Hooray Bacon: Vegan Bacon That’s A Delicious Substitute For Pork Bacon
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Bacon, and pork in general, have been very popular meats since the first wild pig was captured and cooked over a smoky fire. Pigs were domesticated as early as 9000 B.C.E., although the modern bacon we know and love wouldn’t appear until the mid-1700s. Check out the history of bacon. Today, more than 70 million pigs are in the bacon production pipeline in the U.S. alone. At the same time, plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy are growing full blast, with an estimated market value of $140 billion by 2029 [source]. Vegan bacon alone spiked 113% last year [source]. Many companies have been making plant-based ‘meats’ that mimic the real thing: vegan foods that cook like meat, smell like meat, and, most importantly, taste like meat. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have introduced consumers to plant-based burgers that are as satisfying as meat-based burgers. Now, there’s a delicious vegan bacon brand to put on a vegan bacon cheeseburger…and many more foods. The goal at Hooray Foods was to mimic the cooking and eating experience of pork bacon. Hooray Foods’ plant-based bacon is minimally processed and made with a mix of salty and smoky flavors with a hint of sweetness. There are other plant-based bacon substitutes, each with somewhat different flavors and textures. The one that Whole Foods selected for its refrigerator case is the vegan bacon from Hooray Foods. The roll-out started with 300 stores in seven regions. If it’s not in your store, ask the manager to bring it in. The magic mix of clean ingredients includes coconut oil, rice flour, tapioca starch, liquid smoke, umami seasoning (shiitake mushrooms, salt, mushroom extract, calcium carbonate), maple syrup, salt and beet juice concentrate. That may sound simple enough, but it takes a whole lot of testing to come up with the right recipe. After tons of experimenting, Hooray Foods’ vegan product looks a lot like bacon, sizzles in the pan like bacon, delivers the aroma of cooking bacon, and tastes like bacon. And for those of us who don’t like dealing with the leftover bacon fat from pork bacon, Hooray leaves behind some coconut oil that is much more pleasant to deal with. It’s a nice bonus. Vegan bacon (and other vegan meat and dairy products) are better for: It’s guilt-free bacon that makes you want to say…Hooray! You can cook with it for every meal of the day, including dessert (photo #5) and sweet snacks like bacon donuts and candied bacon. | |
________________ *The botanical family Brassicaceae, includes what has become known as the “brassicas”: arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, horseradish, mizuna, mustard greens, radishes, rutabaga, turnips, wasabi, watercress, and other vegetables. Beyond the nutrition they deliver, brassicas are superfoods: nutritional powerhouses packed with potent, cancer-fighting phytonutrients (antioxidants). |