Grilliant or soy disgusting? Daily Mail tests vegan 'meat' made from sunflower flour - and it's almost as good as real mince

From dailymail.co.uk

If you think vegan burgers and sausages lack flavour, an unlikely ingredient could change your mind.

Sunflower flour is emerging as a promising new option for meat substitutes. 

This sustainable, healthy, nutrient-packed ingredient is 'surprisingly meat-like' and makes excellent burgers that are fast to prepare and cook. 

And scientists in Brazil believe it could be the thing to finally push meat-lovers over to a plant-based lifestyle. 

'Sunflower meal, as a food ingredient, has potential for a sustainable food system,' say the experts from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil. 

'High content of monounsaturated fatty acids and minerals contributes to a healthier diet.' 

While sunflower flour is not new, modern health-conscious consumers are only just realizing its dietary benefits. 

I had a go at the experts' recipe for burgers in my own kitchen – and was pleasantly surprised. 

If you think vegan 'meat' lacks flavour, a new study names an unlikely ingredient that could change your mind. Sunflowers may be the future of vegan meat

According to the scientists, food made from sunflower flour can serve as an effective nutrient-packed substitute for real meat - with authentic-looking 'meat' patties

For now, sunflower flour – which is simply ground up sunflower seeds – is difficult to find in high street shops around Britain.

So I get a 500g bag sent to me from Best of Hungary, an online supplier in Aberystwyth, Wales specializing in Hungarian food. 

Co-owner Zoltan Kopacsi told the Daily Mail: 'In Hungary, sunflower seeds are a popular food, and sunflowers are widely grown around the country.

'Sunflower flour is a recent product made by only a few producers but it is becoming better known, especially among health-conscious consumers.' 

Sunflower seeds were the kind of thing I used to feed my hamsters 25 years ago (RIP Bertie, Bournville and Sammy), so I don't have massive expectations going into this. 

Ingredients for sunflower burgers  

• Cup and a half of sunflower flour
• 2 tablespoons of paprika 
• 2 tablespoons of cumin
• 2 tablespoons of tomato powder/puree  
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• Half a cup of oil (sunflower, olive or linseed)
• A splash of water  

Following the Brazilian scientists' method, I add herbs and spices including paprika, cumin and oregano, tomato (the experts used tomato powder but I use puree), sunflower oil and a splash of water. 

At this point, I resist the temptation to add anything more because I want to appreciate the flavour of sunflower without too many embellishments. 

I start mixing with a spoon and quite quickly it turns into a brown, meaty-looking concoction – not unlike cooked beef mince, but also a bit like desiccated cow dung. 

I start mixing with a spoon and quite quickly it turns into a brown, meaty-looking concoction – not unlike cooked beef mince, but also a bit like desiccated cow dung. 

The burger patties contain sunflower flour, herbs and spices, tomato, oil and a splash of water

I start mixing with a spoon and very quickly it turns into a brown, meaty-looking concoction - not unlike cooked beef mince

Then I form the dough into patties (they keep their shape really nicely) and griddle them for seven minutes on a high heat without oil. 

Chomping down on a cooked patty with a seeded bun and a slice of cheese, the result is surprisingly good – a nice nutty flavour with a hint of meaty smokiness. 

The only drawback is the dough's slight clagginess which requires quite a lot of chewing (and a few sips of beer) to wash down. 

That's why is probably a good idea to use only a small golf ball-sized portion of dough per patty, and squash them until they're nice and thin. 

I also admit this recipe would benefit from a couple extra ingredients to add some extra texture – maybe some browned-off onions and mushrooms. 

But overall, as a basis for a vegan burger, sunflower flour is a more interesting and satisfying option than many 'fake meats' currently on supermarket shelves – which incidentally are known to be packed full of nasties. 

Another advantage is that there are no genetically modified commercial varieties of the sunflower plant, making it an appealing ingredient for consumers seeking non-GMO options. 

Sunflower flour also fits into the whole trendy 'zero-waste' ethos because a lot of the grain is left from extracting the oil commonly used for cooking. 

The sunflower flour patties keep their shape rather nicely with the use of oil and a splash of water in absence of any egg

Marianna Pinczes, founder of manufacturer Grapoila, developed a zero-waste technology that produces healthy, cold-pressed oils from sunflower seeds; the 'leftovers' are finely cold-milled into this versatile flour 

Marianna Pinczes, founder of sunflower flour manufacturer Grapoila, developed a 'zero-waste technology' to produce cold-pressed oil from sunflower seeds. 

The 'leftovers' are finely-milled into the flour, which has 'exceptionally high protein and dietary fibre content' and significant amounts of magnesium, zinc, selenium, manganese, copper and iron. 

In their study, published in Food Research International, the scientists admit plant-based products face do face 'consumer acceptance' barriers.

But tasty, natural and nutritious options such as sunflower could be the answer to the escalating climate crisis fulled in large part by red meat consumption. 

The team conclude: 'While further refinement is necessary to optimize flavor, the study underscores the potential of sunflower meal to contribute to a more sustainable food system and provide consumers with a nutritious and appealing plant-based protein alternative.' 

Why is meat bad for the planet? 

Meat-heavy diets risk the health of our planet, as livestock farming on a massive scale destroys habitats and generates greenhouse gases. 

Animal agriculture contributes to global warming because of the methane, nitrous oxide and carbon emissions - not just emitted by the animals themselves but the process of packing and transporting their meat. 

Also, the clearing of trees to make way for grazing cattle reduces carbon sequestration (trees capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide). 

That's why climate scientists routinely suggest we replace meat in our diet with plant-based options like vegetables, nuts, seeds and pulses, as well as fungi-based options like mushrooms and mycoprotein

Recently, a scientist suggested we should eat more offal - the internal organs of a slaughtered animal such as liver, kidneys and lungs. 

Of course, eating offal still requires farmed and slaughtered animals - but eating more offal could at least reduce the rate at which animals are farmed and slaughtered. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15302387/vegan-meat-sunflower-flour.html