What exactly is 'soya meat'?

What exactly is 'soya meat'?

Soya meat is what the food industry calls 'textured soya', and it is used as a meat substitute with a similar protein content but no cholesterol. Herbs, spices and flavourings can be added to give soya a meaty taste, since it has barely any flavour of its own. Soya meat can also be made into different shapes, with variations in texture and composition designed to make it resemble a variety of meat products. Textured soya is produced from ground - up soya beans that have had up to 95% of their fat content removed by being pressed repeatedly. The ground soya is then mixed with water and passed through a extruder - a kind of mincer. Depending on the machine's setting, the soya emerges in different forms: mince, strings of sausages or thick ropes which can be sliced to make 'steaks'.

                 “Soya is versatile plant

                  that can be made into all sorts of food,

                  from oil and sausages to tofu”