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:
Meat analogues, which mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of meat and are often used in recipes that traditionally contained meat.
Other foods such as seaweed-derived products such as agar, which has the same function as animal-bone-derived gelatin.
Beverages such as beer, coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, tea or wine—although some beers and wines may have elements of animal products as fining agents including fish bladders, egg whites, gelatin and skim milk.
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:
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]
These are some of the most common dishes that vegetarians eat without substitution of ingredients. Such dishes include, from breakfasts to dinnertime desserts:
Numerous side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, some bread stuffing, seasoned rice, and macaroni and cheese.
Classical Buddhist cuisine in Asia served at temples and restaurants with a green sign indicating vegetarian food only near temples. Onion and garlic is not eaten in a strict Buddhist diet.
National cuisines
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Georgian cuisine contains some vegetarian dishes. Lobio, lobiani, ajapsandali, mchadi, pkhali and khinkali with mushroom filling are all examples of Georgian dishes that are vegetarian. Eggplant (called badrijani or badrijnis in Georgian) is used to make vegetarian dishes such as nigvzinai badrijani (fried eggplant stuffed with walnut paste), badrijnis borani (chopped and fried eggplant), badrijnis khizilala (chopped eggplant with pomegranate seeds) and badrijani mtsvanilit (fried eggplant with fresh herbs).
In Indonesia, vegetarianism is well served and represented, as there are plenty selection of vegetarian dishes and meat substitutes. Dishes such as gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, pecel, urap, rujak and asinan are vegetarian. However, for dishes that use peanut sauce, such as gado-gado, karedok or ketoprak, might contains small amount of shrimp paste for flavor. Served solely, gudeg can be considered a vegetarian food, since it consists of unripe jackfruit and coconut milk. Fermented soy products, such as tempeh, tofu and oncom are prevalent as meat substitutes, as the source of protein. Most of Indonesians do not practice strict vegetarianism and only consume vegetables or vegetarian dishes for their taste, preference, economic and health reasons. Nevertheless, there are small numbers of Indonesian Buddhists who practice vegetarianism for religious reason.
Japanese foods such as castella, dorayaki, edamame, name kojiru, mochi, taiyaki, tempura, vegetable sushi and wagashi. Miso soup is made from fermented white or red soy bean paste, garnished with scallions or seaweed. Although most traditional versions are made from fish stock (dashi), it can be made with vegetable stock as well.
Korean cuisine has some dishes that are often vegetarian. One example is bibimbap, which is rice with mixed vegetables. Sometimes this dish contains beef or other non-vegetarian ingredients. Another Korean food which is sometimes vegetarian is jeon, in which ingredients (most commonly vegetables and/or seafood) are coated in a flour and egg batter and then pan-fried in oil.
In Germany, Frankfurt green sauce, Klöße with vegetarian sauces (e.g., Chanterelle), cheese or vegetable stuffed Maultaschen, combinations of quark, spinach, potatoes and herbs provide some traditional vegetarian summer dishes. Traditionally on Fridays, southern Germany broad variety of sweet dishes may be served as a main course, such as Germknödel and Dampfnudel. Potato soup and plum cake are traditional Friday dishes in the Palatinate. Brenntar in Swabia, it is made of roasted flour, usually spelt flour or oat flour.
Russian cuisine developed a significant vegetarian tradition in czarist time, based on the example of Leo Tolstoy.[6] The orthodox tradition of separating meat and vegetables and as well between specific meals for fasting and other holidays contributed to a rich variety of vegetarian dishes[6] in Russia and Slavic countries, such as soups (vegetable borscht, shchi, okroshka), pirogi, blini, vareniki, kasha, buckwheat, fermented and pickled vegetables, etc.
Egyptian cuisine in particular is rich in vegetarian foods. For reasons ranging from economics to the religious practices of the Coptic Orthodox Church, most Egyptian dishes rely on beans and vegetables: the national dishes, kushari and ful medames, are entirely vegetarian, as are usually the assorted vegetable casseroles that characterize the typical Egyptian meal.
Many dishes in Thai cuisine can be made vegetarian if the main protein element is substituted by a vegetarian alternative such as tofu. This includes dishes such as phat khi mao and, if a vegetarian shrimp paste and fish sauce substitute is used, many Thai curries. Venues serving vegetarian Buddhist cuisine (ahan che; Thai: อาหารเจ) can be found all over Thailand.
A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat, mock meat, or alternative protein),[7] 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.[8][9][10][11][12][13] 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.[14] 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.[15] The ingredients of meat alternative include 50–80% water, 10–25% textured vegetable proteins, 4–20% non-textured proteins, 0–15% fat and oil, 3-10% flavors/spices, 1-5% binding agents and 0-0.5% coloring agents.[16]
Meatless tissue engineering involves the cultivation of stem cells on natural or synthetic scaffolds to create meat-like products.[17] Scaffolds can be made from various materials, including plant-derived biomaterials, synthetic polymers, animal-based proteins, and self-assembling polypeptides.[18] It is these 3D scaffold-based methods provide a specialized structural environment for cellular growth.[19][20] Alternatively, scaffold-free methods promote cell aggregation, allowing cells to self-organize into tissue-like structures.[21]
Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu was invented in China as early as 200 BCE,[22] and in the Middle Ages, chopped nuts and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat during Lent.[23] 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
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.[24] 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.[25] 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]
^ abPeter Brang. Ein unbekanntes Russland, Kulturgeschichte vegetarischer Lebensweisen von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart An ignored aspect of Russia. Vegetarian lifestyles from the very beginning till the present day. Böhlau Verlag, Köln 2002 ISBN3-412-07902-2