Protein-rich foods based on fermented vegetables

Abstract

In industrialized societies there is, even among non-vegetarians, an increasing appreciation that meat-free dishes can be appetizing, enjoyable, and a generally welcome extension to the diet, quite apart from any question of a desire to cut down on meat intake. In the poorer areas of society, the emphasis is somewhat sharpened by the fact that meat is in general more expensive than vegetable foods. In developing countries this can become a matter of absolute necessity, with meat being completely beyond the reach of some sections of the population. Consequently, any foods which can combine being appetizing and vegetable-based might be expected to command a ready market, but in practice the identification of meat-eating with affluence leads to a downgrading or even rejection of traditional vegetable foods within an emerging middle class. On the other hand, within the community of industrialized nations there is increasing interest in such foods, as noted at the start of this chapter. Nowhere is this dichotomy more evident than in the case of the Indonesian food called ‘Tempe(h)’. This chapter reviews the production and use of tempeh, and also looks briefly at another food based on a fermenting a protein-rich oil-seed with a fungus, specifically the groundnut.