Vegetarianism and veganism require replacing animal protein with plant protein and consuming it in sufficient quantities. These meals can take a long time to prepare due to the preparation of the vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and beans that form the basis of the diet. However, modern kitchen appliances can help speed up the process of preparing vegetarian and vegan meals, adding variety and saving you the time and money of buying ready-made alternatives.
Dehydrator
A device for drying vegetables, fruits, herbs and mushrooms is an essential necessity not only for everyone, but especially for vegetarians. Familiarization with the instructions for using the dryer allows you to expand your culinary horizons. We recently tested the Redmond FD1100 dehydrator and made a variety of dishes such as dried cantaloupe, marshmallows, dessert bananas, sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable relish, candied pumpkin, eggplant and zucchini vegetable chips, and traditional dried apples and pears.
And in the Kitfort KT-1938 dryer, in addition to tomatoes, apples and bananas, we were able to prepare different types of marshmallows and dried plums.
Blender-soup maker
Soup blenders, or heated blenders, are ideal for vegetarians not only because they allow you to quickly prepare vegetable soups, but also because of their ability to automatically prepare plant-based milks such as soy, oat or almond. Legumes, almonds and hazelnuts are excellent sources of plant protein, and their milk can be used in a variety of dishes, from cereals and sauces to desserts and drinks. The program for preparing plant milk takes on average half an hour, provided that the product is pre-soaked.
Additionally, soup blenders are ideal for making light soups as they are designed for that purpose.
When testing the Kitfort KT-3095 heated blender, we prepared oat milk, five different soups (of which only one was non-vegetarian), as well as two types of juice and a potato smoothie. This model has vegan programs such as “Soy milk” and “Grain flour” (for grinding cereals), and, like a regular blender, can be used to prepare vegetarian pates from chickpeas and tahini (hummus), eggplant and tahini (babaganoush), various spreads, adjika and other dishes.
Multicooker-pressure cooker
Quickly cooking legumes, a major source of plant protein, is essential for vegetarians to avoid the hassle of eliminating these foods from their diet due to the lengthy cooking process. Using a pressure cooker can reduce cooking time by four times, turning beans or chickpeas into soft products in just half an hour, even without soaking. For example, ordinary dried peas are cooked without pressure in a regular saucepan or slow cooker for 60-90 minutes, while in a pressure cooker this process takes only 10-15 minutes. It is important to consider the time required for the appliance to reach operating temperature, as well as the time for the steam to cool after cooking, since the pressure cooker cannot be opened immediately.
Therefore, using a multi-pressure cooker makes sense if you often cook foods that require long cooking times. For example, to cook chickpeas, you will usually have to soak them overnight and then cook them for 2.5 to 3 hours. Using a pressure cooker will help reduce cooking time, eliminate the need for soaking, and make the chickpea broth richer and more flavorful, which is especially valuable considering that chickpeas are often called “garden beef.”
Meat grinder
An unexpected aspect of the article on vegetarianism is the use of a meat grinder to make patties from fibrous vegetables, such as different types of cabbage, or from raw chickpeas (such as falafel). A meat grinder with multifunctional attachments that allow you to turn it into an auger juicer and vegetable cutter, including cutting into cubes, turns out to be very convenient in such cases. For example, when testing the Garlyn MG-3000 meat grinder with a vegetable cutting attachment and graters, we found that the latter copes with the task best.
And testing a meat grinder with a vegetable cutter function Redmond RMG-1216-8 showed that this function is quite functional: vegetables can be grated, chopped, and sliced.
There is a caveat: you should not purchase a meat grinder just for the vegetable cutter function. But if your plan is to cook falafel and cabbage cutlets, then yes, a meat grinder works better than a blender.
Multi-cutter
Using the multi-cutter, you can quickly cut vegetables for salads, vegetable stews and ingredients for soups and side dishes. These devices primarily function as drum shredders, but there is also a model that cuts vegetables into cubes and slices: the Moulinex Fresh Express Cube & Stick.
Multi-slicer spiralizers are of interest for preparing various forms of vegetables, such as slices, spirals, chips and noodles. These cutters cut vegetables into the thin ribbons, spirals, petals and cones often used in Asian cooking and add variety to regular salads. This thin cut is also suitable for a raw food diet.
Of course, vegetarians and vegans also need all the same kitchen appliances as meat-eaters: cooktops and ovens, mini-ovens and convection ovens, refrigerators and microwaves. However, there are devices whose value may be less obvious to vegetarians, but which can greatly improve their nutritional management.