Introduction The world today is under a lot of financial strain due to the recession, a lot of things have become

expensive, such as fuel, food and housing has all adding to the cost of living (Hossain, 2011). Poor people in the community can no longer afford to pay for the expensive meat, but they need the nutrients that meat offers them, soy provides them with the protein meat would give them, but at a cheaper price. We also get people who choose to be vegetarians or vegans either for health concerns, religious concerns and some people do it out of fear of food-borne illnesses that can be contracted through eating meat and others because they are against animal cruelty and environmental degradation (Anon., 2007). Soy is the only source of complete protein for vegans and vegetarians (Anon., http://www.soy7.com/, 2012) and it contains minerals and is high in fiber content and low in saturated fat which gives its health benefits. Deodorized soy beans eliminated the unpleasant flavour of soy beans which led to various products being created to mimic meat products (Kevin, 2009). Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) or Textured Soy Protein (TSP) is a high-fiber, high-protein meat substitute made from soy flour, it comes in a variety of flavours, and unflavoured varieties and also in different sizes, from large chunks to small flakes depending on what it is going to be made to imitate. TVP also has a similar texture to ground meat when cook, it allows vegetarians to experience the feel and flavour of meat without having to eat it and the food industry can manipulate it to create products similar to meat (Hackett, 2012 ). The introduction of texturised soy protein to the food industry has led to the development of a lot of different soy based products for consumer to enjoy, which has also led to a good profit for some business. Like every other industry there is competition for consumer in the food industry especially now because of the recession. Companies that to create good food products tend to attract more consumers, by trying to replicate the look and taste or even improve their products through benchmarking. Other companies can now get the upper hand in the industry by either having a better quality product or by having a lower price (Lankford, 2000).

Objectives To afford the opportunity to use different texturised vegetable products to make meat analogue dishes while using flavouring, colouring and flavour enhancers

Materials and Methods Analytical scales, beakers, pot, wooden spoon, spatula weigh boats, medium texturised vegetable protein, freeze dried rice, tomato powder, chilli powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, sugar and maize flour were all supplied by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Medium curry powder was supplied by Raja spices. The stove was supplied by Kelvinator. The soya mince was supplied by Imana. The Imana soy mince was examined in its dry state prior to it being cooked. The Imana soy mince was prepared according to the instructions found on the box. The measurements of the ingredients on the box of the Imana soy were examined and were used to try and duplicate the Imana soy mince. 22g of texturised vegetable products, 30.8g of maize flour, 8g of freeze dried rice, 9g of salt, 3g of sugar, 3.2g of black pepper, 6g 0f tomato powder, 5g of beef spice and 0.5g of chilli powder were weighed out using the analytical scale and mixed in a bowl. To try and duplicate the colour of the Imana soy mince 0.3g of turmeric, 2.0g of Raja medium curry powder and 3g of cayenne pepper were added to the mixture in the bowl. The dry mixture was then added to a pot with 46.4g of water, it was then heated and cooked until it was ready. The final product was compared to the original Imana soy mince.
Results and Discussion

The Imana soy mince (Fig.1.) had the same appearance soy real mince and also had the texture of ground beef this was due the use of the correct sized texturised vegetable protein. It had a bit of a chilli beef flavour to it and smelled like a beef stew because of the flavourings added to it. The replica of the Imana soy mince (Fig.2.) looked a bit more like soup, the bits of texturised vegetable protein had the texture of ground beef because the correct size was used. The it had a slight taste of beef to it and appeared to look more like mince than the Imana soy in terms of colour, however it was also

extremely chilli, this is because of the addition of turmeric, Raja medium curry and cayenne pepper as colourants. The amount of texturised vegetable protein may have been too low, which resulted in the final product appearing as a soup as instead of meat.

Figure 1. Imana soy mince

Figure 2. Replica of the Imana soy mince

Conclusion and recommendations Texturised vegetable products (TVP) can be used to make meat analogue dishes if the correct texture and size of the TVP particles are used and the correct amounts are applied. The addition of flavour additives can also help make the meat imitation taste like the real thing, however it may be better to use colour additives to colour the product as opposed to spices, as they may alter the desired flavour.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Mrs. Donna-Leah Thomas for her assistance during this practical.

References 1. Articles Lankford, W. M. (2000). Benchmarking: Understanding the Basics. Coastal Business Journal , 1-6. 2. Internet References Anon. (2012, January 13). http://www.soy7.com/. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://www.soy7.com/. Anon. (2007). http://www.veggievisitors.com/why-become-vegetarian.htm. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://www.veggievisitors.com/index.htm. Hackett, J. (2012 , January 15). http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/TVP.htm. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://www.about.com/. Hossain, N. (2011, March 4). http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/impact-globaleconomic-downturn-communities-and-poverty-uk. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://www.jrf.org.uk/. Kevin, A. (2009, July 23). http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitaminsarticles/increase-in-demand-for-soybased-products-1062535.html. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from http://www.articlesbase.com/.