Textured soy protein (TSP) is a low-cost meat substitute made from soy flour, commonly used in vegetarian dishes and school lunch programs. It is also popular in kosher cooking and can be found in prepackaged or bulk-bought containers in health food stores.
Textured soy protein, commonly referred to simply as “TSP” in the food and cooking industries, is a food product that is typically used as a meat substitute in dishes made for vegetarians or made when meat is unavailable. Structured vegetable protein or “TVP” is a term commonly used as a synonym for “structured soy protein”. The product is often sold in flakes or chunks and is used as a substitute in a number of dishes. For example, it often replaces meat when used in sandwiches like veggie burgers or sloppy joes. It can also be used in red sauce to create a vegetarian ragout for pasta dishes.
The key ingredient in soy textured protein is a kind of soy flour. Because soybean meal is much less expensive than meat, it makes for a low-cost substitute. Some school lunch programs have used textured soy protein in their menus in order to provide a protein source while keeping costs down. For similar reasons, textured soy protein is often used in corrective facilities. The types of structured soy protein that are used in schools and prisons are often fortified with vitamins and minerals to make their nutritional value equivalent to that of the meat they are replacing.
Some grocery stores sell textured soy protein, but it’s more commonly used in industrial cooking and therefore sold in bulk. There are, however, many types of packaged foods sold in many grocery stores that rely on soy’s textured protein as a key ingredient. One example is veggie breakfast meatballs. Some health food stores sell textured soy protein in prepackaged or bulk-bought containers.
Many people who follow a kosher diet have found soy structured protein to be a very beneficial product. This is because a kosher kitchen requires the separation of meat and dairy products, both in recipes and cooking utensils. TSP is a great resource because it can safely replace meat when combining meat and dairy products. Traditional lasagna, for example, isn’t a kosher dish if it’s made with a meat sauce since one of the dish’s key components is a cheese topping. If the sauce is made with TSP, however, it can be combined with the cheese while keeping the dish kosher.
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