Can you eat Soy beans uncooked?

Question

How about tofu raw?

Answer 1

There is a HUGE difference between soy beans and tofu.

Tofu is already cooked.

For the person who mentioned Edamame - those are BOILED! Even the frozen bags you buy in the store are previously boiled.

Beans are very very difficult to digest when they aren't cooked. In fact OVER cooking beans makes them easy to digest. Which is why tofu is so healthy. First you boil the soybeans to make soy milk, then the soy milk is boiled and a coagulant is added. The solid parts are scooped off and pressed. Voila! tofu.

There really is no such thing as raw tofu. You can have cold tofu. But tofu is just solid soy milk which comes from boiled soy beans.

Answer 2

First off, you aren't likely to find never cooked soy beans unless you grow your own. That said, keep in mind that raw soybeans are as bad for you as raw kidney beans. They are high enough in phytates that a handful can really ruin your day. A farmer eating one or two to check the condition of his crop isn't eating enough to cause a problem!

We're lucky though because phytates are very sensitive to heat and are destroyed after 10 minutes or so of 135F temperature. After that feel free to munch away!! Keep this information in mind the next time you hear some fool say that soybeans are full of phytates and are bad for you!

Tofu is perfectly safe! As you've already been told it is in fact a cooked product. If you ever make your own you will discover that good fresh tofu isn't tasteless! It has a pleasant, slightly beany sweetness that disappears after a few hours. That's why people say tofu is tasteless, they've never had it fresh before.

Now go enjoy a few handfuls of edamame with a tofu 'mayo' sauce!

Answer 3

Not sure about tofu. I doubt it would be dangerous, but I doubt it would taste like much. ALthough there are some "dessert" tofus out there that are flavored and "ready to eat". Sold next to the regular tofu in the stores around here.

As far as soybeans... I've seen soy NUTS... not sure if that's the same thing or not. But they're pretty good. A little more bland than most nuts, but good if you get an urge for a crunchy snack. Those should be in the "health food" section with other snack items.

Answer 4

Oh yeah, it's just like any other bean.
Just beans. My Japanese friends eat them all the time.
Many Japanese people eat the pod too, just as with a pea pod. Same thing will all beans, when the pod gets older, it's gets tougher and the beans get harder. So young fresh beans are great. Dried beans are just dried for storage purposes to eat later or plant again next year.

Answer 5

You sure can! You get raw Edamame at the local Japanese place in town as a snack, and "raw" tofu can be blended with some cooked veggies to make baby food. Now, I dislike both strongly, but I do know these things to be true :)

Answer 6

I'm sure you can eat just about any food-plant uncooked because raw food-plants, unlike raw meat, won't really harm your body. I'm not sure if would taste as good as it would if it was cooked, though.

Answer 7

I live around farmers and have seen it done, I don't know how it tastes but I've seen nothing bad happen to these people.

Answer 8

no it is best to cook them first then eat them eating them uncooked can result in illness.......

Answer 9

Sow beans uncooked taste like peanuts......tofu.sounds like,.....crap anyway you do it...lol

Answer 10

yes, yes