Vegan casing tips?

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Vegan casing tips?

Postby vagreys » Fri May 24, 2013 6:46 pm

Along the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians, a new tick-borne disease has been discovered that causes the victims to become allergic to any mammalian protein, except for primates. It is unique in that the patients are having an allergic reaction to a carbohydrate within the tissues and muscles, not a protein. Also, the allergic response changes with each exposure - sometimes anaphylactic and sometimes not. This allergy rules out any meat that isn't poultry or seafood. It also rules out natural casing, and most edible collagen casing (beef collagen).

I have three friends who have contracted this allergy. So, I'm making chicken sausages for them, and using the 23mm vegan casing, so no mammalian products, at all. I understand the vegan casing is very tender. Has anyone, here, used it? If so, any tips?
- tom

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Re: Vegan casing tips?

Postby NCPaul » Fri May 24, 2013 8:00 pm

When I first used cellulose casings (vegan?) I quickly found out that they have NO stretch and have to be filled loosely to allow for linking; pinch down where you want to tie them as they are extruding. They peeled off easily after cooking the sausage. Measure the length of the compressed tube and make a ratio with the stated length to decide how much to cut. This disease sounds terrible, I'm sorry for your friends and am glad you are helping them.
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Re: Vegan casing tips?

Postby vagreys » Fri May 24, 2013 9:08 pm

The edible collagen casings are usually beef collagen. As far as I can tell, the vegan casing only comes in 23mm, and it is very expensive. Works out to about $1 per pound of sausage cased. Apparently, this allergy has been around for some time, but reported by individuals spread out from New England to Georgia, and because the signs weren't consistent, it took a long time for doctors to make an association between geography, ticks, and the allergy. It started out with a study of hunters complaining of GI difficulties and other signs and symptoms, and now includes anyone who works or is active outside from the Piedmont west into the mountains. It seems to be carried by the Lone Stars, mostly, although it is also prevalent in the brown wood ticks and deer ticks.
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Re: Vegan casing tips?

Postby wheels » Fri May 24, 2013 11:40 pm

It sounds awful. Can you explain further please Tom,? What are the Lone Stars?

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Re: Vegan casing tips?

Postby Thewitt » Sat May 25, 2013 2:50 am

wheels wrote:It sounds awful. Can you explain further please Tom,? What are the Lone Stars?

Phil


The Lone Star is a tick species found from Maine to Texas, easily identified by a white dot on its back, just behind its mouth parts.

It's described as an aggressive species that will pursue its prey long distances. Not sure how far long is for a tick though...

In general you don't want any tick to bite you. There are any number of diseases they carry. Very nasty little beasties. Transfer of foreign proteins between feeding victims is also a possibility in any tick bite, which can cause very severe reactions at the bite site.

-t
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Re: Vegan casing tips?

Postby wheels » Sat May 25, 2013 12:36 pm

Thanks Tom.

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