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Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

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Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#391

There's certainly a trope of "...but I can't give up cheese" and as someone who went from vegetarian to vegan: Yeah, cheese is hard to replicate. But also: your body and tastes adapt. After a few weeks off of dairy our memories of those old textures and mouth feel start to fade and are replaced. Humans don't like changes in patterns, but at the same time are relatively quick to adapt to new ones. There's real addicti…

If the importance of dairy was invented after the war, why did humans evolve a tolerance to it?

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What were you using for the "real deal" though? If it was a frozen patty that included textured vegetable protein and other things alongside beef, as so many do, I can understand. I can't understand mixing up an Impossible burger with a decently cooked 100% beef patty.

70/30 beef from a local butcher. No additives.

Why put something else than meat though? I never understood this.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#393
post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. For me, dairy increase respiratory mucus production which makes me feel a little congested and increases the frequency amd severity of upper respiratory tract infections. It also hurts my digestive system. Both are subtle initially and ramp up with continued dairy consumption, so I can tolerate small infrequent amounts. I suspect many more people have similar issues but don't realise.

Yeah I have exactly this. I tolerate small amounts but I avoid it on a daily basis. And I do love cheese but ain’t worth it. Lactose-free (aka adding lactase) helps sligthly but it seems it’s not the only thing causing trouble to me. All in all, we’re lucky we have alternatives.

Me three. I used to get colds that would regularly ripen into sinus and ear infections, and I haven't experience a single such infection in several years since switching to about 95% plant-based eating.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#394
post #2

> Vegan Cheese Is Ready to Compete With Dairy. Is the World Ready to Eat It? I’m vegetarian and my partner is vegan - I’ve tried every vegan cheese on the shelf. The answer is no because it’s not even close to ready. It might pass an initial taste test where you say, that’s not so bad, but then you pick up on all the things it’s missing. Sometimes the aftertaste is terrible, sometimes the texture or versatility. Mayb…

This does not sound like my experience at all. I'm also vegetarian and lean towards being vegan when it's easy enough. And I can't remember the last time I actually bought dairy cheese at the market that wasn't on a prepared item. I do have a bunch of vegan cheeses in my fridge though. In fact I have frequently remarked recently how amazing all the new cheeses are that I've tried.

You will get best results picking the cheese to meet your need, rather than simply trying to do anything and everything with the first thing you pick up. But even if you can't be bothered these days, it's mostly alright. I'm not even that worried about trying to melt a new vegan cheese these days. I don't have much faith it'll be particularly great, but I'm not worried about ruining anything either.

I don't foresee people running out to grab some vegan cheese to put on their real meat, but even with a truly perfect vegan cheese I think you'd have trouble getting major market penetration in that demographic.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#395
post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I totally get ethical vegetarianism, and appreciate that much animal abuse can occur within the dairy industry, but I don't think that's inherent . It's inherent. Cows, like all mammals, need to have given birth to produce milk. This means dairy cows are impregnated and give birth roughly yearly. It's entirely uneconomical to raise all of the calves, since it would effectively triple or more the cost of producing m…

>...all mammals, need to have given birth to produce milk. Wrong. Humans don't need to be pregnant or give birth to produce milk. Lactation can happen with medication or stimulation, which becomes easier as women age. If a woman is not inducing lactation with hormones, she must stimulate the breasts several times a day using hand compression or a breast pump. This is how adoptive and foster mothers breastfeed their b…

That's an interesting aside about humans; I didn't know. I think the simplification is justifiable for the explanation in this case, though.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, any reason for moving your kid from dairy to soy?

Their kid is probably not a baby cow, for starters.

many kids are baby goats, so there is that

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#397

I hate how they can obfuscate the fact that they're not dairy. Via their labels and shelf placement. I've bought them on accident. It's always obvious to me on first taste, but from the superficial supermarket look, it is not. I'd think they get the 'wings' treatment. https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/food-fight/pos...

You might be surprised to learn that "milk" and "cheese" have been used to refer to non-dairy products in many cultures and places over thousands of years. In Western Europe, it's tied to meatless Fridays and Lent, so it's a religious freedom issue. And in many other religions worldwide, too.

Sorry you were confused! Poor behavior by your grocery store.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> stop thinking of certain vegan cheeses as substitutes for animal cheeses Why do we even begin with naming vegan food products after the items they are meant to represent? "Cheese" is made from milk. "Vegan cheese" as a label is specifically targeted at being "like milk cheese" and thus intends to replicate it. If you want > Why can't it just be treated as a food in itself? we should entirely dispense with imitating…

I don't mind people calling something "vegan cheese" or "vegan milk" or "milk alternative" etc. But I do mind people calling it "cheese" or "milk" intentionally when it's a vegan alternative, revelling in the confusion, just to give the impression that they're interchangeable and it's really no big deal if you get the vegan version instead. Like, wtf is almond milk? When I was a kid, almond milk was super tasty, and…

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Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and I gave you actual "almond milk" What makes that the actual version? Almond milk as an animal milk substitute made from almonds dates back to the 1300s[0]. It's not new. I hear where you're coming from, but I also question what does and doesn't count as an "authentic" name, and I suspect a lot of it comes down to people thinking that the names they used growing up or the names they ran into first are the "real"…

Almond sherbet is the sherbet itself, not the milk drink, but I take the point. And I guess almond milk wasn't the best example to focus on, but I was referring more generally to the trend of intentional misnaming that I have observed. So, e.g., given your 'quacks like a duck' theory, I could happily cook a "mushroom risotto" with mushroomy chicken instead of actual mushroom, and that would still be a perfectly fine…

Cheese and milk products made from allergens (cashews and other nuts) are pretty careful with their labeling, because people die from nut allergies every day. Your hidden-chicken risotto would make me very ill for a day or two. I always ask before ordering risotto, just in case the restaurant is being careless.

How is it intentional misnaming to use a term like "Almond Milk", which has been used in English back to the origin of the language? Care to look up how long "rice milk" in Japanese has contained the Japanese word for milk? ミルク and ライスミルク.

Re: Vegan cheese has quietly but steadily infiltrated mainstream supermarket shelves

#400
post #397

I hate how they can obfuscate the fact that they're not dairy. Via their labels and shelf placement. I've bought them on accident. It's always obvious to me on first taste, but from the superficial supermarket look, it is not. I'd think they get the 'wings' treatment. https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/food-fight/pos...

You might be surprised to learn that "milk" and "cheese" have been used to refer to non-dairy products in many cultures and places over thousands of years. In Western Europe, it's tied to meatless Fridays and Lent, so it's a religious freedom issue. And in many other religions worldwide, too. Sorry you were confused! Poor behavior by your grocery store.

Yea, but aren't those items obviously not milk or cheese?
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