Vegetarian cuisine

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A variety of vegetarian food ingredients that are also vegan. Vegetarian diet.jpg
A variety of vegetarian food ingredients that are also vegan.

Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products (such as gelatin or animal-derived rennet). [1]

Contents

Common vegetarian foods

Vegetable soup and cheese sandwich, a meal which is suitable for vegetarians but not vegans Tomato soup and grilled cheese.JPG
Vegetable soup and cheese sandwich, a meal which is suitable for vegetarians but not vegans

Vegetarian cuisine includes consumption of foods containing vegetable protein, vitamin B12, and other nutrients. [2] [3] Food regarded as suitable for all vegetarians (including vegans) typically includes:

Foods not suitable for vegans, but acceptable for some other types of vegetarians:

Vegetarians by definition cannot consume meat or animal tissue products, with no other universally adopted change in their diet. However, in practice, compared to non-vegetarians, vegetarians on average have an increased consumption of:

In comparison to non-vegetarians, practicing vegetarians on average have a decreased consumption of:

This difference is observed, but is not required to be vegetarian. Nevertheless, it is relevant when considering research into the health effects of adopting a vegetarian diet. A diet consisting only of sugar candies, for example, while technically also vegetarian, would be expected to have a much different outcome for health compared to what is called "a vegetarian diet" culturally and what is most commonly adopted by vegetarians. [4] It is also important to note that overeating occurs because of a misconception of hunger. By changing your perspective on calories verses nutrients, it becomes much easier to adapt to the healthier lifestyle of vegetarianism. [5]

Traditional vegetarian cuisine

These are some of the most common dishes that vegetarians eat without substitution of ingredients. Such dishes include, from breakfasts to dinnertime desserts:

Vegetarian food products made from cereal grains. Various grains.jpg
Vegetarian food products made from cereal grains.

National cuisines

Buddha's delight, a famous Chinese vegetarian dish. Boeddha's Delight.jpg
Buddha's delight, a famous Chinese vegetarian dish.
Indian vegetarian thali
Vegetarian Curry.jpeg
North Indian style vegetarian thali.
Vegetarian thali at an Indian restaurant in Dubai.jpg
South Indian style vegetarian thali.
Sauteed tempeh with green beans, an Indonesian dish Sauteed Tempeh cropped.jpg
Sautéed tempeh with green beans, an Indonesian dish
Pasta con i peperoni cruschi, a vegetarian/vegan dish from Italy. Pasta peperoni cruschi.jpg
Pasta con i peperoni cruschi, a vegetarian/vegan dish from Italy.
Tolstoy's vegetarian breakfast Tolstoj's vegetarian breakfast.JPG
Tolstoy's vegetarian breakfast
Palatschinken with ice cream, fruits and fruit compote from Austria Palatschinken.jpg
Palatschinken with ice cream, fruits and fruit compote from Austria

Desserts and sweets

Most desserts, including pies, cobblers, cakes, brownies, cookies, truffles, Rice Krispie treats (from gelatin-free marshmallows or marshmallow fluff), peanut butter treats, pudding, rice pudding, ice cream, crème brulée, etc., are free of meat and fish and are suitable for ovo-lacto vegetarians. Eastern confectionery and desserts, such as halva and Turkish delight, are mostly vegan, while others such as baklava (which often contains butter) are lacto vegetarian. Indian desserts and sweets are mostly vegetarian like peda, barfi, gulab jamun, shrikhand, basundi, kaju katri, rasgulla, cham cham, rajbhog, etc. Indian sweets are mostly made from milk products and are thus lacto vegetarian; dry fruit-based sweets are vegan.

Meat analogs

Pilaf with soya nuggets SoyaBiryani.jpg
Pilaf with soya nuggets
A tempeh burger Tempe Burger.jpg
A tempeh burger
Chinese style tofu from Buddhist cuisine is prepared as an alternative to meat. BuddhistcuisineTofuMeat.jpg
Chinese style tofu from Buddhist cuisine is prepared as an alternative to meat.
Two slices of vegetarian bacon Veggie "bacon" breakfast (cropped).jpg
Two slices of vegetarian bacon

A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat, mock meat, or fake meat sometimes pejoratively), is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qualities of specific types of meat, such as mouthfeel, flavor, appearance, or chemical characteristics. [7] [8] [9] Plant- and fungus-based substitutes are frequently made with soy (e.g. tofu, tempeh, and textured vegetable protein), but may also be made from wheat gluten as in seitan, pea protein as in the Beyond Burger, or mycoprotein as in Quorn. [10] Alternative protein foods can also be made by precision fermentation, where single cell organisms such as yeast produce specific proteins using a carbon source; as well as cultivated or laboratory grown, based on tissue engineering techniques. [11]

Meat alternatives are typically consumed as a source of dietary protein by vegetarians, vegans, and people following religious and cultural dietary laws. However, global demand for sustainable diets has also increased their popularity among non-vegetarians and flexitarians seeking to reduce the environmental impact of meat production.

Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu was invented in China as early as 200 BCE, [12] and in the Middle Ages, chopped nuts and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat during Lent. [13] Since the 2010s, startup companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have popularized pre-made plant-based substitutes for ground beef, patties, and vegan chicken nuggets as commercial products.

Commercial products

Labeling used in India to distinguish vegetarian products (left) from non-vegetarian products (right). Current FSSAI Veg and Non-veg Labels.svg
Labeling used in India to distinguish vegetarian products (left) from non-vegetarian products (right).

Commercial products, marketed especially towards vegetarians and labeled as such, are available in most countries worldwide, in varying amounts and quality. As example, in Australia, various vegetarian products are available in most of supermarket chains and a vegetarian shopping guide is provided by Vegetarian/Vegan Society of Queensland. [14] However, the biggest market for commercially vegetarian-labeled foods is India, with official governmental laws regulating the "vegetarian" and "non vegetarian" labels.

Health research

Vegetarian diets are under preliminary research for their possible effects on long-term health. Dietary patterns were evaluated along with their relationship with metabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome. [15] A cross-sectional analysis of 773 subjects including 35% vegetarians, 16% semi-vegetarians, and 49% non-vegetarians found that a vegetarian dietary pattern is associated significantly with lower means for all metabolic risk factors except HDL, and a lower risk of metabolic syndromes when compared to non-vegetarian diets. Metabolic risk factors include HDL, triglycerides, glucose, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index. Adventist Study 2 (AHS-2) compared mean consumption of each food group for vegetarian patterns compared to non-vegetarian patterns. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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