Seitan

Seitan is a chewy food made chiefly from hydrated wheat gluten. Its dense, elastic texture makes it a common meat substitute.

Gluten: A group of storage proteins found in wheat and related grains that forms an elastic network when hydrated. Hydrated gluten forms the structural network that gives seitan its characteristic elasticity.
Washing-sieved seitan: A method of making seitan by washing wheat-flour dough until starch is rinsed away, leaving gluten. It shows how ordinary flour can be turned into gluten-rich seitan.
George Ohsawa: A Japanese educator who popularized modern macrobiotic philosophy and coined the term “seitan.” Ohsawa introduced the name that became widely associated with wheat-gluten food.
Plant-based meat: Food made from plants and designed to reproduce some qualities of meat. Seitan is one of the oldest and simplest plant-based meat formats.
Gliadin: A family of wheat proteins that contributes viscosity and extensibility to dough. Gliadin helps make hydrated seitan dough stretchable.
Kneading: The repeated working of dough that develops and organizes its gluten network. Kneading changes seitan dough’s cohesion and chew.
Macrobiotic diet: A dietary approach emphasizing whole grains and other foods, shaped by modern Japanese interpretations of traditional eating. Seitan became familiar in the West through macrobiotic food culture.
Meat analogue: A food designed to resemble meat in appearance, texture, flavor, or culinary use. Seitan substitutes for meat chiefly through its chewy texture and adaptable seasoning.
Glutenin: A family of wheat proteins that forms elastic networks through links between protein molecules. Glutenin contributes the strength and springiness of seitan’s protein network.
Steaming: Cooking food with hot water vapor rather than immersing it in liquid. Steaming sets seitan while retaining a firm, cohesive texture.

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