Food
Oh Boy, Let's Eat Soy!
By Sheryl Kirby
We have a habit here in North America of assuming that because a food in small quantities has been proven to be healthful, then large quantities of the same must be a hundred times better. Such is the case with soy.
In Asian cultures, a small amount of unprocessed soy in the diet is thought to contribute to a longer, healthier life. Food manufacturers in the Western world have jumped on that bandwagon and are now putting soy in just about everything, whether it needs it or not.
There are two sets of opinions on the potential pros and cons of soy, and they very much depend on an originating point of view. Studies paid for by soy producers show that soy is a very beneficial food to include in the human diet, whereas studies paid for by the meat and dairy industries (the industries most likely to be detrimentally affected by a greater demand for soy products) indicate that consuming soy can lead to a variety of health concerns, some serious.
What we do know is that soy can affect estrogen levels. In the typical Asian diet, this effect had been extremely beneficial, but although soy is considered a cornerstone of most meals, it is used more as a condiment than as the main ingredient. No one knows for sure exactly how North Americans are screwing with their body chemistry by consuming such high levels of soy. Right-wing religious leaders have even publicly stated that soy can make boys homosexual as it can effect phytoestrogen levels (no, I'm not linking to it, it's stupid and has gotten enough press as it is!).
At first glance, the soy controversy would appear to be an exclusively vegetarian issue, after all, we're the ones consuming all the veggie dogs and tofu burgers. However, soy is a popular ingredient in many processed foods. Soy also makes up a good part of the diet of your average steer, and while the evidence that the effects of soy are passed on to the animal that consumes the steer (ie. humans) are not conclusive, the same theory seems to work pretty well for other health concerns related to meat, such as anti-biotic use and mad cow disease. So with the inclusion of soy in processed foods, all you meat eaters are probably consuming as much (or more) soy than your average vegetarian.
More importantly, the soy used in cattle feed and processed foods is almost exclusively genetically-modified. No organics here, folks, as these are industries with the goal of spending the least amount of money to make the biggest amount of profit. Blocks of tofu are at least available in organic versions, even at the supermarket or corner grocery store.
Now, I'm not a scientist (or a lobbyist for the soy industry or its rivals in the meat and diary industries), and to date, nobody really knows exactly what kind of effect a large soy consumption will have on our hormones, but research suggests that we can still consume soy, and enjoy its health benefits if we follow a more Asian style of use (that is, small quantities of mostly unprocessed soy), and stick to organic products as much as possible.
Here's a primer on the various types of soy products and what you can do with them, starting with the most unprocessed and moving on to the highly-processed.
Edamame - soy beans, usually still in the pod. Serve steamed, sprinkled with salt as a snack or appetizer. Available frozen in health food stores, high end grocery stores and Asian supermarkets.
Soy Milk - created by grinding soy beans with water. Contains a similar amount of protein as cow's milk. Some people find the taste to be off-putting, but flavoured varieties such as vanilla and chocolate can alleviate that problem. Can be used in baked goods as a direct replacement for cow's milk. In most grocery stores the customer now has the choice between at least two brands plus the store brand if buying fresh, and an even larger selection if buying soy milk in tetrapaks. Whenever possible, go for the organic soy milk - it's often the same price or cheaper than the non-organic stuff.
Tofu - also known as bean curd, tofu is made by combining soy milk with a coagulant. Can be made in a variety of consistencies, ranging from silken to extra-firm. The main characteristic of tofu (and most unflavoured soy products) is that it takes on the flavours of the other ingredients it is added to. The type to buy depends on the intended use - silken tofu can replace dairy products in recipes calling for cream cheese or cream as long as there are other ingredients to support the tofu. Medium tofu can be used to replace or extend scrambled eggs, and firm or extra-firm tofu can be pressed to remove excess water and added to stir-fries. Try to buy fresh tofu products whenever possible, and use within a few days. Tofu can be stored by placing in a deep container and covering with water; change the water on a daily basis.
Pre-flavoured tofu can also be found in the produce section of the grocery store - either sweetened silken tofu for dessert or firm flavoured tofu to add to savoury dishes. The fried tofu you get in restaurants can be made at home by pressing the excess moisture out of the product and then deep-frying. You can also buy pre-packaged fried tofu in most Asian supermarkets.
Textured Vegetable Protein - also known as TVP or TSP (textured soy protein), is made from defatted soy flour created through an extrusion process. It can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small granular pieces to bite-sized chunks. Typically used in dishes to replace chicken, it can also be coloured and flavoured to resemble beef. TVP is available in all health food stores, Asian supermarkets and many mainstream grocery stores. To use it, you simply soak it in hot water, broth, or juice, or in the case of soups, add it right into the pot with the liquid ingredients. Plain TVP can go anywhere you'd add cut up chicken, such as soup, pot pie, or stir-fries. Processed and packaged TVP is sold ready to use, and most often can be found in beef flavour. Use this anywhere you'd use regular ground beef; in dishes such as tacos, lasagna or bolognese sauce, meatloaf, cabbage rolls or shepherd's pie. I've even used it to make a vegetarian version of the much-loved East Coast donair, pictured below.
Some recipes may require a bit of tweaking, as the lack of fat in TVP means it sometimes requires the addition of fat or an egg to get the dish to hold its shape.
Other soy products - soy sauce, miso and soy bean oil are the other main soy products you will come across. All are used in a variety of ways, miso most notably for soup, and soy sauce as a flavouring for a variety of dishes. As with all soy products, organic is best if you can find it, and organic soy sauce and miso are available at health food stores.
Processed soy products
Meat: faux meat should be considered a processed food, first and foremost, and eaten infrequently. These include veggie dogs, veggie burgers, soy sausages, soy cold cuts, soy kebabs and prepared "chicken" or "beef" chunks for stir-fries. These items include a lot of preservatives, fillers and other undesirable ingredients, and can also be very high in fat. The further away you get from something that resembles soybeans or tofu, the closer you get to not really knowing what long-term effect the food is going to have on your body.
Treat these products as special occasion foods, the same way you would their meat equivalents and save the burgers or dogs for the barbeque party. At the very least, read the ingredients (some of the products created by companies formerly known for selling meat and cold cuts have an ingredients list as long as your arm), and try and choose brands made with organic soy. An exception to this would be the Tofurky brand products which use organic soybeans and a minimal amount of additives to achieve very flavourful results.
Dairy
Soy can also be used to make versions of many dairy foods such as cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt and ice cream. While you can usually find soy cheese next to the soy meats in your grocery store, the other products haven't gained as much mainstream popularity. They can be found at health food stores and some high end organic groceries. The main concern with these products is that some of them still taste very soy-like, or are missing the trademark tang the food is known for. And while the companies creating these products are primarily using organic soybeans and a minimal number of additives, some products (such as the sour cream and cream cheese) must be hydrogenated to create the right consistency - progress is being made in this area, however, and Tofutti hopes to have all the flavours of their soy cream cheese transfat-free within the next couple of years. In cooking, I've had great success using soy sour cream in place of the regular version in cream pies. Mind you, I've yet to come across a great-tasting soy cheese; they most closely resemble those pre-sliced and wrapped process cheese slices in the regular dairy aisle. Vegans should also know than many soy cheese products still contain casein (a milk protein) as a coagulant. As for ice cream, unfortunately there's just as many calories and fat grams in the soy version as there is in the regular stuff, so it too falls onto the "occasional treat" list.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't give a quick mention to soy's long lost cousin, seitan. Also used primarily as a meat replacement in Asian cooking, seitan is made by creating a dough with wheat flour and then repeatedly washing away the starch until only the gluten is left. It's a complete pain in the butt to make at home, and you can find it in most health food stores in a tub of water, usually next to the tub of tofu. Montréal Veggie Gourmet offers a sliced Smoked Wheat product that so closely resembles Montréal pastrami, it would fool the most die-hard fan of the Reuben sandwich, and they've recently come out with a Roast Wheat that tastes just like, you guessed it, roast beef.
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