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Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

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Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#411

Post by codingmyway »

ergothus wrote: post #26

I've been a vegetarian for the last decade and change, and I simultaneously think that finding a cheaper, appealing alternative to meat is both a fantastic opportunity for the world and a really difficult thing. I used to love meat when I was a meat-eater, and I'm a fairly picky eater that dislikes many vegetable options. (Green peppers are nasty and food-destroying in my opinion, which immediately removes over half…

Convincing meat eaters to convert is going to be hard but just getting McDonalds to make it special on their menu could make a vast number give it a go and once they find it to be just as good or even better, and eventually cheaper, then a good portion of that resistance will have been overcome.

McDonalds gets hit disproportionately by anti-capitalists and environmentalists and is always trying to improve their green credentials so I'm sure they'll be working on their own recipe.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#412

Post by pyre »

mikekchar wrote: post #292
pyre wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My Japanese friends tell me there's no point in me trying to eat there. The only option that doesn't involve seafood is "monk training food", which is...not intended to be tasty. I'm vegan an eat Japanese food all of the time. It really just depends on the restaurant. Examples: - Tempura batter can be vegan if they don't add eggs to it. Some restaurants do, and some don't. - Sushi rice is basically sugar, salt and…

Eating vegetarian in Japan is hard. I gave up eating vegetarian in restaurants pretty soon after I arrived here (and gave up eating vegetarian at all after I got married ;-) ). A couple of comments: - In Japan, I have never heard of anyone one using eggs in tempura batter. You can be almost 100% sure that it's OK. So vegetable tempura is a good bet. Probably the most safe is cold soba noodles with tempura. - Vegetabl…

> However, this brings me to the only strategy that worked for me consistently in restaurants. It turns out that Japan has it's own traditional vegan cuisine. It is called "shoujin ryouri". It is a Buddhist way of eating (the "monk training food" noted by the GP). It is composed of very traditional Japanese dishes and is wonderful. Although there is much more to shoujin ryouri than just eating vegetables (and they also avoid alliums like garlic and onions for some reason), it is a word that every Japanese restaurant worker will understand completely.

This. I had some vegan friends that spent some time in Thailand and there are similar things. You just have to know the "secret code word" for vegan-type food. IIRC, restaurants in Thailand that have a yellow flag outside are marking that they serve food acceptable to a particular religious order of monks (or something of the sort).

That said, I was mostly referring to eating at Japanese restaurants in the West. I realize that eating in such a way in Japan itself is somewhat difficult.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#413

Post by pyre »

fakemeatsubs wrote: post #235
pyre wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, gelatin is considered vegetarian by some, or at least there are some vegetarians that don't realize that gelatin is an animal product (just some sort of "mystery" ingredient, I guess).

Going by wiki, I believe there are non-animal sources or substitutes to gelatin "Partial, nonanimal alternatives to gelatin include the seaweed extracts agar and carrageenan, as well as pectin and konjac.".

There are substitutes. I'm not arguing that. I'm saying that many people will see gelatin itself as vegetarian or as some sort of "mystery" ingredient that they don't really know the source of. I didn't know the source of gelatin until I was iat university, for example.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#415

Post by VLM »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #319
VLM wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With all due respect we can agree on your factual observations, yet while you're pessimistic about replacing a top quality perfectly grilled London Broil steak, I'm feeling optimistic about replacing a mcdonalds hamburger, which also is immediately recognizable as almost inedible. How about that stick of beef jerky I carry when I go out hiking ... replacing something that artificial with something plant based doesn't…

"a mcdonalds hamburger, which also is immediately recognizable as almost inedible." People don't buy 6 million units per day when something is "almost inedible".

Insert standard argument about zillions of flies can't all be wrong WRT poo.

Also the argument doesn't depend on a specific "meat" or seller or sales figures. How about mystery meat products at the food store like "olive loaf bologna" not even sure what kind of animal that comes from...

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#416

Post by Declanomous »

MustardTiger wrote: post #311
Declanomous wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lactaid makes lactose-free versions of many dairy products that usually contain lactose, including ice cream. A special process isn't necessary for most cheeses since they naturally have very low levels of lactose due, since the lactose doesn't really get caught up in the coagulation. I've never had coconut ice cream, but I've had soy ice cream on several occasions and I thought it wasn't bad. (Shout-out to Chocolate…

>Lactaid makes lactose-free versions of many dairy products that usually contain lactose, including ice cream Despite the label claiming that, it isn't actually the case. Rather than removing the sugar, which is quite difficult without affecting the milk, they simply add lactase.

Interesting, I didn't know that. I knew you could add lactase to products yourself to achieve a similar effect.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#417

Post by daveheq »

Isn't the point of being a vegetarian to avoid eating meat? Then why would you want to eat vegetables that look and act like meat?

If you really prefer your food to look like meat, maybe you're not actually a vegetarian and your body is telling you to get some meat.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#418

Post by majewsky »

jfoster wrote: post #309
pombrand wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huge problem with the vegan meat replacements is that they're a lot more expensive than beef, around $7/lb vs ground beef at $3/lb. Like with coal vs solar, for imitation meat to win the market it needs to get less expensive than real meat (and taste as good).

I wonder if Asia might be a good target market. Beef (particularly imported beef) costs a lot more in Asia.

Yes, but AFAIK being able to afford meat products (or whole animals for food) is more prestigious esp. in China than in the Western world.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#419

Post by cowpewter »

MustardTiger wrote: post #302
personjerry wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

7g is much more than 0g, especially for a keto diet (as an extreme example)

The number of people who need to be on a keto diet is incredibly tiny though. Most people who are on them do not need to be, all evidence shows low carb diets are equally effective regardless of ketosis or not.

Hi. I have Type 2 diabetes and PCOS. 3 months of a ketogenic diet lowered my A1c from 6.8 ("you have diabetes") to 5.6 ("normal range"). I've also lost 25 lbs in that 3 months without feeling hungry or deprived.

I use to crave carbs, and would wind up binging on them. Now most of them do not even register as 'food' to my brain. However, on days when I eat maybe a few too many berries instead of sticking to green veggies, I can feel those cravings trying to come back. We're talking an amount that maybe pushes my daily net carb intake to the 50-60g range instead of the 20-30g range, not something that would push me over 100g. A ketogenic diet is definitely best for my health. I would rather eat a ketogenic diet than suffer the eventual consequences of diabetes - blindness, amputation, dialysis, and death.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#420

Post by hx87 »

Manishearth wrote: post #196
walrus01 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I enjoy Indian vegetarian food, as a person that does eat meat, there are also a bewildering variety of dishes possible with the same spices and ingredients with meat added. One example is what you can find in Pakistani cuisine where the vast majority of the population is Muslim and does eat meat. There is of course a great deal of culinary overlap in the Punjab region, food is much older than the 1947 par…

Oh, nonvegetarian food from the subcontinent can be amazing. Even from Hindu-majority areas -- Indian (or even Hindu) vegetarians are the minority (30%), just a generally affluent and vocal minority. Aside from beef, of course.

Not to mention pork as well--it seems like in a lot of places with arid climates and Islamic influence, people don't eat pork even if there is no religious prohibition per se. That's why I like Greek, Goan and northwestern Chinese food--it has all the tastiness of middle eastern & central/south Asian food, but with my favorite meat.
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