Paju-si Holds New Tofu Variety Tasting Event to Diversify Soybean Varieties

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) announced on the 17th that it held a new variety tofu tasting event and meeting on the 13th to diversify the varieties of Paju Jangdan soybeans. The main variety of Paju Jangdan soybeans, Daewon (white soybean), was bred in 1997, and over the years, it has shown decreased production due to seed degeneration and vulnerability to diseases, making the discovery of alternative varieties urgent.

Paju City held a new tofu variety tasting event and meeting on the 13th to diversify the varieties of Paju Jangdan soybeans. Photo by Paju City

To address these issues, the Crop Demonstration Test Field in Paju City established comparative exhibition plots with varieties bred by the Rural Development Administration and the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services. In October, the Paju Jangdan Soybean Research Association held an event, and in November, a field evaluation meeting was held with the Rural Development Administration, Nonghyup, and processing companies.

Following the field evaluation meeting, this tofu tasting event involved four varieties: Seonpung and Ganghan bred by the Rural Development Administration, Gangpung bred by the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, and the existing variety Daewon. About 60 participants including representatives from the Rural Development Administration, Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Nonghyup, Paju Jangdan Soybean Research Association, designated processing companies, and restaurant officials gathered for a blind evaluation. After the tasting, a meeting was held to discuss replacing Daewon soybeans and diversifying varieties.

One company representative who attended said, “We strongly feel on-site that Paju Jangdan soybeans have superior quality compared to soybeans from other regions, and we hope to be able to receive a stable supply of uniformly high-quality soybeans rather than focusing on the variety.”

A Paju City official stated, “The evaluation results showed similar scores for the four varieties, indicating no difference in taste. We hope that this opportunity will lead to diversification of varieties among farmers, enhancing the Paju Jangdan soybean brand and increasing farmers’ income.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.