Sizu Riatto
Vegan Pantry Math · Chapter 8

Jerky Without Meat

Tofu solids plus the marinade's solids, dried to a target: that is the jerky, to the gram, before the trays go in.

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Opens on the book's Stall Batch. Change any number to your own and press Calculate.

Packs

Sodium (arithmetic against the FDA Daily Value, not advice)

Your lab result (optional)

Enter the tofu and press Calculate.

The formula

  • Pressed = tofu × (1 − press %); taken up = pressed × uptake %; wet strips = pressed + taken up
  • Solids = tofu × (1 − water %) + taken up × the marinade's solids %
  • Dried jerky = solids ÷ (1 − target water %); packs = dried ÷ fill, rounded down
  • Sodium = taken up × (tamari share × its mg + rub share × salt % × 387.58 mg) + tofu × its mg; per serving = sodium ÷ dried × serving
The book's worked example, Chapter 8. Solids: 702.3 g from the tofu + 98.9 g from the marinade taken up = 801.2 g. Dried to 10 % water: 890.2 g of jerky from 3,843 g of wet strips (about 4.3 : 1). 15 packs of 58 g, labeled Net wt 2 oz (56 g), and 20 g to taste. Sodium: about 303 mg per 30 g (13 % DV).
Check it. Weigh the trays: the jerky is at its target when the strips weigh the dried figure. Then the lab test, not the scale, says whether it is shelf-stable.

Honest limits. Water activity must be lab-tested. No authority has published a tested process for tofu jerky; tofu is a TCS food until it is dried to a tested target. The book's line is a lab result at or below 0.85 before anything is sold as shelf-stable, and your state's or council's rules decide what you may sell at all. Without a test, treat it as NCHFP treats home jerky: about 2 weeks at room temperature, then the fridge or freezer. Press loss and uptake are the book's examples; weigh your own. Prices are illustrative US prices from October 2026, shown without a currency sign; put in your own. Everything stays in your browser: no sign-up, nothing stored.

These calculators go with Vegan Pantry Math (Craft & Studio, Book 3), where every number on this page is worked by hand.