Production and Benefits of Plant-Based Ingredients
People often use ingredients when cooking to add rich taste and flavour to food. Some ingredients are made from naturally existing plant and animal sources. Umami powder is an example of an ingredient made from a mixture of three plant sources i.e. kombu, bonito flakes, and shiitake mushrooms. Most ingredients can be used in a lot of dishes such as burgers, chicken, meat among other meals. They also exist in powder form and some may just be the plant itself for plant-sourced ingredients. Currently, there is an increase in the demand for plant-based ingredients and products. Several companies have emerged intending to supply plant-sourced ingredients that are pure and natural.
The desire for maintaining health standards and using simple organic and clean products has led to several consumers of plant-based ingredients. Most people have changed their diets and prefer plant-sourced ingredients and not animal substances. Artificially manufactured products with added additives are no longer preferred due to the potential risks they pose on prolonged use. The only challenge that most plant-sourced ingredients producers face is accessing pure natural plants that do not compromise the integrity and quality of the final product. Companies have systems that test the quality of the product before using them to manufacture the ingredients.
Plant-based ingredients are easy to formulate and most of them can even be processed at the comfort of one’s home. The only important information needed is the composition and the amounts to be mixed. Below are the general directions used to make such ingredients.
- Break the plant part into smaller pieces.
- Place all the ingredients into a blender or a grinder.
- Grind or blend all the ingredients until they are finer and soft.
- Store the product in an airtight container.
Technological advancements have enabled producers to come up with palatable ingredients with better taste and with a variety of flavours to pick from. Below are examples of seasonings made from plant sources.
- Nutritional yeast
- Black salt
- Soy sauce
- Umami seasoning
Benefits of using Plant-sourced Spices
Most seasoning made from plant parts usually has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants protect the body from anything that damages the cells. Some ingredients however have more beneficial properties than others. Examples of some of the best plant ingredients and their therapeutic functions include.
- Cinnamon is effective in lowering blood sugar due to its sweet taste that sweetens the food more hence lowering sugar levels in food. Other health benefits associated with cinnamon spice include heart health benefits, reduction in cholesterol, and chances of diabetic patients getting heart attacks.
- Turmeric seasoning is best known for its inflammation-reducing ability hence solving any discomforts and diseases that cause it. The anti-inflammatory qualities of turmeric have led to its use in southing pain and swellings in people with arthritis conditions.
- Ginger has been widely used to cure diarrhoea, nausea, and stomach upset. Most pregnant women use ginger to suppress nausea and it can also be used by patients after surgery to relieve stomach upsets.
- Garlic is very beneficial when it comes to minimizing the chances of getting strokes and heart attacks. When people age their arteries naturally become narrowed due to cholesterol deposits in the blood vessels. Certain habits such as smoking also contribute to the blockage of the arteries and lead to narrowing. Eating ginger makes blood vessels flexible and helps to decrease the cholesterol amounts in the body.
- Cayenne papers have a component that effectively helps in pain relief. It is however spicy but beneficial since it minimizes pain signal transfer to the brain. When pain signals do not reach the brain, it does not sense any type of discomfort in the body. Patients with arthritis and diabetes can effectively minimize the pain by eating cayenne pepper spiced food. Additionally, the pepper helps to suppress ulcers by preventing the growth of the bacteria causing ulcers, increasing blood flow helps to reduce excess stomach.
Commercially produced seasoning with additives has a limit and is regulated before it can be distributed to users but most of them may lead to complications when used in large amounts over a long period. Plant-based natural ingredients on the other hand have several health-related benefits and are concentrated hence have very effective benefits. They are also readily available locally to consumers or can easily be made by just crushing or grinding the plant source. Since most doctors are advising people against the use of spices when cooking, these natural ingredients come in handy when looking for a healthy way to add flavour to food. The use of supplements to reduce spice intake is also not advised since a small portion has a high dose.