This review was organised by the VEGAN lifestyle ASSOCIATION [www.veganlifestyleassoc.com]. It has not been paid for and the products were sent free of charge. This is my genuine and unbiased review of the product.
MHEAT is a commercially available seitan, made by Sgaia Foods Ltd of Glasgow.
For those not familiar with seitan, it is an Asian plant based food, made from wheat gluten and sometimes referred to as ‘Wheat meat’. I was interested in trying this because my only experience with seitan has been what I make myself.
I must point out at the start that, for me, there is absolutely no necessity for my plant based food to appear to be like meat and using refined wheat gluten is not really in line with my ‘Whole Food Plant Based’ diet. Having said that, I do like the texture of the seitan I make and I add B12 fortified nutritional yeast – so it provides another way of trying to avoid becoming deficient.
For anyone deciding to try MHEAT, this is what it says on the packet :
‘MHEAT? Finding a product that satisfyingly stands in for the taste and texture of meat in our favourite everyday recipes, and that is also healthy and tasty, is never an easy feat. Chickpeas, beans, potatoes and tofu are all awesome but we wanted something familiar. So we took matters into our own hands (literally) and after much testing (and tasting) we finally created Mheat. Mheat is our own take on the very popular, originally Asian food : seitan (say-tan) which is an ingredient made from the gluten extracted from wheat flour. Wheat gluten originated as a food product in China sometime around the 6th century and was especially popular as a substitute for meat amongst Buddhists. Lovingly hand-made by us as per the traditional method, with a few little tweaks here and there, our unique recipe yields a flavourful, low-fat and protein-rich cooking ingredient. Our Mheat is firm in texture, crisps when fried, becomes tender in stews and is deliciously packed with all the knowledge we’ve developed over time in our little kitchen. ENJOY!
P.S. Sgaia (sga-ee-ah) is a word in Venetian dialect to describe someone who is cheerful, animated and positive. It is also used to define someone who is resourceful, quick-witted and versatile. We believe that all human beings have a bit of sgaia in them.
If Mheat is ordered via the Sgaia Foods website (www.sgaiafoods.co.uk) it is despatched in some quite elaborate packaging, designed to keep it cool in transit. I was sent one of their Mheat Originals. The post and packing becomes much better value if several are ordered at once.
Initially, I tried a bit straight from the packet. It tasted good, had a good texture and I am sure could be eaten ‘raw’ – maybe in a sandwich. Some non-vegan friends thought it tasted rather salty – but I would have to say that it was fine for me.
I decided that I would fry it (in a TINY bit of oil + some soy sauce) until it was beginning to crisp up on the outside. I then chopped it into chunks and mixed it in with some brown and wild rice.
I served it with some sauted onions and peppers. It was very good and I would certainly consider buying it again.
Sgaia Foods are listed with the VLA and you can see their listing here
