On 10 Sep 2004 09:40:49 -0700, (Ross Clement)
wrote:

>dave@ .com wrote in message >...
>> For any of you in the UK, I recently discovered xanthan gum in Tesco's
>> organic food section. It is vegan (a very fine powder - made from
>> fermented cabbage) and commonly used as a thickener in sauces and
>> dessets etc.
>>
>> I did some experimenting last night, and for the first time ever, made
>> a bean burger that bound together while it fried.
>>
>> Dave
>
>Please can you post the full recipe you used.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Ross-c

Hi,

Actually I didn't use any special recipe- I just squashed half a tin
of (drained) chick peas and half a tin of (drained) butter beans
together by hand, together with a chopped onion, garlic puree, a blob
of mustard and then mixed in the following powder:

A good teaspoon each of: vegetable stock powder, curry powder and
xanthan gum powder with a big sprinkling of ground black pepper.

After kneading the whole lot together, it thickened into a nice dough.

I found the best way to fry it was to keep the oil on quite a low heat
and add the mix as single balls, keeping it moving as it cooked. After
a while it could be pressed down lightly to form the burger shape.

It still has a tendancy to stick to the pan but not as much as the dry
packet burger mixes do. I suspect it would cook well if it were
lightly covered in oil and roasted in the oven

On another occasion I also added breadcrumbs, ground oats and kidney
beans which also worked quite well.

The xanthan gum is sold as a gluten alternative, trademarked
"bodyline" and I've just found a url on the jar - www.mhfoods.net
- along with a gluten free bread recipe.

I found this stuff in the gluten free/organic section of our local
Tesco and had left it in the cupboard for a few weeks before
re-discovering it and experimenting the other night. Just checked
again today and they are still selling it.

Dave

<dave@ .com> wrote in message
...

> Actually I didn't use any special recipe- I just squashed half a tin
> of (drained) chick peas and half a tin of (drained) butter beans
> together by hand, together with a chopped onion, garlic puree, a blob
> of mustard and then mixed in the following powder:
>
> A good teaspoon each of: vegetable stock powder, curry powder and
> xanthan gum powder with a big sprinkling of ground black pepper.
>
> After kneading the whole lot together, it thickened into a nice dough.
>
> I found the best way to fry it was to keep the oil on quite a low heat
> and add the mix as single balls, keeping it moving as it cooked. After
> a while it could be pressed down lightly to form the burger shape.
>
> It still has a tendancy to stick to the pan but not as much as the dry
> packet burger mixes do. I suspect it would cook well if it were
> lightly covered in oil and roasted in the oven

I use a similar recipe for burgers. A tin of mashed chick peas, a grated
carrot and a grated onions all mixed together with a tablespoon of flour and
formed into a patty. I don't usually add any binder though, as they don't
usually fall apart.

I use the recipe to make fake meatballs to, just by changing their shape.

A recent addition I've found that can be nice is adding a handful of mung
bean sprouts to the mix.

Sarah
--

Hi Marvin,
try mixing in tofu - just mush it up and mix in with the other
ingredients. Me personally I have found its a matter of getting them
to quite a solid mix that I can easily form without it being too mushy
(which it can be after putting mainly veges in there) ... so I
'beef'(mind the pun it up with ground seeds and nuts as well as
oats.
hope that helps
Maree
www.healthyvegans.com



Marvin Preuss > wrote in message >...
> is there a good alternative for eggs. when i was vegetarian i took some
> eggs in the veggie burgers that it holds better together...what i can
> take insted for that?
> thank you alot

Hi Marvin,
try mixing in tofu - just mush it up and mix in with the other
ingredients. Me personally I have found its a matter of getting them
to quite a solid mix that I can easily form without it being too mushy
(which it can be after putting mainly veges in there) ... so I
'beef'(mind the pun it up with ground seeds and nuts as well as
oats.
hope that helps
Maree
www.healthyvegans.com



Marvin Preuss > wrote in message >...
> is there a good alternative for eggs. when i was vegetarian i took some
> eggs in the veggie burgers that it holds better together...what i can
> take insted for that?
> thank you alot

I've found Ener-G egg replacer (measure for measure, just folo the package
instructions) makes a good binder in some of the veggie burgers I made.
Also soak flax seeds in water for several hours until a gooey "gel" forms
that's the consistency of egg whites. This gel is often used as a egg
binder substitute in dishes. Don't know what the proportions would be
though.

--
Megan

"Alf" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 19:01:58 +0200, Marvin Preuss
> wrote:
>
> >Alf wrote:
> >
> >> The only way around the problem is to fry them quickly to seal
> >> their outer edges. Try using larger buns as well so the burger
> >> inside doesn't fall out into your lap.
> >
> >but thats a really good idea and thank you alot
>
> The burgers will still fall apart most probably, even if you
> do fry them quickly, so your best option might be to use
> pita bread instead and do away with buns altogether on
> second thoughts.


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I've found Ener-G egg replacer (measure for measure, just folo the package
instructions) makes a good binder in some of the veggie burgers I made.
Also soak flax seeds in water for several hours until a gooey "gel" forms
that's the consistency of egg whites. This gel is often used as a egg
binder substitute in dishes. Don't know what the proportions would be
though.

--
Megan

"Alf" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 19:01:58 +0200, Marvin Preuss
> wrote:
>
> >Alf wrote:
> >
> >> The only way around the problem is to fry them quickly to seal
> >> their outer edges. Try using larger buns as well so the burger
> >> inside doesn't fall out into your lap.
> >
> >but thats a really good idea and thank you alot
>
> The burgers will still fall apart most probably, even if you
> do fry them quickly, so your best option might be to use
> pita bread instead and do away with buns altogether on
> second thoughts.


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