Meat analogue

"Vegetarian meat" redirects here. For the rock band, see Vegetarian Meat (band).
Hong Kong style tofu from Buddhist cuisine is prepared as an alternative to meat
Tempeh burger
A vegan faux-meat pie, containing soy protein and mushrooms, from an Australian bakery
Two slices of vegetarian bacon

A meat analogue, also called a meat alternative, meat substitute, mock meat, faux meat, imitation meat, or (where applicable) vegetarian meat or vegan meat, approximates certain aesthetic qualities (primarily texture, flavor and appearance) and/or chemical characteristics of specific types of meat. Many analogues are soy-based (see: tofu, tempeh) or gluten-based.

Generally, meat analogue is understood to mean a food made from non-meats, sometimes without other animal products, such as dairy. The market for meat imitations includes vegetarians, vegans, non-vegetarians seeking to reduce their meat consumption for health or ethical reasons, and people following religious dietary laws in Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.

Tofu, a popular meat analogue, was invented in the Han dynasty.[1] A document written by Tao Gu (903–970) describes how tofu was called "small mutton" and valued as an imitation meat. Meat analogues such as tofu and wheat gluten are associated with Buddhist cuisine in China and other parts of East Asia.[2] In Medieval Europe, meat analogues were popular during Lent, when the consumption of meat from warm-blooded animals is forbidden.[3]

Chipotle with imitation chicken

Meat analogue may also refer to a meat-based and/or less-expensive alternative to a particular meat product, such as surimi.

Another alternative meat technology is cultured meat from in vitro-grown muscle tissue.

History

Tofu, a popular meat analogue, was invented in China by the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). Drawings of tofu production have been discovered in a Han dynasty tomb.[1][4] Its use as a meat analogue is recorded in a document written by Tao Gu (903–970). Tao describes how tofu was popularly known as "small mutton" (xiao zaiyang), which shows that the Chinese valued tofu as an imitation meat. Tofu was widely consumed during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and likely spread to Japan during the later Tang or early Song dynasty.[1]

Prior to the arrival of Buddhism, China was predominantly a meat consuming culture. The vegetarian dietary laws of Buddhism led to development of meat analogues as a replacement for the meat-based dishes that the Chinese were no longer able to consume as Buddhists. Meat analogues such as tofu and wheat gluten are still associated with Buddhist cuisine in China and other parts of East Asia.[2] Meat analogues were also popular in Medieval Europe during Lent, which prohibited the consumption of warm-blooded animals, eggs, and dairy products. Chopped almonds and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat. Diced bread was made into imitation cracklings and greaves.[3]

Animal protein analogues

Veggie burgers garnished with onion, ketchup, and Cheddar cheese

Some vegetarian meat analogues are based on centuries-old recipes for seitan (wheat gluten), rice, mushrooms, legumes, tempeh, yam flour or pressed-tofu, with flavoring added to make the finished product taste like chicken, beef, lamb, ham, sausage, seafood, etc. Yuba and textured vegetable protein (TVP) are other soy-based meat analogues. The first is made by layering the thin skin which forms on top of boiled soy milk.[5] the second is a dry bulk commodity derived from soy and soy protein concentrate.

Some meat analogues include mycoprotein-based Quorn (which usually uses egg white as a binder; only Vegan Burger is suitable for vegans), and modified defatted peanut flour and Valess (which is a sort of cheese, made from cow milk and seaweed).

Dairy analogues may be composed of processed rice, soy (tofu, soymilk, soy protein isolate), almond, cashew, gluten (such as with the first non-dairy creamers), nutritional yeast, or a combination of these, as well as flavoring to make it taste like milk, cheeses, yogurt, mayonnaise, ice cream, cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream, buttermilk, rarebit or butter. Many dairy analogues contain casein, which is extracted dried milk proteins, making them unsuitable for vegans.

Egg substitutes include tofu, tapioca starch, ground flax seed, aquafaba, mashed bananas, applesauce and commercially prepared products that recreate the leavening, binding and/or textural effects of eggs in baked goods.

In 2016 Impossible Foods began delivering its beef substitute, which it claimed offered appearance, taste and cooking properties very similar to meat. It uses a synthetic heme compound that is produced by genetically modified yeasts. Heme is the molecule that carries oxygen in human blood. The company has raised $182 million in funding.[6] To replicate fat, flecks of coconut oil are mixed into ground textured wheat and potato protein.[7]

Surimi and similar meat-based meat analogues

Surimi, a processed hash of fish plus flavorings, is used to make products such as imitation crab meat. In some regions, "surimi" refers only to products made from fish.

Examples of surimi include:

Surimi products are often marketed as "imitation" meats (e.g., "imitation crab meat", "imitation shrimp").

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 DuBois, Christine; Tan, Chee-Beng; Mintz, Sidney (2008). The World of Soy. National University of Singapore Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-9971-69-413-5.
  2. 1 2 Anderson, E.N. (2014). "China". Food in Time and Place. University of California Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-520-95934-7.
  3. 1 2 Adamson, Melitta Weiss (2004). Food in Medieval Times. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-313-32147-4.
  4. ↑ William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi (18 December 2014). History of Meat Alternatives (965 CE to 2014): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook. Soyinfo Center. ISBN 978-1-928914-71-6.
  5. ↑ Patterson, Daniel. The Way We Eat: I Can't Believe It's Tofu, New York Times, 2006-08-06. Retrieved on 2009-02-26.
  6. ↑ Reilly, Michael (June 22, 2016). "Fake meat companies might finally cure our addiction to animal flesh". Technology Review. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  7. ↑ HOSHAW, LINDSEY (June 21, 2016). "Silicon Valley's Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes And Sizzles Like Meat". Retrieved 2016-07-28.

External links

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