Are Mock Meats Just a Modern Fad ?

Yet, as absurd as it may seem to modern meat eaters, the practice of chopping, mashing, and shaping vegetarian ingredients into meat-like forms is one of humanity’s oldest culinary endeavors dating back at least 2,000 years!

And it has largely had to do with Religion.

Image: Ahimsa symbol (Source : Dalea van Voorthuijsen on pinterest)

In India, the concept of ahimsa (non-violence) was first recorded in the Upanishads between 800 and 500 BCE and became central to Hinduism and other religious philosophies. Ahimsa extended not only to humans but also to animals, and in some Jain traditions, even plants and microorganisms. When Buddhism began spreading to  Eastern Asia, the newly converted monks and practitioners were faced with a most grueling trial: their strong craving for the now forbidden meat. Fortunately an ingenious solution already existed in the form of tofu (or bean curd) which may have originated in China around 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty.

Photo: Tofu seller, Japan 1890s. Captured by Suzuki Shin'ichi (1855–1912)

The origins of tofu are somewhat murky, with popular legends crediting Prince Liú Ān (179–122 BC) or the vegetarian Taoist monks living under his patronage. However, it was Buddhist monks and missionaries who played a key role in spreading tofu across Eastern Asia. By the 6th century, seitan, made from wheat gluten, had also become a mainstay in Buddhist cuisine. Today, both seitan and tofu remain widely popular among vegans and vegetarians.

Meanwhile in historical India, although the vegetarians have never truly cared for meat or meat alternatives, meat consumers however faced periods of abstinence, particularly during Śrāvaṇa, a sacred month of the Hindu calendar when consumption of meat is forbidden. They improvised with pulses, gourds, raw bananas, mushrooms, yams, and raw jackfruit which became versatile bases for mock meat dishes replicating the texture of chicken, eggs and even mutton. And thus recipes like kathal ki curry (raw jackfruit curry), besan chila (a chickpea flour pancake) and kele ki macchi (banana-based “fish”) were born.

Image : Raw Jackfruit curry. Credit : Hebbars kitchen

Then the Mughals invaded and eventually became trend setters. A culinary revolution was underway. Mughlai dishes like biriyani, kebabs and nargisi kofta became the talk of the town and even the staunch vegetarians grew curious. In response, Mughal chefs crafted plant-based versions like lauki kofta and introduced other “dhokha” or “cheat” dishes, where meat was cleverly replaced with plant-based substitutes to entertain the vegetarian guests.

Other civilizations also partook on the tradition of fooling their taste-buds with meat analogues. During Lent, when meat was forbidden, practitioners turned to nuts, legumes, and mushrooms as substitutes.  

Image : Textured Vegetarian Protein (TVP) made from defatted soy flour. Credit : Anderson International

Beyond religion, economics shaped the rise of meat analogues. For much of history, meat was scarce and expensive, forcing communities to find cheaper, plant-based alternatives. And so in the 1960s, food technologists from Archer Daniels Midland(ADM) developed the first Textured Vegetarian Proteins (TVP) or Soy chunks as we call them today, as a means of providing an affordable, 100% vegan source of proteins by extruding soy protein isolates.

Image : Global land use for food production: animal based vs plant based foods. Credit : ourworldindata.org 

In the decades leading up to the present date, the growing vegan movement fueled by animal welfare and climate activism further increased the drive to push plant based meat alternatives to the market. With advances in technology we have developed newer and funkier ways of making industrialized mock meats that taste very close but require far less resources, emit less GHGs and provide a similar nutritional profile as meat. Apart from products by Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, other companies are exploring novel methods like precision fermentation and tissue culturing to completely end our reliance on the meat industry.

Though centuries have passed and the motivations may have evolved, one thing remains constant: humanity’s drive to replicate the experience of eating meat without eating meat itself. Whether born of necessity, faith, or curiosity, mock meats are not just a passing fad; they are a culinary tradition that continues to evolve with us.

Author :

Rayyan Ali, MSc by Research in Food Science, Technology and Innovation

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