Eating less meat (even becoming vegetarian or vegan) is tempting, but not always easy to implement. Of course, there are meat substitutes, which can be found in organic stores in particular, but there are certain tastes that are difficult to imitate. Among them, bacon. Well, here's some news that should delight many:a team of researchers from Oregon State University have found an algae that, when grilled, tastes like bacon, while being super healthy. .
As is often the case, it was a bit of a coincidence that this algae was discovered:the researchers had started to cultivate the strain of the algae to find a source of food for... sea snails (also called abalones), which are popular in some Asian countries. The red algae in question grows on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It is more nutritious than kale, rich in protein, but also in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. It is also used in powder form in smoothies, but is of little interest in its fresh form. Yes, but… When fried, it tastes very strongly of bacon. Crazy!
For the moment, the researchers have teamed up with the University's Food Innovation Center to develop ranges of foods based on the algae. Their goal:to see if it could revolutionize the vegetarian and vegan markets. To be continued!
