Lupins from the Mühlviertel: Plant-based protein powerhouse

Almost everyone knows them from the flower garden: At this time of year, the lupine flowers form towering candles in all the colors of the rainbow in the flowerbed. Special varieties are gaining new importance for nutrition: With a protein content of 30 to 40 percent, the plant, which belongs to the legume family, is sold as a vegan meat alternative.

Because lupine thrives better than soy on the acidic soil and in the harsh climate of the Mühlviertel, Michael Hofer added this type of bean to his repertoire three years ago. The 31-year-old took over his parents’ farm in Arnreit together with his wife Magdalena, who is the same age as him.

Beans refined with mushroom

“We actually wanted to make lupin tofu. But that didn’t work out so well,” says the farmer. The next attempt was successful: the farming couple uses a fungus to produce what is known as tempeh from the whole fruit. First, the beans are boiled, then cooled to 30 degrees. After being inoculated with the fungus, tempeh can mature at this temperature for two days. “The white fungal network grows over the beans; you can imagine it like noble mold on Camembert. The tempeh is then partially pickled in brine, smoked and vacuum-packed,” says the Upper Austrian. When packed airtight and cooled or tempered, the compact blocks will keep for at least a month.

If you let the tempeh get air, the product continues to ripen “and its taste changes – not necessarily to the detriment.” Because the fungal culture spreads throughout the food and prevents other germs from settling, the food does not spoil as quickly. “It’s like penicillin,” says Hofer, who is a biology and geography teacher in his original profession.

The Upper Austrian still teaches these subjects for a few hours at the Niederwaldkirchen sports secondary school, where his wife is also a teacher of biology, sports and mathematics. “All of these subjects can be used in our work,” says Hofer, who describes himself as a “part-time teacher.”

Lupine tempeh scores points over soy tofu, especially in terms of texture. It is less rubbery, but firmer and has a slightly more intense flavor. In contrast to practically all other legumes, tempeh beans can also be eaten raw.

Healthy through fermentation

Fermentation makes the high-fiber food – similar to tofu – particularly digestible. It is sold in the farm’s own shop (www.bio-hofer.at), among other places. The couple is also experimenting with other recipes: for example, lupins can be used to make spreads – similar to those made with dairy products.

But Hofer does not want to demonize animal products: “Everyone should do what they want. Here in the Mühlviertel, there are many pieces of land that are not suitable for farming, but are very suitable for animal husbandry. That is why we have stuck with cattle farming.” However, the meat is only sold in packages made up of all parts, “a cow is not just made up of steak, but also bones, innards and much more.”

Why the Arnreit farm with the family name Selltenhofer still grows around one hectare of lupins and the same amount of land as soya: “The bitter substances in the edible lupin varieties – this year’s flowers are white and blue – have been bred out. But when it is very hot and dry, these varieties can also produce bitter substances again – to protect them from predators. It is precisely in summers like these that soya thrives particularly well.” Experiments are continuing in Arnreit anyway, “the potential uses of lupins are far from exhausted.”