Introduction
The long-standing myth about vegan foods tasting like shredded wheat is now a thing of the past. According to Matthew Davies, the variety of vegan recipes are only limited to your imaginations. Although it is not possible to exactly replicate the meaty flavor, vegan food has a taste of its own, one that is unique in its own right. Without further ado, Let’s look at a few ways you can veganize any recipe.
The Ways
- Read Up– They say that knowledge is power and the same applies to cooking. Usually, there are no vegan variants of recipes. What you have to do is to make a list of all the ingredients and find suitable vegan alternatives for their non-vegan counterparts.
Here is a little tip. While reading, use a marker to highlight all non-vegan ingredients such as fish, meat, milk, eff cheese, gelatin, and honey. For instance, seaweed is widely used to replace the fishy flavor associated with marine dishes. Chefs are also known to soak tofu in a nori bath or marinate mushroom stems to achieve the distinctive seafood flavor.
- To Substitute or not to Substitute– Knowing which ingredients to substitute is crucial as you could ruin the dish if you add the wrong thing. Some commonly replaced materials include,
– Potatoes
– Cauliflower
– Lentils
– Jackfruit
– Eggplant
– Mushroom
– Tempeh
– Tofu
– Seitan
– Eggplant
– Beans and legumes
– Beats and nuts
These are widely used to substitute non-vegan items. Additionally, you also have vegan butter and cheese. You must have a sound and distinctive taste of all the flavors as mentioned above if you plan on making vegan dishes anytime soon.
- Flavor– Do you know what differentiates good food from great food? It’s the flavor! Eating such food sets of fireworks in your mouth where your senses struggle to make meaning of the chaotic orchestra of aroma and taste. With enough skill, you too can create such mind-boggling dishes in no time.
But how do you determine the flavor? Meat and vegan ingredients are entirely different. You might have a hard time cooking the thing as the texture of a well-cooked steak is different from that of Tempe. For a better understanding, try cooking different vegan dishes so that you get the hand of those textures and how they mesh with each other.
- If you can’t make them, buy them – Did you know that stores sell all sorts of vegan ingredients? Vegan hot dogs, sausages, chicken, butter, ice-cream and cheese. You can even vegan chicken, fish and meat and prepare your recipes in a heartbeat.
Preparing vegan ingredients can be difficult and more often than not, the flavor does not end up the same. If you have difficulty preparing them or if you can’t afford the time, visit the nearest vegan store and walk home with your favorite ingredients.
Conclusion
Veganizing food is a journey, one that is filled with a great many adventures. You get new tastes, unique and different flavors while embarking on a path full of discoveries. The list of tips provided by Matthew Davies will efficiently help you build your arsenal of vegan cuisines which will leave tasters wanting for more.
