Author Topic: Textured vegetable protein...  (Read 7385 times)

K Frame

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Textured vegetable protein...
« on: September 12, 2017, 09:51:16 AM »
Anyone have a decent source for decently priced TVP that also tastes good?

It seems that the ones that are good are ludicrously priced, and the ones that are decently priced either don't have any flavor or taste like a chemical factory.
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2017, 11:51:24 PM »
 [barf]
Are you doing some kind of self imposed penance for some heinous wrong doing?
Are you playing a vile prank on some nefarious evil-doer?
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

Samuel Adams

K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 07:31:49 AM »
So, I'll take that as a no, you don't have any pertinent information on the subject.
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2017, 08:34:16 AM »
Bob's Red Mill brand.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

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T.O.M.

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 08:53:55 AM »
Jokes aside (for a moment at least), what do you use that for?
No, I'm not mtnbkr.  ;)

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K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2017, 09:26:46 AM »
Jokes aside (for a moment at least), what do you use that for?

As a meat replacement in vegetarian dishes.
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K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2017, 08:00:34 AM »
Well, I got a bag of TVP.

Last night I made spaghetti and put TVP in the sauce as a sub for meat.

Not half bad, actually. The mouth feel was along the lines of very finely ground beef, and I couldn't really detect any flavor other than the tomatoes in the sauce.
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charby

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2017, 10:22:55 AM »
TVP would be great for a long term shelf stable protein source.

Chinese demand for meat might make meat at every meal unaffordable for many people, nothing wrong with looking at cheaper protein sources.

Or folk like me, who can't eat certain red meats and get tired of eating poultry multiple times a week.
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KD5NRH

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2017, 06:05:29 PM »
While we're seeking miracles, anybody got a source for a zero calorie food with the flavor and mouth feel of pork vindaloo?  Maybe some tofu that tastes just like German chocolate cake too?

K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2017, 08:11:39 PM »
I'll send you a supply.

It will look like dog crap, but that's just how it's packaged. Dive in.
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KD5NRH

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2017, 08:56:31 PM »
I find the best way to texture vegetable protein is to feed it to an animal, then eat the animal.  Oddly enough, that process makes it taste and feel just like meat.  Funny how doing it the way nature intended is so much easier and more effective.

K Frame

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Re:
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2017, 09:22:34 PM »
HAHAHAHAHA!

OH MY GOD THAT IS SO FUNNY!

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charby

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2017, 12:03:46 PM »
I find the best way to texture vegetable protein is to feed it to an animal, then eat the animal.  Oddly enough, that process makes it taste and feel just like meat.  Funny how doing it the way nature intended is so much easier and more effective.

Actually you of all people on here should show the most interested in TVP, with your lore of cheap living and seeking the ability to go full battle rattle on a bicycle.
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KD5NRH

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #13 on: October 10, 2017, 02:06:18 PM »
Actually you of all people on here should show the most interested in TVP, with your lore of cheap living and seeking the ability to go full battle rattle on a bicycle.

It's not individually sustainable at all; I'm not going to lug around all the crap needed to make it when a roll of snare wire weighs a couple ounces and can be reused for a long time.

TVP is also very low in calories compared to real meat, and completely lacking in fat, which would be a problem in a survival situation.  Watch a few episodes of Alone, and one of the big concerns of those who make it past a week is that there are very few simple carbs in the wild outside fruit and berry season.  So what you really have is a recipe for low energy and ultimately rabbit starvation.  (Which often starts with diarrhea, so good luck staying hydrated too.)

K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #14 on: October 10, 2017, 02:39:17 PM »
This isn't a survival situation in the Outback.

This isn't what can KDwhatever buy this week because he's too poor to afford Ramen.

This is how to deal with Hershey squirts.


This is me wanting to know if anyone here has actual experience on using this as an occasional meat replacement. You obviously don't.

If you want to turn it into any topics mentioned in the first three sentences, kindly *expletive deleted*ck off to your own thread.
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charby

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #15 on: October 10, 2017, 03:15:40 PM »
Mike,

Do you have a local owned "hippie" natural food store? I have been reading those are good places to check for cheaper decent tasting TVP/TSP. I'm going to look around a few places when I get back from Colorado.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #16 on: October 10, 2017, 04:04:13 PM »
Mike, I have used TVP occasionally, but not recently.  I have a partial bag here in my desk that I should probably throw out because it's so old; I bought it at a Mexican grocery store and used to add it to ramen at work until I forgot about it.  (still smells okay...)  It's Molida brand; a 330 gram bag that cost about $4, and all the writing on the bag is in Mexican.  There's a mole recipe that I can't read, and a couple of other recipes with the top torn off so I can't even tell what they are.  So you might wanna check at a Latino food store.

It's also good as a filler in meatballs instead of using croutons or bread crumbs.  Makes them "meatier" instead of having a meatloaf texture.  Or rehydrate it and use it as an extender for cheap hamburger meat (the fatty kind, because there's no fat in the TVP)  I don't recommend it as a total meat substitute; it sucks like that.  But there are some Chinese meat substitutes made with gluten that might work -- I think they are called something like "seitan".
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K Frame

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Re:
« Reply #17 on: October 10, 2017, 06:36:42 PM »
Made TVP burgers for dinner.  Not bad at all.

I used this recipe: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/tvp-veggie-burgers-295505

They were a bit on the salty side, so I'd suggest using low sodium soy sauce.

As expected, the texture was quite different from a burger. They might benefit from sitting for a half hour or so after mixing to allow the flour to pick up more liquid from the mix.

One future change I thought about that I might try is omitting the flour and replacing it with potato flakes.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2017, 07:39:33 AM by Mike Irwin »
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K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2017, 07:40:31 AM »
Mike,

Do you have a local owned "hippie" natural food store? I have been reading those are good places to check for cheaper decent tasting TVP/TSP. I'm going to look around a few places when I get back from Colorado.

Not that I know of. I've thought that I might hit up the local Asian markets as they may carry it.
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mtnbkr

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2017, 08:58:54 AM »
Not that I know of. I've thought that I might hit up the local Asian markets as they may carry it.

Maybe Wegmans, Trader Joes, or Whole Food as well.

Chris

K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #20 on: October 11, 2017, 12:21:44 PM »
Most decent stores in this area carry at least Bob's Red Mill, but they charge an arm and a leg for it, and it's not particularly good. I'll give Trader Joe's a try.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #21 on: October 11, 2017, 12:26:49 PM »
Most decent stores in this area carry at least Bob's Red Mill, but they charge an arm and a leg for it, and it's not particularly good. I'll give Trader Joe's a try.

Check Amazon.  (seriously)
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K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #22 on: October 11, 2017, 01:22:21 PM »
Check Amazon.  (seriously)

I thought I mentioned that I bought a brand from Amazon, but I see that I didn't.

This brand... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FCCH5X6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As I said, decent stuff. A bit on the small side, but it puffs up as it hydrates, which makes it more like ground meat. It's not flavored, so it goes with just about anything. I've even seen recipes for TVP puddings, but I just don't know about that...

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K Frame

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #23 on: October 11, 2017, 01:24:39 PM »
I'm thinking of trying this version next. It's chunks, so it's larger, which makes it more suitable for stews and chili.

https://www.amazon.com/Betta-Foods-Flavored-Chunks-32-Ounce/dp/B00F8VZP8S/ref=sr_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1507742579&sr=8-7&keywords=flavored+tvp


Oh. I didn't notice that that one charges almost as much for shipping as for the cost of the product. It will have to remain unordered.
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charby

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Re: Textured vegetable protein...
« Reply #24 on: October 11, 2017, 02:02:57 PM »
I thought I mentioned that I bought a brand from Amazon, but I see that I didn't.

This brand... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FCCH5X6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As I said, decent stuff. A bit on the small side, but it puffs up as it hydrates, which makes it more like ground meat. It's not flavored, so it goes with just about anything. I've even seen recipes for TVP puddings, but I just don't know about that...



I wonder if you make a hot broth of Italian sausage spices to rehydrate the TVP, then use it in marinara sauce would it be tasty in pasta dishes?
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