Tofu Wine Could Make Drinking Healthier And Reduce Food Waste

Drinking probably derails more people's health goals than fast food. Most drinks are loaded with dense sugars such as grenadine, simple syrup, and agave. Spirits are calorie-dense, but lack nutritional value. The combination is a set-up for empty calories and drunk munchies — drunchies, if you will.

But people don't seem to be keen on quitting the sauce anytime soon. That's why this news is so wonderful. Now, there's healthier wine, called "sachi," lush with prebiotics, antioxidants, and calcium. Regular wine is already a healthier option, so far as alcoholic beverages go. But this wine, which translates loosely to "blossoming wisdom," takes things to the next level.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) created the drink using tofu whey, a byproduct of creating edible tofu. The worldwide market for soy protein has produced tons of this untreated waste, which is often discarded into the environment, where it adds to pollution and contaminates natural resources.

"Very little research has been done to transform tofu whey into edible food and beverage products," said Chua Jian Yong to Business Insider. "I had previously worked on alcohol fermentation during my undergraduate studies at NUS, so I decided to take up the challenge of producing an alcoholic beverage using whey. The drink turned out to be tasty, which was a pleasant surprise."

Some say the beverage tastes similar to sake, a widely popular Japanese drink made from rice.

The process takes three weeks. The researchers soaked and ground soy beans to make soy milk, producing the tofu whey as waste. They then added sugar and acid to the whey, which is then fermented into an alcoholic beverage.

The product has a relatively low alcohol content, clocking in at seven to eight percent ABV. That's only a bit stronger than most beers. However, that also might be good news for your health, since (like these other 24 things) being drunk can seriously slow your metabolism.