The mean values for seed characteristics and tofu gel quality
attributes for the four groups: high protein+11SA4, high
protein11SA4, low protein+11SA4 and low protein11SA4, and
the pooled means for high or low protein contents and for those
with or without 11SA4 are presented in Table 3. It is clear that at
either high or low protein level, the absence of 11SA4 was consistently
associated with significantly larger seed size (p < 0.05). It
also significantly improved the tofu gel hardness and water holding
capacity when the data for high and low protein content were
pooled, although the improvement was only statistically signifi-
cant at the high protein level for tofu hardness and at the low protein
level for water holding capacity. It is interesting to note with
the pooled data that the tofu gels from the groups lacking 11SA4
were firmer (0.617 vs. 0.557, p < 0.05) despite having lower protein
content in the soymilk (46.38 vs. 47.21, p < 0.05). With or without
11SA4, the soybeans with high protein content consistently had
significantly higher solid and protein content in the soymilk and
also produced firmer tofu gels with a creamier and slightly pinker
colour. When the data for 11SA4 were pooled, the soybeans with
high protein content also had smaller seeds, lower seed oil content
and a higher soymilk solid yield. However, there was no effect of
protein content on the water holding capacity of the tofu gels.