There are many well-known vegetarian products available that mimic the appearance, flavour and texture of Chicken, Pork and Beef. Especially Beef. But there hasn’t been a Veggie substitute for Fish and Seafood products – until now. Come explore the world of Good Catch Foods…
Good Catch Foods’ flagship Tuna products (due out later this year) and Crab-Free ‘Crab Cakes’, which should be a big seller if they’re as good as reviewers say they are…
Good Catch Foods (GCF) is a U.S. company that’s been winning all kinds of awards at natural and vegan food expos over the past few months. And, according to those who’ve tasted their wares, GCF deserves all the positive attention they’ve been getting.
Though they’re not available on the open market, quite yet, GCF is in the final stages of developing and ramping up production on a whole line of plant-protein-based ‘seafoods’ including New England Style Crab Cakes with ‘Lump Crabmeat’ texture, Thai Style Fish Sliders (with ‘Flaky Whitefish texture’), Classic Burgers (again, with the ‘Whitefish texture’), and three Tuna alternatives including ‘Naked’ (Plain) in Water, Mediterranean Style, and Olive Oil and Herbs flavours, all in convenient resealable pouches.
GCF will start its product rollouts with the Tuna trio late this year.
Advantages of plant-based ‘seafoods’…
GCF says using plant-based ‘seafoods’ is a good idea for many reasons:
(That’s straight from the GCF website. We hasten to point out that the 51% of Americans mentioned in the second-last bullet point are 51% of those asked in a poll GCF doesn’t identify on its site. And I’m not sure what ‘microfibres’ are, unless they are micro-particals of plastic whose issues have been discussed in other posts, including one of mine about Bottled Water.)
GCF also notes that its plant-based products also boast a longer shelf-life than most conventional seafoods.
What’s in GCF’s products?
GCF makes its seafood substitutes entirely from Beans and Peas – Pulses – and each product may contain any or all of: Green Peas, Chick Peas, Soy Beans, Lentils, Fava Beans and/or Navy Beans. You can see how GCF can use blends of those ingredients to control the flavours and colours of their products. How they achieve the textures they have produced is their secret.
Along with the texture and colour of familiar seafood products, GCF selections are also fortified with Algae Oil. That ingredient contributes an umami flavour and Omega-3 fatty acids, which goes part way to duplicating the nutritional values of real seafood.
A breakthrough in acceptability…
If the GCF products are as good as the company claims, they would mark a breakthrough in plant-based meat substitutes. There have been a few attempts in the past, but folks turned thumbs down on them because they just didn’t taste good or offer the right mouth feel. Beef and Pork substitutes makers, notably Beyond Meat, have pretty much nailed the Burger Patty and Sausage products, so much so that A&W is offering the Beyond Burger at all its Canadian outlets. And customer blind taste tests have produced rave reviews. It appears that GCF is doing the same in the Fish and Seafood sphere.
We’ll watch this new brand and let you know how it fares on the open market…
~ Maggie J.