Seitan is a derivative of wheat flour that is obtained by separating the gluten from starch and bran through a filtering process with hot water. Let's find out about their properties and nutritional values.
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Seitan burger
What is the seitan
Seitan is also called "wheat meat" due to its high protein content. In Italy it is still relatively little known and is used mainly by a niche made up mostly of those who follow a vegetarian diet .
It has a similar appearance to meat, but is softer in consistency, even the flavor is more delicate; naturally it reminds a little of bread. It can be flavored in many ways to obtain different flavors.
Properties and benefits of seitan
Seitan is generally easily digestible, and is highly proteinic. However, it is not a complete food, as it is deficient in lysine and threonine, two essential amino acids.
This means that to assimilate the proteins it is necessary to compensate for this deficiency by accompanying it to other protein foods, for example legumes. The seitan is also deficient in vitamin B12 and iron .
A very positive characteristic of seitan is its composition completely free of cholesterol and saturated fats.
Seitan is not a suitable food in celiac disease.
Calories and nutritional values of seitan
100 g of seitan contain 168 kcal .
Furthermore, for every 100 g of this product, we have:
- Water 58.2 g
- Vegetable proteins 36.1 g
- Carbohydrates 5.2 g
- Fats 0.4 g
Seitan, ally of
Heart, vases.
You can learn more about the properties of wheat flour from which seitan is derived
Curiosity about the seitan
For some years, generally in late spring / early summer, a very nice Seitan Festival has taken place in Tuscany. Visiting it is certainly a good way to learn about this product and to find new ideas on how to cook it.
A recipe up your sleeve
Cooking the seitan is not complicated, just know it. Its preparations are similar to those that are generally used for meat: roast, meatballs, hamburgers, steaks and so on.
It can be found on the market already prepared, usually vacuum-packed, or in flour. In this last case, before cooking it the way you like it, you have to follow a preliminary procedure.
It is necessary, in fact, to mix the flour with hot water, until obtaining a homogeneous ball and then let it rest for about a quarter of an hour. Roll out the dough and cut it in the preferred way, based on the final recipe.
For the roast it should be left whole. Finally, seitan should be boiled for about 20 minutes in water flavored with soy sauce, kombu seaweed, salt, ginger or other spices.
It can also be simply boiled in vegetable stock. The seitan thus obtained can be kept in the fridge with the cooking broth, ready to be used in various recipes.
