Edgy Veggie shows innovation dating from the 11th century

Livsmedelsverket (The National Food Administration of Sweden) estimates that 15% of the world’s total emissions of greenhouse gasses come from livestock farming. At GastroNord, companies and producers of alternatives to animal foods will be exhibiting. One of these exhibitors is Edgy Veggie with its product seitan, a protein rich alternative to meat which originating in 11th century China.

Edgy Veggie was founded in 2020 by Katarina Furin, Sebastian Bergfelt and Josef Claudén, in the hope of producing a smart eco-friendly alternative to meat. Despite the company’s young age, there is a lot of experience since the founders long have been active in the food industry.

– We started by importing from Hungary to get the business going, but from January 2022 we will be making our own seitan from Swedish wheat. Our ambition has always been to make our own seitan and to use Swedish ingredients, so we can avoid transports and wheat is also an ingredient there is plenty of in Sweden, says Katarina Furin, CEO at Edgy Veggie.

Aiming for innovation
The founders of Edgy Veggie have previous experience of GastroNord and look forward to showing off their products to restaurants and customers.

– We are pepped to exhibit at GastroNord, where we will be showcasing finished products that visitors can taste and try. It really feels as if GastroNord has made an effort to bring in new and innovative companies in the fair halls, and that’s what attracted us. We look forward to meeting the industry and at the same time open up the visitors’ eyes regarding seitan and all the possibilities the product has, says Katarina Furin.

Wheat based and high in protein
Seitan was invented by Buddhist monks in China in the 11th century as a replacement for meat. The wheat based foodstuff which is high in protein can be used to replace meat in all dishes and has been noticed by the fitness culture as a simple and healthy source of protein.

– The wheat protein is well-known and it doesn’t take any strange processes to produce seitan, you can do it at home. Just knead a wheat dough in a water bath to wash off the starch and change the water as you go. When the water no longer becomes cloudy, the starch is all gone from the dough and you can marinate it in a marinade of your choice for flavour. In industrially produced seitan, the work is done a little bit differently, but the process is the same, says Katarina Furin.

GastroNord opens up the doors to the climate-smart food of the future and lots of new products and innovations on April 5-7, 2022.