Fake meat

[Evilfluffbunny]

I can't even remember how meat taste like. I haven't eaten meat since around the age of 4. But I've always enjoyed the "fakes". And maybe it is because I don't really associate it with real meat at all - I have no idea how a real burger taste

Good point! I hadn't thought of that. I enjoy plenty of fake meats, not because they're things I used to eat, but simply because I enjoy the taste. When I did eat meat, it was only ever sausages, fish fingers and chicken ocassionally, but I love vegan beef roast, tuna, salami and other things that I haven't even tasted the 'real' version of.

[pixeequeen]

If I eat fake meat its usually for a centre pice to put my veggies around if that makes sense! I dont carve meat persay even though I remember really liking the taste. I dont think 'feke' meat does taste that much like real meat I enjoy it on its own merit. and vege sausage are a practical shape etc for a sandwich!

[Astrocat]

I can't even remember how meat taste like. I haven't eaten meat since around the age of 4. But I've always enjoyed the "fakes". And maybe it is because I don't really associate it with real meat at all - I have no idea how a real burger taste :confused: :rolleyes:

Oh, i so totally know what you mean ;)
I've been vegetarian since always as i was raised vegetarian and as a child i saw no reason why any sane person would wish to consume the flesh of the dead or consider it food (hey, it;s just my childish perception of things - it just didn;t seem very stable the way that most people talked about meat, or the way they made up weird names for flesh... and it was to be honest a bit of a weird and very alien concept to me... I never was conditioned to think of decaying flesh as any sort of food, so i never saw the desire...

It amuses but sometimes bothers me that so many people have a peculiar notion that because vegans and vegetarians are depriving themselves of meat then they must be continually craving fleshy junk-food or a big chunk of bum with some miserable veg, or something....

I haven;t thought of flesh as food and i dersay that i never will.

Since becoming vegan I;ve been eating a lot better though, so in the general way of things i researched processed fods and drifted naturally towards wanting to eat organic food and less so-called "mock meat" soya/TVP food product things... so i don;t eat them at all often because they're so processed and contain weird synthetic ingredients etc rather than that they have any resemblance to flesh... I mean, apart from anything else i wouldn;t know whether they taste like flesh or have such a texture anyway
;)

I know that my mum was creeped out a bit by Linda McCartney pies though - she wouldn;t eat them as she reckoned they were too much like flesh, but i just liked them because they were tasty vegetable pies... you know :) lots of tasty strong spices and stuff, and i really like pies.

But yes... to me, TVP is a vegetable based processed food thing, soya burgers are soya based food things which often have been processed, and flesh is ... well... decaying flesh from a creature - either a bird, animal, fish or other sea-thing - something i have never considered to be a viable food substance, and find rather a strange thing for people to actively choose to consume as this just seems liek such an alien thing to me.

[celtic rose]

........ and flesh is ... well... decaying flesh from a creature - either a bird, animal, fish or other sea-thing - something i have never considered to be a viable food substance, and find rather a strange thing for people to actively choose to consume as this just seems liek such an alien thing to me.
Exactly how I feel.
The thought of eating a decaying corpse is so utterly vile, like eating s**t. It's not food, it's a dead animal.

[Trendygirl]

I quite liked some of the fake stuff on occassions but now I don't now of any that are gluten free. Ive been quite ill and I have to cut gluten out of my diet and most fake meats are wheat based.

[dreama]

I love meat substitutes. Most of what I eat is substitute meat. Before I became vegan I really prefered meat and couldn't stand vegitables at all. I'm a little better. If the veg is curried, cut up small, or fried then I'll eat it. I'm not a very health concous person really. I know what cruelty goes into meat etc but still can't help liking the smell of fried meat. Even now.

Sometimes if a substitute is too real looking its a good idea to carry the packet so if someone says 'I thought you were supposed to be vegan' you can show them it.

I think artifical alternatives are usually better then the real thing for other things too. I'm particularly in favor of artifical pets. Particularly for children but also for people who like to 'collect' animals. My old flat mate collected reptiles. All crammed in undersized cages. I've a friend who collects beanie 'reptiles'. Much more humane. I've got a collection of artificial snakes myself.

[Artichoke47]

I thought I didn't like tempeh, but in SC this weekend, I had an awesome marinated tempeh sandwich with greens, sprouts, tomatoes, and onions, and man, it was delicious! I will give tempeh another try for sure.

[Astrocat]

Back in the dark ages of my childhood the only so-called 'meat substitutes' which you could really get here were TVP and those Birdseye veggie burgers that taste rather a lot like a more tasty version of cardboard.... they weren;t even in the same league as the majority of processed soy products which you get these days.

However, one day i was cooking up a few of them and my omnivorous friend came round to visit, so i asked would she like one, and she said yes.

After munching it down she seemed rathed astonished to find that she found it to be at least as tasty as a beefburger... a fact which now leaves me wondering just how inferior the taste of beefburgers is compared to veggie burgers nowadays, since those Birdseye burgers likesay really can;t compete.

[Evilfluffbunny]

For anyone who's tried plain, squishy tofu and hated it, then I really recommend giving the smoked stuff a try - it's got a completely different taste and texture (kind of hotdoggy) and is really nice fried in something like sesame oil. I can eat the plain stuff too but it's nowhere near as nice in my opinion, I find it hard to get it to absorb flavour.

Another thing I've found to be really tasty is if you mix together smoked tofu, mashed potato and whatever other herbs, spices or flavourings you want and fry it all into a big pancake.

[veganful]

I have a super duper easy recipe for seitan. There's no way any one can screw it up.
Ileana

[PolluxStar]

I eat tofu and Boca's Vegan burgers all the time


thier DOPE!

[DianeVegan]

About once per month, I take 2 hours out of my morning and make seitan. Today I made 9 pounds (plain, "chicken" flavored, and "beef" flavored). The total cost was about $9 and there is about 15 grams of protein per serving (fat-free). We use it to fry, sautee, grill, bake, stew, etc. Even my step-children (carnivores that they are) will eat it. And it's so much better than any store bought brands.

[zena]

What are your takes on vegan faux meat? Boca burgers, primal strips etc? Some people say its wrong some say its ok. My omni friends love primal strips (faux jerky) but I don’t. To “real” I guess.

[Brownie]

At first, I thought mock meats were wrong, mostly because I felt guilty and I was afraid that I would miss meat and give up veganism.

But now I see that they're fine. It's not real meat, after all. They're delicious, too!

[Roxy]

Mock meats don't really bother me. After all, they are a good way for some omni's to transition into veg*nism.

They came in very handy for me when I first turned vegan. However, now I eat them from time to time, because I like the flavour. I eat Tofurkey slices and I had the Tofurkey dinner at thanksgiving. I also like a couple of different types of mock sausages.

[tasha]

I normally use faux meat in the summer on the BBQ. There is something about sitting on the deck, sipping on a glass of wine and cranking up the ol'cooker! I tried to make "homemeade" BBQ items, but they always fell apart! I always buy the burgers and dogs pre-made, I remember having my first veggie dog and was amazed at how it tasted like the real "dead" thing. The burgers never tasted like the real thing to me, not that I am dissapointed!
At first it was about getting that same taste and texture, only because I was brought up on it. Now, that I have forgotten what "it" tastes like, I rely on my taste buds. Just because something tastes like the real thing doesn't mean your a bad person--hey, my mom says that that nutrional yeast cheese smells like stinky feet, but does it stop me from eating it?! And it certainly doesn't mean I'm gonna eat the next dirty foot that comes along ;)

It is all about simplicity today...meat makes it simple for omnivores to whip up something on short notice, so I say "bring the veggie imposter on!"

If it tastes good, eat it--just make sure it never had a nervous system!!

[Scarlett Ecks]

Boca products made the switch from being an omni to a veggie so easy...And it's nice for my family, traditional meat and potato folks, to have those kind of substitues on hand for family get togethers. My Gram's freezer is stocked with Boca burgers and pizzas and the like for when I visit. Since going vegan, though, I've found I really only want fresh food.

And I love places like burger king for offering things like the veggie burger, for those times when I'm on the road with people who don't want to stop any where ..healthy for eats. I wish more places offered more than a salad for people who don't want meat.

[Realfood Mary]

I did a great sessiopn in a school recently where I cooked for the kids, using Redwoods mock meats (which Redwoods kindly supplied.) I told the kids that there was no problem using mock meat products, since the bacon, for example "was not some poor pigs bottom." It went really well. Teachers who had a free lesson came in to listen, the cleaning lady sat down and started taking notes. At the end of the second class about half the kids stayed, even though it was lunch time, to find out more. Then as they were leaving a bunch of kids came back from the first class to find out more!

Mock animal products are important transition foods for many people. Although I hardly ever eat them (I am coeliac, and many of them contain wheat) I have no problem with others using them. I don't think people should feel guilty for eating something that is quite plainly not a corpse! And given that three kids contacted me for vegan buddies after this school talk I can happily say that mock meats can normalise a diet for people who have been brainwashed into thinking vegans are weird. That is my experience anyway.

Strange that people feel guilty about the mock meats by the way, and not about scrambling tofu to resemble eggs, or using soya dream "creem" to make yummy chocolate mooses.

Mary

[Stu]

The only concern of mine about fake meat - which nobody ever seems to mention - is this: surely when these products are being devised, real meat must be used as a point of comparison? How do they know it tastes right, without comparing it to actual meat?

[batearedfreak]

Am I the only person in the world who thinks tofu and all recipes containing the above mentioned tastes like c**p?

God, just eat the veggies.

P.S Why bother with all the other the meat/cheese/ milk substitutes anyway - they all taste foul!

Isn't it a bit sad that we have to pretend to eat meat rather than just do without. How can politisised vegans claim the moral high ground if they are just pretending?

[LittleNellColumbia]

Hello batearedfreak,

We aren't 'pretending' to eat meat/cheese etc, but some of us like the taste, and since its not hurting anyone and is quite healthy, what's wrong with eating the things we like? If you don't like them then that's fine, don't eat them. Also, tofu and other meat substitutes are a great source of protein in the diet for those of us who dont want to be consuming tonnes of beans and legumes daily. I mean, there's nothing wrong with vegetable, beans etc infact they are what make up most of the vegan diet!:) I gess all im trying to say is that we can take a stand and become vegan for whatever reason whether it be the animals, health, enviroment or all of the above, but we can also allow ourselves to have a varied diet and not deprive ourselves of those tastes that we enjoy. :)
I hope I havn't sounded as though im having a go, i just wanted to give my two cents......

[Geoff]

Am I the only person in the world who thinks tofu and all recipes containing the above mentioned tastes like c**p?

God, just eat the veggies.

P.S Why bother with all the other the meat/cheese/ milk substitutes anyway - they all taste foul!

Isn't it a bit sad that we have to pretend to eat meat rather than just do without. How can politisised vegans claim the moral high ground if they are just pretending?

I LIKE the taste of tofu - it's nothing like meat and I don't pretend that it is.
Unfortunately, as I'm following the McDougall programme, I'm not eating it anymore.

[Korn]

P.S Why bother with all the other the meat/cheese/ milk substitutes anyway - they all taste foul!

Isn't it a bit sad that we have to pretend to eat meat rather than just do without. How can politisised vegans claim the moral high ground if they are just pretending?

Tofu was first used 2000 in China years ago, and it's being used a lot among people who have grown up in a non-meat culture; they don't eat it because they miss meat; they have never tasted it.

It doesn't remind of meat at all, which is nice. If it did, and I was a vegan who were missing meat from my diet, I still can't see any reason why I should not eat it. Your habit's won't disappear they day you decide to go vegan. To make others feel that this has anything at all to do with their moral ground doesn't lead anywhere, does it?


God, just eat the veggies.
Why not just eat what you want? :)

It's just a soy product, just like apple juice is an apple product.

[Evilfluffbunny]

Am I the only person in the world who thinks tofu and all recipes containing the above mentioned tastes like c**p?

I love tofu but some brands are horrible and some marinades don't absorb into the tofu as well as others. Maybe you've just not found a decent one yet?

I always try to use firm smoked tofu (which has a slight hotdog taste) and I get Engine Shed brand when I can - it's particularily nice fried in sesame oil and added to stir frys. :)


Isn't it a bit sad that we have to pretend to eat meat rather than just do without. How can politisised vegans claim the moral high ground if they are just pretending?

I don't see it as pretending, as far as I'm concerned - the more varied textures and flavours we have available to us the better. I'm not 'making do' when I eat mock meats, I'm just enjoying something that I happen to like the taste of and I appreciate having the alternative so that I don't have to do without!

I also think that mock meats make veganism more appealing to omnis & veggies, I know from my own experience that it was the thought of only being able to eat vegetables and having to do tons of cooking which actually put me off making the switch to veganism for a long time.

[tails4wagging]

I consider having fake meats as eating it without the cruelty.