NCI Hosts Soy Nutrition Workshop

Workshop participants were welcomed to NCI by Brian Sorenson, Program Manager, and David Boehm, Technical Manager.

This week, NCI had the opportunity to host the Soy Nutrition workshop, which included culinary students from North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS), dieticians, and teachers who are involved with soy. Linda Funk, Executive Director of Soyfoods Council, and staff from the North Dakota (ND) Soybean Council helped set up and participated in the workshop as well.

Participants experienced the process of creating tofu and soy milk in NCI extrusion lab led by Owen Oltman, Processing Technician.

The group was welcomed by NCI in the morning where they learned a little bit about NCI and the work we do. The workshop began with a tour in the extrusion lab, where individuals saw first-hand demonstrations and discussions on making soymilk and tofu. They learned a little about okara, which is the byproduct of soybeans, and has been found to be very nutritious. Owen Oltman, NCI’s processing technician, led the demonstration and educated the group on the process of making soymilk and tofu. Oltman showed how it’s a relatively simple process, but requires waiting periods in between the different steps. Participants were able to try some samples of raw tofu at the end. This demonstration was especially educational for the culinary students from NDSCS as they were able to ask questions and experience NCI’s process using our unique extrusion equipment.

Linda Funk commented on the workshop’s experience at NCI.

“Coming here today with this tour group of culinary students and dietitians, it was perfect to be able to see and ask questions about how soy milk is made and how tofu is made.”

After the demonstrations, the group was able to enjoy a lunch that incorporated soy foods such as fried tofu firecrackers, tofu wrapped with pork, salad with a soy green goddess dressing, cookies made with soy, and soy milk.

David Boehm, Technical Manager, shares various samples of texturized soy protein.

David Boehm, NCI’s technical manager, shared soy protein samples with the group after lunch. He discussed NCI’s TX-52 Twin-Screw extruder and the various products it can make. He shared samples of soy flakes, soybeans used for oil seed, soy puffs, soy powder, and more. Since the extruder was not running at the time of the workshop visit, videos were played for the group to see it in action. They were able to see the extruder make the various samples Boehm shared. The workshop ended with discussion on the extruder and any other questions they had about NCI.

Sue Doeden, workshop participant, shared her excitment to become better educated about using soy so she can share it in the cooking classes and food segments she teaches.

“I will definitely start using tofu more in my cooking and baking. I realized there are so many ways that it can be used and be delicious.”

Watch below highlights from the workshop and comments from participants.