Quality and Texture Characteristics of Pumpkin Seed Tofu made with Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Seed
Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) seed is rich in protein and sulfur-containing amino acids. Tofu is a protein gel made from soybean, which is rich in lysine but lacking in sulfur-containing amino acids. This study was conducted to investigate the use of pumpkin seeds in tofu manufacture and to determine its quality and texture characteristics. Soybean was substituted with pumpkin seed to obtain pumpkin seed tofu at the following ratios: 10%, 30%, 50%, and 70% (P10, P30, P50 and P70). Tofu manufactured only with soybean was used as a control (Con). The higher rate of pumpkin seed substitution significantly decreased the moisture content and yield rate (p<0.05). In contrast, pH value and turbidity were significantly increased with the increase in the amount of pumpkin seed (p<0.05). The L-value (81.74~79.04), a-value (-0.19~-3.89) and b-value (12.40~9.84) of samples significantly decreased with the amount of pumpkin seed (p<0.05). No significant difference in syneresis was found among the samples (p<0.05). The hardness tended to decrease with the increase in the amount of pumpkin seed. The microstructure analysis revealed that the pore size of pumpkin seed tofu was smaller than that of Con. These results suggest that the pumpkin seed protein is a useful ingredient in the manufacture of tofu. Increasing the pumpkin seed substitution levels improves the texture of tofu.