Will Tofu Cheese? Cultured Cheese from Soybeans

Some people already say tofu is basically cheese. But I wanted to take that further. What happens if we make tofu from scratch… interrupt the process with fermentation… then press, salt, and age it like traditional dairy cheese?

• Will tofu cheese taste amazing?
• Will tofu cheese be cursed?
• Will soybeans actually become cheese?

Let’s find out.

Will Tofu Cheese? Video Vlog

From Soybean to Soymilk

I started with 454g (1 lb) of dried soybeans, soaked overnight until plump. After a quick quality check (no discolored beans allowed), they were blended with about double their volume in water and strained through a soy milk filter bag.

This yielded approximately 2500ml of fresh soymilk.

Soymilk vs Dairy Milk

One of the reasons soy is such a strong candidate for cheese-making is its protein content.

Per cup comparison (approximate):

Dairy milk: ~8g protein, higher fat, contains lactose (milk sugar)

Homemade soymilk (from whole beans): ~7–8g protein, lower fat, no lactose, lower sugar

Protein-wise? Nearly identical.

Fat and sugar-wise? Not quite.

I did consider adding higher-fat nuts and some sugar to better mimic dairy milk’s macro profile — especially since lactose feeds traditional cheese cultures. But for this first test, I wanted to see what pure soy could do on its own.

A Note on “Milk”

Some people object to the word “milk” for plant beverages. But historically, English has used “milk” to describe many white plant liquids for centuries:

• Almond milk (Middle Ages)
• Coconut milk (15th–16th century)
• Milk of magnesia (1800s)
• Soy milk (late 1800s)

It’s tradition at this point.

Traditional Fermented Tofu (And Why We’re Not Making It)

Fermented tofu already exists. It’s called fuyu (腐乳).

It’s salty, creamy, intensely flavorful — more miso-adjacent than cheese-like. It’s used in Cantonese cooking to season vegetables, enrich congee, or flavor char siu.

It begins as “hairy tofu,” inoculated with a specific mold culture (Mucor micheli ) that’s difficult to source in Canada. So although I’ve gotten many requests to try it, I will stick with accessible and tried and true: grocery store probiotics. I’m using the same ones that were successful in my peanut and pistachio cheese experiments.

Cooking & Curdling the Soymilk

The fresh soymilk was brought to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes to fully cook it.

Unlike dairy milk (which coagulates around body temperature with rennet), soymilk requires higher heat to properly set.

At about 165°F (74°C), I added dissolved calcium sulfate (gypsum), the traditional tofu coagulant.

After an initial hiccup (not quite hot enough — humbled), I reheated the mixture and achieved proper coagulation. The curds formed, and the whey turned clear.

Fermentation: Adding the Probiotics

Once cooled to about 100°F (38°C), I added four probiotic capsules (15 billion CFUs each).

The curds were fermented in a dehydrator set around 96–98°F for about 24 hours.

The result? Bright, lemony sourness. Clean. Tangy. Not funky.

At this stage, it tasted like tofu that had been marinated in lemon juice — not cheese yet, but promising.

Pressing the Tofu Cheese

The curds were transferred into a tofu press and pressed firmly.

After pressing overnight, the block weighed 607g.

Texture observations:

• Very firm
• Slightly crumbly edges
• No discoloration
• Subtle yellow variation in some curds

Flavor:

• Bright sourness
• Slight woody/bamboo-like notes on the finish
• Not funky or “cheesy”… yet

Salting Two Ways

To test salting methods, I split the cheese into two portions:

1. Salt-Crusted Version – Coarse kosher salt sprinkled directly onto the surface and patted in to stick
2. Salt Brine Version – A saturated salt solution made with leftover whey, heated gently to about 100°F so as not to kill the probiotics. This version soaked for 15 minutes per side.

24 Hours Later (Dehydrator Aging)

After 24 hours at ~98°F, both were dry to the touch and salt had clearly been absorbed into the blocks. But they were very different from each other at first glance. 

Salt Crusted Taste Test

• smaller (164g)
• mottled exterior with distinct curd shapes and cracks; darker tan color
• few large kosher salt crystals at edges remaining intact
• very firm with spring back; like tiny bouncy rubber ball
• squeaky when cut down the middle
• very tangy, slightly lemony, with bamboo aftertaste; only very slightly funky
• bright, fermented aroma
• dry crumbly mouthfeel like very dry feta

Salt-Brined Taste Test

• more moisture retained; weight is 196g
• same mottled exterior texture but lighter yellow color
• salt-dust coats the outside except for the larger faces
• similar bright and mild aroma
• similar firm but bouncy texture; a bit more give than the Salt-Crusted
• also takes some effort to cut through but less so than the Salt-Crusted; no squeaking
• equally tangy but tastes more like regular tofu with a bit of bamboo and green tea aftertaste; not funky
• well-seasoned interior but I would like it less salty (soak in salt brine for shorter duration next time)

Neither version truly tasted like cheese yet. Nor would I call than very snackable. But both were surprisingly pleasant considering the short amount of total fermentation time (48hrs).

Aging Setup (Fridge Phase)

After tasting, I made a small adjustment. One half of each was left as-was. The other halves were brushed lightly with leftover whey and sprinkled with a bit more salt for extra microbial protection.

Then all four pieces were placed on a bamboo mat (for airflow underneath), in a food container with a separate plastic container base for a make-shift lid. This will hopefully protects the cheese from fridge contamination while still allowing airflow. The fridge is a bit cold for a “cheese cave.” But it’ll hvae to do. I don’t expect a lot of change in flavor development for a few weeks so I will update much later. 

What’s Next?

I now have too many variables I want to test:

• Pressing at room temperature for less time
• Leaving larger curds intact
• Increasing fat (cashews? other nuts?)
• Adding sugar to feed fermentation
• Trying a yogurt-cheese base
• Using silken tofu instead of broken curds

This experiment has created more questions than answers. But I’m only one person! Let me know what you want to try next. Or fill me in on your vegan cheese projects! I would love to know.