It's not an unfamiliar scene.
After five seemingly endless hours of
studying “Paradise Lost,” a hungry
sophomore shuffles through the aisles of
Safeway, finally reaching what he wants
— the row of frozen desserts.
The familiar ice creams, ice milks,
frozen yogurts, and diet desserts all lie
temptingly before his eyes. At the end of
the row, however, he spots a newfangled
but earthy delight: Tofutti, It’s different
from the rest; it contains not cream, but
bean curd instead. A smile spreads over
his face in spite of himself; with a
decisive grab he chooses the
Tofutti...as many ex-ice cream fans
have recently begun doing.
The carton explains Tofutti is a non
dairy, cholesterol and lactose-free
dessert, ideal for those who are allergic
to dairy products, and appealing to up
and-up members of our health-conscious
society.
Local shops that sell Tofutti are
Safeway, 145 East 18th Ave., and the
campus-area health food stores, Sahalie
Natural Foods, 611 E. 13th Ave., and
Sundance Natural Food Store. 748 E.
24th Ave.
In addition, Sy’s Pizza, 1211 Alder St.,
is the first restaurant to offer Tofutti in
Eugene. At Sy’s it can be purchased in a
cone or cup, for 90 cents a serving.
The dessert is unexpectedly rich,
creamy, and smooth. After scanning the
list of ingredients, it’s hard to believe
you’re enjoying the taste and texture of
bean curd — not cream.
The cream-like consistency of the pro
duct comes from tofu, a food derived
from the curd of a soybean. However,
this bland product achieves only fourth
place on the ingredient list and is well
disguised by sweeteners.
Tofutti contains, among other things,
water, corn sweetener, com oil, and soy
protein.
Tofutti comes in several different
flavors. The stores sell vanilla,
chocolate, maple walnut and wild berry,
while Sy’s alternates between chocolate,
strawberry, and banana-pecan.
In a pint carton, Toffuti costs $2.59 at
Safeway while its neighbor gourmet ice
cream, Haagen-Dazs, sells for 50 cents
less. While investigating tofutti, you
may want to consider its nutritional ad
vantages over ice cream.
Compared to Haagen-Dazs, a four fluid
ounce serving of Tofutti has 210 calories
the ice cream has 267. At Sy’s
while
k
however, where air is whipped in to
make the soft variety of Tofutti, the same
sized serving is only 128 calories.
The ice cream also contains more fat
and cholesterol. However, in spite of the
dense amount of protein found in the
bean curd, Tofutti does not supply as
much as the ice cream.
Tofutti was created in New York by
David Mintz, a restaurateur who first
served the dessert to his patrons. After
witnessing its success, he began produc
ing the patented product through his
New York company, Tofu Time Inc.
Tofutti is not the only one of its kind;
there are other soybean desserts on the
market. For example. Ice Bean has been
available in Eugene natural food stores
for several years. Still, none has reached
the mass popularity of Tofutti, which
was termed by one writer in August as
“the ‘in’ dessert of summer.”
Story by Linda coombs
Photo by Michael Clapp