Question about faux meat...?

Question

Hey, I'm planning on becoming a vegetarian but I have to admit, I will miss the taste of meat. Does faux meat actually taste good and does it taste like meat?
Please answer =)

Answer 1

It's been my experience that some fake meats taste better than others. I prefer Morningstar Grillers Prime over their regular Grillers and over Boca and Garden Burger. I am addicted to Morningstar Buffalo Chicken Nuggets. I think Light Life Chicken Strips are fantastic. Light Life also makes a great hot dog. Looks, smells, and tastes like Oscar Mayer - just be careful of cook time! Light Life makes a great fake balogna, but I think their other lunch 'meats' leave a lot to be desired. They have a Gimme Lean ground sausage, that when spiced just right is really good. I have to say Garden Burger just doesn't do it for. I think it tastes exactly like what people think veggie food tastes like - sawdust. But that could just be me.

Basically, if you want a meat substitute, you are going to have to experiment and find what you think is good. I have yet to find a good bacon or a good fake chicken breast. Taste and texture are always wrong on both. I have found a half way decent fake bbq rib. Those are my three weaknesses.

Do a search online for different brands. Some are very easy to find in most grocery stores at this point, but sometimes the entire line is not carried. You can always ask the manager if they'll order it.

Get some veggie cookbooks so you aren't relying solely on manufactured fake meats. Tofu and beans have so many great uses - and are great sources for protein.

Answer 2

There are good faux meats and bad faux meats. None are really good enough to fool me (the only time I've had a faux good enough to fool me was at this year's Taking Action for Animals banquet with a scarily realistic faux chicken breast). There's a German company called Viana, and you can get their stuff at www.veganessentials.com and www.veganstore.com. They have a pretty good veggie "chickin" filet, but I can still tell it's not chicken.

Gardenburger has a handful of vegan items. The Riblets remind me of McDeathburger's Riblet sandwich. The Flame-Grilled burger is pretty good.

Amy's Kitchen makes a few varieties of veggie burger. I prefer the Texas burger.

Yves, Tofurkey, and Lightlife all make veggie deli slices. Yves makes a good taco mix--just fry it up in a pan. Dice some tomatoes, shred some lettuce, cut up some onions, get some taco shells, and you've got taco night.

Remember, for real meat, it's all in the seasoning. It's the same with faux meat. Experiment to find what you like best.

Answer 3

I think some of it is pretty good and some sucks. You'll jsut have to try different varieties until you find what suits you. I like Yves brand for deli slices and "ground beef." Gardenburger makes a good vegan sausage patty. I couldn't really tell you anymore whether they taste like meat because it's been too long. It's more a texture thing and the fact that most faux meat kind of takes on the taste of whatever you're cooking it with. If you use faux ground beef for tacos, it'll taste like taco seasoning and have a texture similar to ground beef. Works for me, although I try not to eat too much of the processed stuff. It takes time to rethink meal planning; at first it's easy to make the same stuff you're used to with faux meat replacing the real, then after awhile as your tastes expand you might stop relying on the fake stuff as much.

Answer 4

It will have the consistency of meat. And I find that hotdog sausages and vegetarian bacon taste just as good as their meat equivalent. Some vegetarian "meat" is too spicy or really bland, but Quorn are good, as are Tesco and Asda own brand foods. Shop around, but be prepared to taste some awful stuff before you find what you like.

Answer 5

What you need to understand about analogs (the technical name for faux meat) is that they are *much* lower in fat than what you're used to! As a rule they're even lower in fat than the low-fat animal based products.

That's important because fat carries flavor, you'll like the taste of any analog product a lot more if you cook it in oil.

Since you aren't yet a vegetarian try this experiment. Fry a pound of lean ground meat like normal, then place it in a sieve to allow fat to drain. Now pour two cups of boiling water through the cooked, drained meat to remove the rest of the fat. Now taste the de-fatted ground meat.

THAT is what the analog ground meat products taste like! The same holds true for any other analog, it's designed to taste like fat-free animal stuff. If you keep that in mind and add some fat to them you'll like them a lot more.

Answer 6

It will taste good over a little time, not right away
If you are a junk food offender, as so many Americans are, you undoubtedly find it difficult to enjoy good, wholesome grains and vegetables. This is because your body has become conditioned by repeated use ond overuse to prefer refined and chemically treated foods. You are not used to having to chew your food well because these refined foods have so little substance that they require virtually no effort to swallow, especially when you chase them down with soda etc.

If you are used to sugar filled shakes and fries etc, then it may take some time to adjust. But when you do, you open up a new door and your eating experience (Veg*n) will explode with new flavours. You will look back on meat and think, how in the devil did I eat that garbage.
Best of luck.

Answer 7

i've got yet to discover a vegan veggie burger that tastes stable, yet decrease back whilst i became purely vegetarian, i myself cherished Morningstar Farms' Gardenburger patties. maximum of their products are stable. Boca's products are frequently vegan, and their fake poultry products are relatively stable. relatively the distinctly spiced stuff. yet do no longer even hassle with the universal burgers. They style like crap. Yves lunch-meat substitutes are alright, yet somewhat rubbery. Tofurky's a realllly stable sort for turkey substitutes. (They even sell total Thanksgiving tofu-turkeys!) they're harder to discover, yet fairly scrumptious. final yet no longer least, each and every thing Lightlife makes is incredible. Their spicing is unrivaled. actually attempt their products. they seem to be somewhat costly, yet soo well worth it! in spite of the fact that if not one of the above stated ingredients style stable awesome now, after a mutually as you start to ignore what actual meat tastes like, and after a pair of three hundred and sixty 5 days you will start to love fake meat. (unhappy yet genuine. lol)

Answer 8

I think that fake meat tastes terrible. Obviously some of your others answers feel differently. Why not try it yourself and see if you like it. It's only a matter of opinion and everyone is entitled to one.

Answer 9

Some does. The Morningstar 'chicken' patties taste exactly like chicken to me. Burger King has an okay veggie burger, same with Subway.

Answer 10

The longer you live without meat, the less you'll want it. Soy burgers and dogs do not taste like meat, but the texture is similar. Too much processed soy isn't good for you- stick with tofu and tempeh dishes and eat lots of beans, whole grains, and nuts. And avoid soy milk!