Cheryl Sullivan and Marilyn Nash, with Illinois Center for Soy Foods and the National Soybean Research Laboratory, won top honors for the UI with their Game Day Chili at the Sixth Annual International Beer and Chili Cook-Off in Urbana last month.
More than 2,500 attendees sampled 11 kinds of chili and judges proclaimed the vegetarian chili made with soy to be the best overall. Chili was judged on whether it smelled appealing and looked appetizing. It also was assessed on how well the combination of ingredients melded together, if it tasted good and if after swallowing there was a pleasant aftertaste.
Game Day Chili was the only entry among all the competitors that included soy. A blind judging format was used, so judges were not aware it was meatless.
“Last year was our first time to enter the contest and participating in 2006 really gave us valuable knowledge for this year’s winning recipe,” said Nash, project coordinator. Nash said that one of the recipe’s unique ingredients was chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. “It really gave the chili a pleasing smoky flavor.”
“We were the only meatless chili being offered to attendees and many of those who tasted our chili appreciated the fact that it was delicious and vegetarian,” said Sullivan, a registered dietitian.
“Our recipe incorporates textured vegetable protein, also known as TVP™, or textured soy protein. It is made from defatted soy flour that has been texturized to resemble meat. TVP™ is a high quality protein and also a good source of fiber. People can substitute it for some or all of the meat in their own favorite chili recipe,” Sullivan said.
The UI has a longstanding reputation in soy – everything from seed production to processing to nutrition. The recipe was perfected in the Illinois Center for Soy Foods test kitchen located in the National Soybean Research Center.
Game Day Chili and other soy recipes can be found at www.nsrl.uiuc.edu.
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