Going vegan......old style?!

twinkle_star_2

Justamum wrote: »

I got a copy of Vegan With a Vengeance from my library the other day, and tried making the veggie burgers. Has anybody tried making these successfully? I ended up using the mixture as a base for shepherds pie as it was too sloppy to hold together. I did use frozen soya mince though so that might have been a factor. I would be interested to know if anyone else has tried it.

Hi Justamum,

I've tried the recipe too and also found it seriously wet. I have a suspicion there must have been a typo or a translation error (perhaps tvp is different in the USA?!).

Anyway, I have soldiered on and turned them into burgers a few times. I've used extra oat flour or vital wheat gluten to firm them up a bit and that seem to work ok but a mixture of the two seemed to work best.

Probably easiest to just use less water but i always remember too late.

Also, bake them - don't fry like it suggests as they really will fall apart. Baking helps to firm them up a bit.

My OH likes the flavour of these rather than totally vegetable based ones so I keep trying the recipe and editing it a bit each time.

dizzy_lizzie

NualaBuala wrote: »

Dizzy, that looks amazing ... I'm drooling slightly! I have fallen off the vegan wagon but that would make me want to climb back on!

Thanks NualaBuala. You can't beat a yummy vegan cake, especially with custard. Worth it getting colder in the evenings just for 'comfort' food. And don't forget, the wagons never going too fast that you can't just jump back on at any stage. Even if it's only for a few 'stops'
Luvz Dizzy x

NualaBuala

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Thanks NualaBuala. You can't beat a yummy vegan cake, especially with custard. Worth it getting colder in the evenings just for 'comfort' food. And don't forget, the wagons never going too fast that you can't just jump back on at any stage. Even if it's only for a few 'stops'
Luvz Dizzy x

Aw, thanks Dizzy, that's a lovely way of putting it!:)

Justamum

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

As promised here is a pic of the choc cake from the recipe posted by Justamum. Did a chocolate buttercream filling and spread over and around it too. Was sooooooo delicious and really moist


Luvz Dizzy x

My children and I have just been drooling over your cake! It looks yummy.

Justamum

twinkle_star wrote: »

Hi Justamum,

I've tried the recipe too and also found it seriously wet. I have a suspicion there must have been a typo or a translation error (perhaps tvp is different in the USA?!).

Anyway, I have soldiered on and turned them into burgers a few times. I've used extra oat flour or vital wheat gluten to firm them up a bit and that seem to work ok but a mixture of the two seemed to work best.

Probably easiest to just use less water but i always remember too late.

Also, bake them - don't fry like it suggests as they really will fall apart. Baking helps to firm them up a bit.

My OH likes the flavour of these rather than totally vegetable based ones so I keep trying the recipe and editing it a bit each time.

Thanks. I was beginning to think it was just me. It's so sloppy it's obviously never going to become burgers the way the recipe is set out. I even made double quantities Mind you, that's two shepherd's pies which are now in the freezer

Out of interest did you use the dry or frozen tvp?

twinkle_star_2

I used dry TVP mince. Maybe american TVP is even drier?!

Justamum

twinkle_star wrote: »

I used dry TVP mince. Maybe american TVP is even drier?!

I use the frozen type, which is where I thought I might have gone wrong. If the dry sort also doesn't work then there's something seriously wrong with the recipe

twinkle_star_2

I think the problem I had is that she gives an amount of water that just makes the TVP moist and rehydrated but then states that it needs to boil/simmer which, in my mind, requires liquid.

The first time I made them I added extra to allow it to simmer and that was too wet. But if you don't add a bit more than it sort of fries which is ok for a bit but then it just kind of sticks to pan which is rubbish.

I think the problem is in the method. Had a similar problem with a pie filling recipe in Veganomicon that started by making a roux (all fine) but then you had to add the vegetables and fry them until soft. Surely this is wrong - the roux would just burn! So I just fry the veg, remove them, then make a roux and add the veg back in.

I'm sure there's a similar way of saving the burger recipe. I'm determined to crack it. :mad:

ThriftyFelicity

About those TVP burgers that won't hold together... well... ahem... you could always try this recipe:

Vegan hamburger steaks

from my *cough* humble blog. Is that allowed?

They hold together fine and are the "meatiest" of the vegan burgers I've made.

NualaBuala

Lovely blog Felicity ... covers lots of my favourite subjects!