Does tempeh have more protein than the beans?

[Pendecardiel]

I'm learning to make my own tempeh and was curious about something. I have heard that tempeh is higher in protein than tofu. Of course that refers to tempeh made from soy beans. Do soy beans have more protein than tofu? My theory is, I wonder if the Rhizopus mold adds additional protein to the tempeh. Molds are fungi and so are mushrooms, and a lot of mushrooms are a good source of protein. I think of the tempeh mold as a mushroomlike mycelium growing on beans. There is a commercial meat substitute called Quorn which is made from "mycoprotein". People with mold allergies have gone into anaphylaxis from eating Quorn, so maybe it is made from some kind of mold. What I wonder is if tempeh contains mycoprotein.

[Pendecardiel]

I looked up the nutrition facts and 1 cup of tempeh does have a little bit more protein (and calories) than 1 cup of cooked soybeans, so I think tempeh does contain mycoprotein.

[anon418]

Other things to consider:

-Soy beans also contain a husk which is mostly fiber. If the tempeh is made out of dehusked beans, (as it often, but not always, is) the protein content is already comparatively higher due to removed other constituents.

-Tofu has almost all the fiber and some of the carbohydrates removed, so you should expect a higher protein content compared to beans and tempeh, at least looking at the dry content.

-A growing microorganism not only produces it's own proteins (which you could call a mycoproteins), but also enzymatically breaks down it's substrate, making nutrients more available to human nutrition. This means that a fermented soy bean product such as tempeh should be considered as having a slightly better ("bio-")availability of the amino acids when compared to unfermented soy products, such as soy milk and tofu.

-The growth of mycelium (fungus) on the soybeans might or might not increase the total protein content. In any case it's not a large difference either way as far as I know. With Quorn it might be a different thing, since the fungus if probably grown on a low-protein/amino acid substrate, the whole point being the production of protein using the fungus. Also, as far as I know Quorn mycoprotein is separated from the the fungus and mixed with egg protein to create the product.