FEATURES OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF PREPARING VEGETARIAN DISHES BASED ON SEITAN AND THEIR QUALITY INDICATORS

Abstract

In modern conditions, restaurant establishments are paying more and more attention to vegetarian dishes and plant-based meat substitutes. This trend is due to the growth of environmental awareness, the desire for healthy eating, and an ethical attitude towards the use of animal resources. The demand for such products arises from consumers' desire to minimize the environmental impact of animal agriculture, reduce the consumption of natural resources, and find alternative sources of protein. Due to their nutritional qualities and texture, plant-based meat substitutes are becoming a promising direction in cooking, offering a healthy and tasty alternative to traditional meat dishes. In addition, the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle is stimulating interest in food containing plant-based proteins that can support a balanced diet. At the same time, the trend of vegetarianism is manifested both at the national and global levels, opening up opportunities for the creation of competitive products. Vegetarian food products are gaining popularity in Ukraine as well. This highlights the need to expand the range of products with a high protein content that could serve as an effective replacement for meat products of animal origin. Seitan was chosen as an alternative base for vegetarian dishes. It is a raw material made from wheat flour, has high nutritional and biological value, and does not require specialized equipment for processing in restaurants. Based on the seitan semi-finished product, it was proposed to create two dishes for restaurant establishments: steak and sausage in a casing. The developed vegetarian seitan sausage, enriched with an iodine-containing additive, was compared with an industrial analogue created on the basis of wheat isolate. Studies have shown that the product has high physicochemical properties, which are practically indistinguishable from the control sample. The results of the studies have proven the relevance of creating seitan steak and seitan vegetarian sausage for use in restaurant establishments, as well as the feasibility of including these products in the menu of vegetarian food establishments.