What's That?! Definitions for New Vegans
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
When I first became a vegan I hit the internet looking for recipes and information that would make my transition easier. What I found was a whole new world of cooking methods and some very strange sounding food items. At first I stuck with foods I was used to like rice and beans, but after a while I realized that I needed to introduce some variety if I wanted to maintain a healthy diet.
So I thought I would give you a brief description of some of the most commonly used foods that might have you baffled.
Asian and Middle Eastern cooks have been turning out healthy and appetizing meatless meals for centuries. Consequently they have developed a great variety of items that enhance flavor, add protein and offer a good deal of variety in their menu. I live in the country and still I am able to buy most of these products in my country market or health food store, but you may need to visit an Asian market to acquire some of them.
Agave nectar: A natural liquid sweetener extracted from the Agave plant. It is largely fructose. Agave nectar does not spike your blood sugar levels and is absorbed gradually by your system. Used in natural cooking.
Arrowroot: A natural, high quality replacement for cornstarch. This tuber is dried and finely ground. It provides a clean finish rather than the cloudy finish of cornstarch.
Gluten: Gluten makes up about 80% of the protein contained in the wheat berry and it is what adds strength and structure to baked goods. Gluten can be found in the packaged flour section of your health food isle.
Koji: Koji is steamed rice that has had koji-kin, or koji mold spores, cultivated onto it. It is used in the fermentation process of sake and some soya products.
Mirin: Mirin is a seasoned, rice-based wine often used in Japanese cuisine. It is similar to sake but has a lower alcohol content that burns off in the cooking process. It is generally found in the Asian food isle of your grocery story rather than in the wine isle.
Nutritional Yeast is an inactive, vitamin- and mineral-rich yeast that adds a cheesy flavor to soups, casseroles, or in place of cheese to make any dish creamier. It is often used to flavor seitan and soups with a chicken-like flavor.
Miso: Miso is made from koji mixed with either rice, barley or soy beans. The ingredients are fermented and aged in wooden kegs. Some of the lighter, sweet miso is aged for only a few months, while the darker miso may be aged for up to 2 years. It is very high in nutrients and has been shown to reduce incidence of breast cancer.
Rice syrup: A mild, less sweet, natural sweetener made from rice.
Rice vinegar: Made from rice, this vinegar has a mild, tart flavor and has a lower acidity than other vinegars.
Seitan: or wheat meat: Seitan is made from wheat gluten. It becomes surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked, making it a popular meat substitute. Although not as common as tofu, seitan is quickly gaining popularity and it is very easy to prepare.
Shoyu: Shoyu is a dark brown soy sauce made from soya beans that have undergone a fermentation process. Natural shoyu uses the centuries-old method of the fermentation process involving a special koji (Aspergillus oryzae), which converts hard-to-digest soy proteins, starches and fats into easily absorbed amino acids, simple sugars and fatty acids.
Tahini: Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It originated in the Middle East but is used in Asian and Mediterranean cooking as well.
Tamari: A dark, thicker form of soy sauce with a distinctivly mellow flavor. Like soy sauce it is made from fermenting and boiling soya beans and wheat or barley.
Tempeh: Tempeh originated in Indonesia. It is cake of fermented soya beans that is made by removing the hulls of cooked soya beans, mixing with a culture and aged for a day or two. Very high in protein and other nutrients.
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is a dried, soy product that substitutes for ground beef in stews, chilis, pasta sauce, and more.
Be brave, try something new this week.
So I thought I would give you a brief description of some of the most commonly used foods that might have you baffled.
Asian and Middle Eastern cooks have been turning out healthy and appetizing meatless meals for centuries. Consequently they have developed a great variety of items that enhance flavor, add protein and offer a good deal of variety in their menu. I live in the country and still I am able to buy most of these products in my country market or health food store, but you may need to visit an Asian market to acquire some of them.
Agave nectar: A natural liquid sweetener extracted from the Agave plant. It is largely fructose. Agave nectar does not spike your blood sugar levels and is absorbed gradually by your system. Used in natural cooking.Arrowroot: A natural, high quality replacement for cornstarch. This tuber is dried and finely ground. It provides a clean finish rather than the cloudy finish of cornstarch.
Gluten: Gluten makes up about 80% of the protein contained in the wheat berry and it is what adds strength and structure to baked goods. Gluten can be found in the packaged flour section of your health food isle.
Koji: Koji is steamed rice that has had koji-kin, or koji mold spores, cultivated onto it. It is used in the fermentation process of sake and some soya products. Mirin: Mirin is a seasoned, rice-based wine often used in Japanese cuisine. It is similar to sake but has a lower alcohol content that burns off in the cooking process. It is generally found in the Asian food isle of your grocery story rather than in the wine isle.
Nutritional Yeast is an inactive, vitamin- and mineral-rich yeast that adds a cheesy flavor to soups, casseroles, or in place of cheese to make any dish creamier. It is often used to flavor seitan and soups with a chicken-like flavor.
Miso: Miso is made from koji mixed with either rice, barley or soy beans. The ingredients are fermented and aged in wooden kegs. Some of the lighter, sweet miso is aged for only a few months, while the darker miso may be aged for up to 2 years. It is very high in nutrients and has been shown to reduce incidence of breast cancer.Rice syrup: A mild, less sweet, natural sweetener made from rice.
Rice vinegar: Made from rice, this vinegar has a mild, tart flavor and has a lower acidity than other vinegars.
Seitan: or wheat meat: Seitan is made from wheat gluten. It becomes surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked, making it a popular meat substitute. Although not as common as tofu, seitan is quickly gaining popularity and it is very easy to prepare.Shoyu: Shoyu is a dark brown soy sauce made from soya beans that have undergone a fermentation process. Natural shoyu uses the centuries-old method of the fermentation process involving a special koji (Aspergillus oryzae), which converts hard-to-digest soy proteins, starches and fats into easily absorbed amino acids, simple sugars and fatty acids.
Tahini: Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It originated in the Middle East but is used in Asian and Mediterranean cooking as well.
Tamari: A dark, thicker form of soy sauce with a distinctivly mellow flavor. Like soy sauce it is made from fermenting and boiling soya beans and wheat or barley.
Tempeh: Tempeh originated in Indonesia. It is cake of fermented soya beans that is made by removing the hulls of cooked soya beans, mixing with a culture and aged for a day or two. Very high in protein and other nutrients. Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is a dried, soy product that substitutes for ground beef in stews, chilis, pasta sauce, and more.
Be brave, try something new this week.
Labels: arrowroot, definitions, gluten, koji, miso, recipe. Asian cooking, seitan, tahini, tamari, tempeh, Vegan, wheat meat
