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I just made some Tofu fried chickā€™n. The process was a bit of a pain as it involved freezing the block of tofu, defrosting and pressing out the water, then repeating the process. When I defrosted the third time and pressed there was no water, but the texture of the tofu was quite meat like. I then broke it up into bits, put those bits in some vegetable stock for some flavour. Then used a chicken flour mix and some crushed crisps, coated the pieces and put in the oven. The end result was a slightly to crunchy coating as I forgot to spray with oil until halfway through so had to over cook, but the ā€œchickā€™nā€ tasted great. Definetly one to do again. Served it with some sweet potato fries and some buffalo hot sauce

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I wasn't convinced that theĀ texture would be that different, but it was like light and day! I think I will do it in batches ready to be prepared next time so it's ready to go when needed.

Thanks for the No Bull Tip. Just picked up a couple extra.

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Anyone here familiar with the vegetarian hotdogs from Sainsbury's? I ask because I did my online shopping the other day (yes, I'm a lazy sod) and a packet of the hotdogs was a free offer, so I took them.

Got them in the freezer at the moment, but how close to the real thing are they? Are they good enough to warrant picking up some actual hotdog buns and covering them in mustard and onions? Anyone tried them?

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@DavidĀ if they're the ones I had previously from Sainsburys, they don't look very appetising on their own. but they taste very similar to their meat counterparts. We got them before and used up some veggie chilli we had in the freezer to do Chilli Dogs, which was very nice.Ā 

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2 minutes ago, mim731 said:

@DavidĀ if they're the ones I had previously from Sainsburys, they don't look very appetising on their own. but they taste very similar to their meat counterparts. We got them before and used up some veggie chilli we had in the freezer to do Chilli Dogs, which was very nice.Ā 

Cheers, I'll likely give them a whirl this week and see how I get on. If they're decent enough I may buy them again, but it depends on how they are obviously. Nice to see Sainsbury's do some deals on stuff like that though.

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5 hours ago, mim731 said:

@DavidĀ if they're the ones I had previously from Sainsburys, they don't look very appetising on their own.Ā 

As opposed to normal hotdogs? I mean, fuck me I have a hotdog everytime I go to the cinema (and hate it every time) but if never say they look any good.

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29 minutes ago, ReturnOfTheMack said:

As opposed to normal hotdogs? I mean, fuck me I have a hotdog everytime I go to the cinema (and hate it every time) but if never say they look any good.

They're a bit more pale. Not the most appealing looking, but they taste pretty good.Ā 

Edited by mim731
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A development that some who post here regularly may find interesting. Text copied below, article link here with a few graphs and shit;

Quote

Eclipse FoodsĀ may be the company that finally takes milk out of the dairy business.

Ever sinceĀ the acquisition of WhiteWave Foods by the French dairy giant DanoneĀ for over $10 billion investors have been thirsting for a technology that would give consumers a better tasting, more milky (for lack of a better word), milk substitute than the highly valuable (but not very tasty) almond, soy, and other plant based dairy alternatives.

There are at least $37.5 billion worth of other reasons for investorsā€™ interest in the milk alternative category. Thatā€™s how much money will be spent on dairy alternatives by 2025,Ā according to a newly released studyby the market research firm Global Market Insights.

Enter Eclipse Foods. Founded by two veterans of the alternative sugars and proteins business, the company is going after the whole dairy industry, starting with a line of spreads and select additives for restaurants around San Francisco.

ā€œWe had an oh shit moment when we got our plant based milk to act just like the real thing,ā€ says Thomas Beaumon, Eclipse Foods co-founder and the former director of product development at Hampton Creek (now known as Just Foods). ā€œWeā€™re not pureeing nuts or seeds or legumes. We asked, ā€˜What are the properties of milk?ā€™ and built this dairy base of the exact amino acids and fat profile.ā€

Joining Beaumon on the journey to create the perfect milk substitute is Aylon Steinhart, a former specialist working with theĀ Y CombinatorĀ aligned food technology incubator and think tank, theĀ Good Food Institute.

The two men met at the launch event for Just Egg, the fourth product to debut from Just after the release of the companyā€™s mayonnaise alternative, cookie dough, and porridge.

ā€œWe started talking about ideas and landed on this dairy platform,ā€ recalls Steinhart. ā€œItā€™s a place where we can make a big change very fast given the technological breakthroughs that we solved for early on.ā€

The demand is certainly coming on strong. According to Steinhart about 80% of millennials are consuming dairy replacements at least once a week.

Humans didnā€™t start out drinking milk. Over the 300,000 odd years that some form of homo sapien has been stalking the planet, it has only been in the past 10,000 odd years that people decided to squirt the liquid out of a cowā€™s udders to consume it.

At first, humans couldnā€™t even consume the stuff without getting at least a little nauseous. They needed to develop a genetic mutation to even process the lactose sugars properly.

ā€œThe first time that we see the lactase persistence allele in Europe arising is around 5,000 yearsĀ BPĀ Ā [before present] in southern Europe, and then it starts to kick in in central Europe around 3,000 years ago,ā€ assistant professor Laure SĆ©gurel of the Museum of Humankind in Paris,Ā told the BBCĀ earlier this year.

Segurel speculates that the health benefits of consuming milk might have been related to the exposure (and potential inoculation) to various diseases that may have otherwise spread from the animals to the humans that were raising them.

If that was the rationale, itā€™s increasingly unnecessary for modern living, and may indeed be more of a hazard to human health.

Global meat and dairy producers could count among the largest contributors to climate change if their growth remains unchecked,Ā according to a report from the non-profit Grain.

They estimate that meat and dairy consumption should be reduced by 81 percent in order to meet global emissions reduction targets.

With the production of Eclipseā€™s dairy alternative, thereā€™s no animal required.

ā€œWe have an off-the-shelf platform right now. The only additive will be water,ā€ says Beaumon.

And unlike other alternative dairy products, Beaumon and Steinhart claim that theirs actually tastes good. And, as a Michelin starred chef, Beaumon should know.

The companyā€™s first line of products will be a line of cream cheeses, including one for the bagel-and-schmear loving crowd. However, the majority will be more millennial focused, according to Steinhart.

ā€œThere will be various unique flavors that are culinarily focused,ā€ he said.

Expect the first products to debut in an exclusive pilot withĀ Wise Sonsand through the ice cream makerĀ Humphry Slochombe, a leader in high end ice cream in SF.

However companies decide to label their Eclipse-based products, they certainly shouldnā€™t call them vegan, according to Beaumon.

ā€œVegan cheese is gross,ā€ he says.

Ā 

Edited by David
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