Is all tofu gluten-free?

Does anyone know if ALL tofu is gluten free? Or is it only some brands? I love tofu but have been depriving myself of it since I discovered that gluten makes me sick, because soy sauce has gluten and for some reason whenever I ate veggie patties and whatnot made from soy protein, I got the same reactions. So I assumed soy = gluten.

But the other day I picked up a package of tofu to check something else out and noticed on the back of this one particular package, it said "Gluten free"!!! So happy, I bought some and have been a tofu maniac the past couple of days. But I wondered if other brands of tofu (gluten not mentioned on packages) could have gluten in them? Or is tofu in general gluten free?

I am beginning to wonder if it was WHEY protein (often included in soy-based products) that was making me sick when I ate soy burgers and etc. I know I am allergic to whey for sure. Maybe that was it and I was never allergic to soy to begin with, although I do know that soy sauce has gluten but that could be somethign else in the soy sauce, because vinegars (except basalmic vinegar) have gluten also.

If anyone knows anything about this, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

P.S. for anyone that doesn't know, gluten is the protein in wheat and grains, I think.

Maybe I should post this in Health too? I think I will actually.

 

hm... i might not be any help, but you can get tested to see if you're alergic to the products, unless that is how your sure that you are alergic to whey. but didnt you mentiong other products that made you sick? you probably already know this, since you seem to be very intelligent (no, i am not being sacastic), but i am just telling you incase you didnt know
-rainbow

 

Thanks rainbow! Yes, this is how I know I am allergic to whey. I had very extensive allergy testing done as a kid. There are other things that make me sick also, and as time goes on I narrow them down more and more, but am always constantly learning.

 

Gluten is a protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains. It gives cohesiveness to dough.

When I used to make tofu, the ingredients were soybeans, water and nigari. Gluten is probably added to tofu when making burgers in order for the tofu to change its texture.

http://www.gastro.net.au/diets/glutenfree.html

 

Soy sauce has wheat in it. So, maybe that was what made you sick?

I don't think that tofu has gluten in it. Ingredients on the pack I have at home list soybeans, water and nigari.

 

Soy sauce has wheat? I didn't know that. That explains why it has gluten in it. I thought it was the soy itself this whole time.

What exactly is nigari?

 

Yup, soy sauce has wheat in it. Usually, it's made with water, wheat, soy beans and salt. Random note: always check the ingredients when buying soy sauce. Some, like La Choy, are merely soy-flavored. Yuck.

I had only a vague idea what nigari was, so I looked it up here. Hmm, turns out that it's magnesium chloride, derived from sea-water.

 

Cool.. I'm pretty happy about being able to eat Tofu after all.. of course I will always check the ingredients of new brands but I am estatic to find out that I might not be allergic to soy in general. Now I am going to check out other soy products. Thanks artful!

 

Mostly. I'm glad I posted in both, got good info that way.