Abstract: Northeast China, an important soybean-producing region in the country, produces a wide range of soybean varieties. In order to establish criteria to select suitable soybean varieties for food processing and to breed new varieties, 32 soybean varieties from the northeast part of China were investigated in the present study. The contents of crude protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus and soluble protein in each variety were analyzed. In addition, the yield, water-holding capacity, water content and texture properties of tofu produced from each variety were tested. The results indicated that softer tofu was produced with a higher yield from soybean varieties with higher soluble protein content of soybean milk (> 26 mg/mL), fat (18–22 g/100 g), calcium (> 200 mg/100 g) and phosphorus (> 700 mg/100 g), and vice versa. This illustrated that the physiochemical composition of soybean, especially soluble protein and phosphorus, could make critical contributions to tofu quality.

Key words: soybeans from northeast China, physicochemical index, tofu, quality characteristics