the same time, and this way, you avoid major “split seams” in your tofu block. Give it a shot.

$19.99 plus S&H. Grab it from Amazon or Ebay.

 

4 thoughts on “Review: EZ Tofu Press & The Driest Tofu Ever

  1. I got a cast-iron press that’s used for putting on top of sauteing food. With that and a flat-bottomed colander (plus a few paper towels), that presses my tofu well and doesn’t mash it almost flat.

    1. I love cast-iron. Seriously. Is there anything cast-iron CAN’T do? I doubt it. Good use too.

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