Fake meats...?

Question

I went to a vegan chinese restaurant and I tried fake meats for the first time ever. I was quite impressed by how they managed to replicate fish and meat.

My question is what do vegetarians/vegans think of fake meat/fish? Do you enjoy it or do you hate it?

Answer 1

I think fake meats are great because they help people make the seque to vegetarianism. Anything that helps people stop eating animals is great!

There are things that I miss that fake meats take the place of however. It's very nice to have that option.
Fake sausage is awesome - I love the Lightlife Gimme Lean brand.
I love Veat, too! I love to stirfry it in soy sauce, lime juice and syrup. It would fool anyone.
Believe it or not, the Smart dogs are very good, too. They're the only brand of tofu dogs that I like.

In general though, I try to stick with beans, grains, and vegetables. They really give you all your nutrition. I've discovered the less I rely on the substitutes, the more inventive my cooking becomes.

Also, the less processed food you eat, the better! And that includes processed fake meat.

Answer 2

It depends on the person. I personally LOVE the fake meats... especially those by Quorn and Morningstar Farms. However, I've talked to some long-time vegan and vegetarian friends and the thought of even fake meat grosses them out. They say they'd become nauseous if the item even resembled the texture of meat (which is the whole point, isn't it?). So it totally depends. I've been vegetarian for a little over a year and I couldn't have done it without meat substitutes. I can still cook all the same dishes I used to cook. Morningstar Farms has "crumblers" (like ground beef), chicken patties, nuggets, burgers, and now they even have "steak" and "chik'n" strips that make a great stir fry! Even their corndogs & hotdogs are good (better than the real deal IMO - I always thought that stuff was nasty!), as is their "sausage" links. WAY better than the originals, in which I'd inevitably bite down on a piece of grissle or mystery meat my first bite, ruining my appetite.

You do have to cook fake meats quite differently (except Quorn)... most of it gets really soggy if you cook it in liquids. It's best when added at the end of cooking, just long enough to heat up. In fact, with the strips especially, I like to pan-fry them to dry them out some, then add them to whatever sauce or dish I'm using them in.

Answer 3

My wife has been vegan now for just under four years.

Fake meats can range from delicious to the truly gross.

In the gross category I would automatically place any fake hot dog. Frankly (no pun intended) these things taste like soft candle wax.

In the delicious category I would place smoked tofu. Slice it thin and microwave it and you would swear you are eating crispy pepperoni.

The taste of a meat-like product eventually boils down to the texture. Steak tastes good, but you would not enjoy it if you had to suck it through a straw. It just is notthe same. Likewise with these. It has to have some consistency that actually reminds you of the real thing. Lobster and scallops have to be chewy and somewhat stringy. Fish has to be flaky. Steak and chicken have to have some fiber to them.

It is relatively easy to make tofu taste like anything, since tofu has very little taste on its own. It has more to do in how you prepare it and how you serve it. A plain white block of tofu is as appetizing as an appendectomy. But give me a good spicy stir fry with braised tofu and it takes on a completely different tone. I don't mind eating vegan entrees, so long as they involve very little of the outrageous ingredients like arrowroot powder, or carob bean, or seaweed.

Some vegans don't even get close to fake meats, believing they violate the spirit of what they are trying to accomplish. In my opinion, a vegetable form of protein is acceptable, regardless of whatit resembles. It's nutritious and it helps dispel the notion that vegans are condemned to eating salads for the rest of their lives.

Answer 4

I've been vegetarian for about eight months, so have been experimenting with a lot of different meat substitutes. My enjoyment of them has been varied. A vietnamese restaurant served bean curd which I loved. I have enjoyed some of the food Sanitarium makes, like the sausages and Vegie Delights, but for me it was an acquired taste. TVP (Textured vegetable protein) products I love! We eat a lot of Zoglo's products and I can barely notice the difference between them and their meat counterparts. So, overall, I really do enjoy the "fake" meat.

Answer 5

I've enjoyed commercially available meat substitutes in the past, but I stopped eating them when I learned how highly processed they are. Also keep in mind that Bocaburger was bought by Kraft, which is a division of Philip Morris. Personally, I choose to not support tobacco companies with my food purchases.

Cooking tip: freezing and thawing regular firm tofu gives it a meatier texture. When smashed into small pieces, it is a good substitute for ground meat in things like chili and sloppy joes.

Answer 6

Some of them are really good. You can get fake 'ham' slices for sandwiches...nice. Also pretend bacon that tastes soooo baconny! Quorn is good...you can get smoked quorn. I know these aren't quite the same as meat but it's nice to know an animal didn't die for me.

Years ago it was so hard to get anything decent for vegetarians. We bought a packet of vege. burgers once a long long time ago.....they were new out, they tasted like cardboard..we chucked them in the bin outside and saw later a stray dog run off with them in his mouth!

Answer 7

When well prepared, "fake meats" are awesome. They are great for people who think that they crave meat, when really it is just the taste and texture they are after. I just recently became a full on veggie and they've definitely provided a smoother transition for me, plus they are much more nutritious than say, ground beef.

Answer 8

meat substitutes work good in some meals, i've been vegeterian for 3 years, and vegan for 1 and i've gotten off of relying on them for protein, and to make the meal "complete"
but in some meals they're great.
tofu scramble with lifelite sausage style patties delish!

i tried the fish ones once it was aweful! it could of been the way i cooked it though...

Answer 9

The ones I've eaten have been decent & I liked them.