Some like to use books. The heavy cookbooks are best. The larger the better and don’t stack them too high because they will topple. Some like large cans of various vegetable from the kitchen cabinets. Those fat 28 ounce cans of tomatoes are great but I don’t recommend stacking those over two high. The cans will crash to the kitchen floor or roll off onto the counter and knock over your spice rack leaving a mess to clean up.  My mother used two 10 pound hex-shaped dumbbells. This worked well and they would not roll off or topple but, like the books and cans, they still left you with a lopsided block of tofu a few minutes later.

I’ve tried all of those methods to press a block of tofu. I’ve tried others that I would rather not mention. I’ve just recently been able to try the EZ Tofu Press after being sent one to test drive. I’ve seen other presses available and considered purchasing but never thought those to be worth the price. After all, I’m simply pressing a block of tofu. I’m not doing such a task everyday, maybe once a week. Some of those presses just look complicated. Parts to lose. Springs to break or wear out. I just don’t see the need for the extra hassle. It should be a simple tool and not one that looks to be a piece of over-thought MIT engineering. The EZ Tofu Press is the simple tool.

The EZ Tofu Press i a vice. Two plastic boards with two screws on each end press your tofu somewhat evenly (more on that later) and leave it ready to marinade. One of the best things is it can be done in as little as 10 minutes if you are in a hurry.

All it takes to press is to place the block of tofu between the two plastic boards and screw each plastic nut down evenly until the tofu block is lightly pressed. After a couple minutes tighten each nut evenly to press more liquid and repeat until you have pressed the block to about half its starting thickness.

The only fault I can find with the EZ Tofu Press is the thickness of the plastic boards. They are not exactly thin at 1/4″ each but they do tend to bow slightly enough in the middle to not distribute pressure evenly across the block and thereby pressing the ends of the block more than the middle. increasing the thickness of the boards by 1/8″ or adding a 1/8″ -1/4″ piece of plastic on top of each board, opposite the pressing surfaces, between the screws should give a more even press.  Still, I am very happy with the results.

If tofu is in your kitchen there’s no reason you shouldn’t have the EZ Tofu Press. You can have one in your kitchen thanks to Ben, the inventor of EZ Tofu Press. To win an EZ Tofu Press all you need to do is leave a comment below and tell me your favorite way to enjoy tofu.  For an extra entry, follow me on Twitter and tweet a link to this post. Be sure to mention me (@nashveggie) so I can count your second entry. I’ll pick a random winner on October 11.

 

EZ Tofu Press at Amazon.com