Topic: Plant based alternative products Review

[6pairsofshoes]

I've been slowly working my way through a series of plant based burgers and sausages.  Several of us limit meat intake or are vegetarians so I thought we could share experiences with various products.  I'm not 100% sure that the same items are sold on both sides of the pond, but I'll start.

Boca Burger (soy protein concentrate base w/wheat gluten)
original American burger:  very good, among some of the better alternative burgers.
Vegan version of burger:  not as good as the original American version
Chicken patty:  very good, kind of like a "Chickwich" which is a processed disc of chicken breaded and fried like a hockey puck.  I like these with salsa on them.
Spicy chicken patty:  a bit intense but still flavorful.

Beyond Meat Burger (pea protein base):  These are super rich and the closest thing to a regular hamburger that meat alternatives have produced.   I used to love one of these on a toasted English muffin with barbeque sauce.  I'd cut them in half because they're so dense.  Since they decided to substitute avocado oil in the mix, I don't care for them as much since they seem off, like maybe a bit rancid, which is a shame.  They are also pretty high in calories so not a great diet choice.

Impossible burger (soy protein concentrate)
These used to be my second favorite, but lately I prefer them after Beyond Meat switched to avocado oil.  Nice fried up on a bun with some barbeque sauce.

Quorn (mycoprotein)
regular burgers, no longer sold. These were among the best on the market, based on processed mold proteins. I'd expect to be eating these on an asteroid belt some day.  It's not clear why they discontinued these.  (Apparently, some people had allergic reactions and, like me, many in the U.S. thought they were derived from mushrooms, but that's not the case).
Chicken cutlets.  It was hard for me to choke one of these down, dry and flavorless.

Please add to the list any that you have tried and can recommend (either to buy or to avoid).

[8ullfrog]

First one I had was the Impossible Whopper. I enjoyed it, but I can taste and don't particularly enjoy soy.
Beyond I had at Carl's Jr, and the pea protein burger actually impressed me, but apparently they have massive business problems. I've never bought their ground product at the supermarket, and apparently I'm not alone.

Vegan products, I don't think I've ever been impressed, mostly egg replacements, and no dice. I don't think I've ever "enjoyed" any of the knockoff milks either.

I remember morning star hot dogs being pushed pretty hard in the 1990's, but they were HORRIBLE.

Quorn is a sin against humanity. It's sweet AND mushroomy, and apparently there wasn't any mushroom in it, which makes that WORSE.

[6pairsofshoes]

That reminds me, I have used Impossible fake ground beef for a substitute in turkey chili and it was a reasonable substitute.  I did it for vegetarians I know.  Generally, I prefer the turkey.  As processed as ground turkey is, at least I have a fundamental understanding of the ingredients.

Impossible sausages were surprisingly good.

Generally, the Morningstar Farms products don't impress me.  The spicy black bean burger is ok, I guess, but there's a point at which, I'd rather experiment with making it myself, since none of these products is inexpensive.

I like Gardein products, generally.  The Mandarin Chickin is good if you produce a stirfry of vegetables to go with the chicken strips and the sauce is nice, with all of it ladled over rice.  They used to have fake crabcakes and I was amazed that they actually tasted like crab cakes.  They have fishless fish sticks that are pretty good with cocktail sauce.  I think their porkless pork bites are ok, too.

We tried to use the Beyond Chicken chicken strips but they didn't seem worth the bother when put in a stir fry. 

We had Dr. Praeger's mushroom risotto burgers and they were crap.  I'd rather just have the mushroom risotto.  Why try to dress it up as a burger and fry it?  None of their other burgers ever did much for me, either.

[8ullfrog]

I love soy sauce, but sometimes "textured soy protein" makes me sick as a dog. And it's entirely too common as filler in a meat product.

[smokester]

Just noticed this post and I'm posting so it shows up in my list. I haven't the time to reply right now but this topic definitely interests me considering I haven't eaten meat for 33 years.

[8ullfrog]

I admire your discipline. This is a decent thread.

The thing is, I think a lot of the meat alternatives are trying to be "just as good" instead of being their own thing. Like when I've been "budget limited" I've made a refried bean and cheese "sandwich" and that wasn't half bad. I don't need a science experiment. In fact, a lot of pushback beyond and impossible got hit with was how incredibly unhealthy their formulas were.

I will say one time when I was food limited, a friend talked up falafel to an unreasonable amount. I was expecting like croissant mixed with cheese in a nugget form, and instead... it was falafel. He never once mentioned chickpea. I don't care for chickpea.

[6pairsofshoes]

I think some falafel is made with fresh ground fava beans.  A lot of the falafel you get in middle eastern restaurants in the US is made from dried ground chickpeas and it's like eating spicy fried sawdust balls.  You need to lube it up with tahini paste to choke it down.  So I get why you'd balk at it.  But there is some falafel that is pretty palatable.

I generally make hummos with canned chickpeas, and add tahini, garlic, and lemon juice, salt and ground cumin.  It's delicious and it freezes well.  It's good on wraps with sliced fresh vegetables like garden tomatoes and cucumbers.  There's a good deal of pretty crappy commercial hummos available with all kinds of weird additives.  But it's so simple to make, I don't get why one would bother unless you don't have cooking facilities.  It's best made in a food processor since blenders usually struggle to puree the beans.  I generally run the garlic through a press before chucking it into the food processor.

[8ullfrog]

I'm sorry I do not see myself becoming a chickpea fan.

On reddit there was a discussion on "vegan cheese" and I argued there really isn't a good "alternative" to the real thing. You can get lactose free in a strong cheddar, and cabot is like the best for that, but if your line is rennet... well cabot still does that.

I have never once enjoyed a dairy free "cheese" and have actually been horrified when accidentally buying a queso that isn't actually cheese. Especially when it is in small print.

[6pairsofshoes]

Vegan cheese is usually some kind of oddly concocted solid oil thing.  I'm not a fan, either.  I once went to a friend's house (he's vegan) for lunch and he served me caprese salad with fresh tomatoes, basil and this vegan cheese.  It was palatable, but I really would have preferred real mozzarella.  Life's too short to live eating guilt laden stuff like that.  I can see if you really have an issue digesting dairy products, but otherwise, you might as well give up.

[8ullfrog]

Ethically, Rennet should have got me. It's horrifying, and no one has come up with a humane alternative.

Meanwhile, I like cheese.

It's a bad ethical compromise. The first time I learned the reality of meat production hit me I tried to go veggie.

I failed.

I respect those that can hold. But the alternatives still suck. I talked about morning star dogs on reddit and people tried to defend them.

Like no, they still taste like poo.

[6pairsofshoes]

There's a certain amount of savagery involved in eating anything.  Kill plants.  I'm sure they mind.  I used to fish and crab when I was a child and what one must do to those animals, usually when they're still alive, to prep them for cooking is pretty brutal.  The most you can do to absolve yourself is to show gratitude for the sacrifice and not to be wasteful or greedy.

On a lighter note, the first time I caught a soft crab, I brought it home and showed it to my mother.  She explained that it had to be cleaned before we could eat it.  So I took it into the bathroom and bathed it in the sink, working up a good lather with the Ivory soap.  I don't think the crab was a fan of that procedure.  But it sure beats having someone cut your face off and tear out your gills.