A cleaner way to soy

Managing meals for family members with mixed dietary needs sent Gina Arsens looking for clean meatless proteins. She wanted a texture with a satisfying chew, adaptability in use and, most importantly, to avoid unrecognizable ingredients—especially those with an extraction process that uses hexane, a solvent byproduct from gasoline refining. Tofu was the closest solution, but her kids didn’t love it.

Arsens eventually discovered a soy curl made in the United States. While it was a good option that worked well in recipes, she realized it was ultimately a starting point for possibilities. She researched producing Canadian-made soy curls, made with clean, non-GMO, Canadian soybeans.

“I wanted to create something true to my vision of a clean, completely Canadian, soy product,” she says. “Our soybeans are the best in the world.”

Through the Protein Industries Canada network, she found soybean processors innovating with clean solutions on Canadian non-GMO crops. A connection to another partner allowed Arsens to further process the soy meal into a soy curl, similar to those she had been experimenting with in her own kitchen.

Her desire for great family food became a business with the soy curls now sold through her company, Yumasoy Foods Ltd. They absorb any flavour and work well in dishes like salads, fajitas, stir-fries, soups and snacks, making them an ideal source of protein for all types of eaters.

“It’s the only Canadian soy curl that uses a non-GMO Canadian soybean,” she explains. “It’s never been done with this type of bean with this type of process in this type of way. It’s a novel use of soy, but familiar enough that people know how to use it. We say one ingredient, endless possibilities.”

The results speak for themselves. The performance is consistent and hits a higher standard than Arsens expected. The long shelf-life means they can sit in the pantry waiting to be used. In a pinch, they can be eaten straight out of the bag, which is appealing given protein ranking high on consumers’ lists.

The Yumasoy Protein Curls have found fans in all corners with retailers and restaurants buying and online purchases increasing. There’s even interest from U.S. buyers. Now, Arsens is involved in a Protein Industries Canada project to help grow non-GMO soybeans in Manitoba, which would add to her supply coming from the Lake Huron area.