While in a huge city (suburban) Coles supermarket yesterday I noticed ,while looking for a pack of frozen mixed vegetables just how much the plant based “MEAT” substitutes have expanded not only in the shops but the advertising on TV. we are having it shoved down our throat by not only TV advertising / but magazines newspaper morning noon and night. The huge frozen food section was taking up at least half that row of freezers . From what you can see of these meat substitutes they don't look very appealing to me Has anyone tried these mix of who knows what ? Other than soy based foods ….but what else is in these “foods”
Plant based Schnitzel ingredients in Australia ( that are currently being advertised day and night in Aust ) Meat Free Portion [Water, Soy Protein, Coconut Oil, Plant Fibre (Cellulose), Methyl Cellulose, Yeast Extracts, Dehydrated Vegetables, Sugar, Natural Flavours, Salt, Maltodextrin (Maize), Spices], Coating [Water, Wheat Flour, Thickener (1404), Bakers Yeast, Canola Oil, Salt, Dehydrated Vegetables, Spices, Herbs, Vegetable Gum (412)], Preservatives (202, 234). Allergy Advice: Contains Cereals containing Gluten (Wheat) and Soy.
Be aware that ALL plant-based meat substitutes are made with GMO soybeans. If you are avoiding soy or GMOs, consider this when purchasing these plant-based products. I never understood trying to make plants into "meat". Plants are great in their own rite; they don't need to be made into meat substitutes. Meat, of course, is good too, and that is I guess why people try to make plant material seem like meat. It is being shoved down our throats now, so if you want real meat, raise it yourself, hunt it, or buy it from someone who does. Also be aware that in the U.S., insect protein is now allowed in prepared food without being list on the label. This occasionally causes allergic reaction in those with shellfish allergies as well as the gluten/wheat and soy allergies that @Kate Ellery listed.
As a life long vegetarian I have very mixed feeling about the multitude of meat substitutes now on the market, most of them are made for the folks that previously ate meat and are made to be similar in appearance and taste. Having tried many of these products I can say that very few are added to my regular shopping list, there are a couple of veggie burgers that are ok but apart from that I will stick with my own Nut Burger recipes. For several decades my very special treat and always in stock item was canned Nuteena / Nutolene but those products have just been discontinued due to the concerns by folks with nut allergy, apparently no trace of nuts can now be in any facility that also produces other food stuffs. They perhaps feel safer but my choices are reduced …..Ho Hum, thats life I guess?
When I went meatless for about 6 months, I used a meat substitute called Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP). It was a beef substitute that was not formed into a final products (such as faux beef patties or faux bacon)...it was protein extracted from vegetables and then extruded into various forms as an ingredient to be incorporated into your own dishes. I used to type that was formed into little BBs so that it had the mouth feel of ground beef in soups & stews. I also ate beans in myriad forms...lots and lots of beans. I made a bunch of different main courses, as well as different types of bean patties. My ex wife was a vegetarian, starting sometime in the early 70s when she was in high school. Back then the main product on the scene was Morning Star Farms products, and maybe Turkey Bacon. She mostly ate Muenster cheese sandwiches.
I boil a big pan of white beans which I then strain and let dry a little so that when I freeze them its not one big lump and I can scoop a cup full to add to whatever dish I am createing. Soy beans dont seem to cook up as nice or blend in as nice IMHO!
I used to make every kind of bean I could find, just to add variety. I've made & frozen completed dishes, but I never thought of cooking the beans ahead like that.
Ok So the wild food dinner is Wednesday. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish to pass of wild things or stuff grown in your own garden. I got a huge bunch of lambs quarters (weeds) from the garden, blanched and froze them. I will be making cream of lambs quarter soup. Pretty much the same as cream of broccoli but with pureed lambs quarters. I luckily found two large bunches of chicken of the woods mushrooms and will be making them into a breakfast casserole. Our potatoes and eggs, with onions and some fabulous 4 year old cheddar. When I found the mushrooms, I sauteed them in toasted sesame oil, butter and salt to put in the casserole (meat substitute?). Yum.
As I mentioned above my favorite 'peanut-based loaf ' which has been available in one form or another from a variety of suppliers over many decades has now been made unavailable due to concerns by folks with peanut allergys. I will refrain from saying what I think about that! Fortunately I have been made aware of what appears to be the original recipe and so can perhaps make my own 'Nutena' the biggest challenge being how to store it for future use. In its canned form I simply cut both ends off the can and pushed the loaf out slicing off portions as needed, I could pour it into used bean cans to bake but not sure how to seal the cans after its done. The other alternative is to save in canning jars but then it would be a challenge to remove to slice when needed, lots of experimental trials to come not the least of which is actually making some! Here is the recipe for those that may want to try making some.... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/its-a-nut-its-a-loaf-its_b_9631136
Freezing may be an option once into a sliced condition John, I do save a similar product that way once the can has been opened. I was hoping to save prior to slicing and not taking up room in the freezer.
You can get plastic can lid covers from Amazon, and probably elsewhere, @Don Roles , and they come in several sizes for whatever size can you baked the loaf in, if you want to save the loaf in the baking can. You can also get baking pans with airtight lids, which would allow you to keep the loaf in the fridge while you were eating it. I don’t buy the commercial meat substitutes, but I do enjoy making bean burgers, lentil meatloaves, and similar things from online recipes.
They make attachments for the vacuum seal machines to suck the air out of canning jars (large and small.) You could use either a machine or a manual pump. The problem is that there's no way to tell exactly how much this extends the life of the product. We all know that anything frozen is gonna be OK, even if it loses flavor/texture. And anything refrigerated is gonna last 3-5 days. But there's no discrete data on how long vacuum sealed in a jar in the fridge is gonna last. I guess you'd have to experiment. edit to add: I have the same issue with freezer space.
I figure if an airtight lid of some kind is pot on whist still hot from initial cooking it should be good for a month or two and by that time it will be time to make more ...as I said it is my favorite treat and usualy in a meal once or twice a week! I done in a canning jar and sealed whilst hot should be good for many months....just hard to get out in slices!
I guess you've tried putting pieces of wax paper in between the slices. I just read that recipe. Do you eat it in a sandwich? Another facet of plant-based foods that may or may not be on-topic here is the use of a dehydrator. My dehydrator speaks of the best method to dehydrate foods to not only preserve them for long term (or short term) storage for those of us who like to "make ahead," but to also retain their living enzymes. This is from the manual: There's a thread on using dehydrators here.