Ham is the name for a pork that that has been preserved (with or without smoke). This is a processed meat (so not good for health) and most comes from factory farms. Even for those who eat meat, if you want a free-range industry, then everyone has to eat a lot less meat as there’s not enough land (and that comes from meat-eating chefs like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver).
Maple-Glazed Vegan Ham (Shane & Simple) is very easy to prepare, and makes a good main for the holiday table. This is smoky, sweet, savoruy and meaty and makes good ham sandwiches.
These vegan ham meats taste, smell and look like real meat, so keep them away from pets, as many contain toxic ingredients like soy, mushrooms, garlic and onion. For bought items, recycle packaging with household waste or at supermarket bag recycling bins, and if ordering online, keep ice gel packs away from pets and children.
So whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian or omnivore, here are some plant-based alternatives to ham that you may like to try. Swapping for these versions most or all of the time can bring better animal welfare, lower cholesterol and it’s better for the planet too. There are always naysayers who say that we should not eat plant foods that taste like meat. But meat is what most people like the taste of, so here they are. What you eat is up to you.
Pigs are amazing creatures. They are brilliant mothers who are very clean (walking up to a mile to go to the toilet away from their nests). They wallow in mud to keep cool (they have no sweat glands) and are as intelligent as a 4-year old child. As well as having 20 grunts and squeals to communicate with each other, the mother pigs sing to their piglets! In many countries, pigs are kept in factory farms, separated by metal grilles, so are unable to move or turn around, or nurse their piglets.
Make Your Own Vegan Ham
Vegan Ham Roast with Maple Glaze (Nora Cooks)
Vegan Christmas Ham (Avant Garde Vegan). Also try other vegan ham recipes with a pineapple glaze and maple brown sugar glaze.
Where to Buy Good Vegan Ham
Meatless Garlic Ham is made with chickpeas, wheat protein, soy, nutritional yeast and mustard. Beechwood-smoked, it comes in 8 slices, and can also be frozen.
Squeaky Bean Vegan Ham Style Sandwich Slices are made from wheat gluten, with carrots, onion and beetroot. High in protein and fibre, these are ideal in a ham-less sandwich. Use in this sandwich courtesy of The Little London Vegan (where she reviews Costa’s vegan ham & cheese toastie).
Suma Pea & Vegan Ham Soup (also sold in Co-op & NISA supermarkets) is made with all-natural ingredients, sold in a zero waste tin. Just open up and heat in a pan, for a quick and tasty lunch.
Look in shops for the arrival of vegan ham from Spanish company Rollito Vegano. It’s been flying off the shelves in Spain and distributors are queuing up here. Made from wheat gluten, rice flour, coconut oil and beetroot, it’s a dry-cured ham that sold out its first batch in one day, with hundreds more going on a wait list.
