Twin Oaks Intentional Community

The Tofu Hut. Bucking the usual naming tradition for buildings at Twin Oaks we call this little soy dairy simply and affectionately The Tofu Hut. Note the solar hot water box on the roof. Tofu, soysage and tempeh are currently produced for sale in this building, as of 2005. Also, note that in 2012 a major expansion of the business is under construction.

Soybean auger. Alder operates a grain auger to transfer soybeans from our large remote storage bin to the smaller bin behind the Tofu Hut. We use organic beans purchased from Virginia growers whenever possible.

Bean bin. Beans are delivered right out of this bin into barrels for soaking on production days. We have a much larger bin elsewhere on the property accessible by a large delivery truck.

Steam kettle crew. Hot heavy and sweaty. Presoaked soybeans are cooked in this kettle before the hot soymilk is extracted. Sky looks surprised. Is that Ezra pouring a bucket of beans into the kettle?

Pouring curd. Pax pours bean curd fresh from curding into trays ahead of the pressing step.

Steam gauge. Gauge controlling steam on new pasteurizer. Part of a major business expansion underway in early 2005. We were lucky to have the expert help of Chris from East Wind Community fitting steam pipe.

Stirring soymilk. Sean stirs coagulant into the freshly produced soymilk.

Process chiller. Outdoor chiller condensors: new equipment added in early 2005 to increase our production capacity.

Delivery truck. We use this refrigerated truck for sale to stores and restaurants in local cities. Much of our production is sent through distributors who cover a larger region.