This study aimed to investigate the properties of acidic whey tofu gelatin generated from two acidic whey coagulants by pure fermentation of Lactiplantibacillus paracasei and L. plantarum, as well as the characteristics of acidic whey tofu. The optimal holding temperature and the amount of coagulants added were determined based on the pH, water-holding capacity, texture, microstructure, and rheological properties of tofu gelation. Then, the differences in quality between tofu produced by pure bacterial fermentation and by natural fermentation were investigated under optimal tofu gelatin preparation conditions. The tofu gelatin presented the best texture at 37 °C with a 10% addition of coagulants fermented by both L. paracasei and L. plantarum. Under these conditions, the coagulant produced by the fermentation of L. plantarum resulted in a shorter formation time and stronger tofu gelatin compared with that produced from L. paracasei. Tofu produced by the fermentation of L. paracasei had higher pH, less hardness, and a rougher network structure, whereas tofu produced by the fermentation of L. plantarum was closer to tofu produced by natural fermentation in terms of pH, texture, rheology, and microstructure.

The quality and safety of sufu fermented using Mucor racemosa M2 was studied and compared with naturally fermented sufu. After 90 days post-fermentation, both naturally fermented and inoculated fermented sufu reached the maturity standard of sufu, and the degree of protein hydrolysis of natural sufu (WP/TP: 34% ± 1%; AAN/TN: 33% ± 1%) was slightly higher than that of the inoculated sufu (WP/TP: 28.2% ± 0.4%; AAN/TN: 27% ± 1%). The hardness and adhesiveness of inoculated sufu (Hadness: 1063 g ± 211 g; Adhesiveness: −80 g ± 47 g) were significantly greater than those of natural sufu (Hadness: 790 g ± 57 g; Adhesiveness: −23 g ± 28 g), and the internal structure of natural sufu was denser and more uniform than that of inoculated sufu. A total of 50 aroma compounds were detected in natural and inoculated sufu. The total number of bacterial colonies in naturally fermented sufu was significantly higher than that in inoculated sufu, and the pathogenic bacteria in both types of fermented sufu were lower than the limit of pathogenic bacteria required in fermented soybean products. The content of biogenic amines in sufu was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the results showed that the content of biogenic amines (Putrescine, Cadaverine, Histamine, Tyramine, etc.) in naturally fermented sufu was significantly higher than that in inoculated fermented sufu. Especially the histamine content, after 90 days of fermentation, was found to be 64.95 ± 4.55 for inoculated fertilization and 44.24 ± 0.71 for natural fertilization. Overall, the quality of inoculated sufu was somewhat better than that of natural sufu, and the M2 strain can be used to ferment sufu.