Food for thought What is a meat analogue?

ALTHOUGH THEY sound pretty space-age, meat analogues are simply the substance behind Linda-burgers and other such meat-free foods. For those who do not consume meat and obtain all their protein from other sources, meat analogues are indispensable. They mimic the sensory qualities of meat, for example its flavour and texture. Two popular MOs are textured vegetable protein (TVP), aka soya mince, and myco-protein, aka Quorn. Two others, both soya-based, are tofu, made from soya "milk", and tempeh, a solid, flat, cake-like substance made from fermented soya beans.

TVP is composed of bundles of extruded or spun soya protein fibres. Plain TVP has a "beany" taste, so flavourings are added. Myco-protein is produced through fermentation to form fine "meat-like" fibres, bound together to produce a meat analogue. Roy Ballam, British Nutrition Foundation