# Does anyone think raw vegan food tastes better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243 "2012-12-17T00:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/21 "2012-12-17T15:09:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > fill it with refried or black beans I totally agree with you overall, but refried beans are usually made with lard. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/22 "2012-12-17T15:29:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Agreed. I’m also one of those people who prefer their green beans braised for hours so they don’t taste of chlorophyl. (Well, once in awhile, I do like fresh, lightly sauteed green beans, but for the most part, I prefer the long-cooked versions.) > > I also do like vegetarian and vegan foods, but cannot imagine ever going on a raw diet. Totally agree on the green beans, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/23 "2012-12-17T16:04:52Z")
My former roommate went on a raw food kick for a while and I’m sure would say nothing but good things about it – and I have to admit, the amount of energy she had at this time was INSANE (and annoying!) But of the things that I tried, I found every single one of them to be … uh … unpalatable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/24 "2012-12-17T21:15:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I totally agree with you overall, but refried beans are usually made with lard. Often, yes, but they don’t need to be. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/25 "2012-12-17T21:16:36Z")
REAL food tastes better. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/26 "2012-12-17T21:56:06Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > REAL food tastes better. That is all. I definitely agree with you there. I would rather just have limited portions than some low fat low carb low sugar substituted with some crap garbage. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/27 "2012-12-17T21:58:46Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > Hope I can ask an honest question without poisoning the well or offending anyone. > > I stumbled on a Youtube video of people making raw vegan tacos; lettuce was > the “shell”, and crushed walnuts and chili powder were the “meat”. > > Does anyone think “Gee, this tastes so much better than a Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell”, or are raw vegans (or for that matter even regular vegans or vegetarians) doing it for moral or health reasons, rather than taste preferrence? Not this guy. The Lime Truck and Seabirds are probably the best at creating a meatless mouthfeel and taste, but nothing beats a grilled medium rare steak or a fried pork chop, or smoked beef brisket. Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/28 "2012-12-17T22:06:24Z")
People are in denial of how much conditioning reflects their taste. Sure, you are a slob that eats garbage 24/7. When you eat spinach, it is going to taste repulsive. Having said that, there is some natural, innate tendency to want fatty and possibly sweet foods… but that doesn’t mean that healthy food tastes bad. I am not a raw foodist, but that “taco” sounds alot better than a Taco Hell Gordita Crunch. Taco Bell tastes bad. It is poorly made food, from bad ingredients. Sure I would rather have a black bean - sweet potato taco, with avocado and sharp cheddar on a soft corn tortilla with some habanero hot sauce… but I would take the lettuce, walnut thing over Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/29 "2012-12-17T22:30:55Z")
Celery loaded with blue cheese is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/30 "2012-12-17T22:31:29Z")
I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian but I’ve always preferred vegetables raw. Most of that is probably due to my mother’s awful terrible horrible cooking. As a kid I’d refuse to eat most of the side dishes she cooked but would happily munch on beans, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and even potatoes raw. She got in the habit of putting some aside for me and then boiling those designated for the rest of the family for the required 2 hours. I still like raw vegetables and it’s one of my favorite things to snack on but I do usually eat the vegetables with my meals cooked now. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/31 "2012-12-18T03:41:51Z")
Most vegetables are best either raw, or very lightly-cooked. Off the top of my head, though, potatoes and most beans are better cooked (though still not overcooked). ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/32 "2012-12-18T06:41:03Z")
I’ve had the “so why did you become a vegan/vegetarian” conversation dozens of times, and have occasionally come across someone who says something like “Well, I don’t even really like meat anyway,” but I’ve never heard someone say “I became vegan/etarian because I preferred the foods.” It seems most people come to prefer their diets over time, which isn’t surprising, but the initial reason they became vegetarian IME has _always_ been some variation of one or more of the following: 1. It’s healthier 2. It’s better for the environment 3. It’s humane I don’t buy meat very often simply because it doesn’t keep long, so I’m frequently what I call an “accidental vegetarian;” I’ll realize as I bite into a burger at the bar that I haven’t actually eaten meat in 2 weeks, but through no conscious effort. I like and prepare lots of vegetarian and vegan foods, so I don’t have anything against them per se. But most of the “raw vegan” things I’ve had have been pretty terrible. Not because they’re made of raw fruits and vegetables, but because someone took a bunch of raw fruits and vegetables and set out to make an imitation of a cooked meat product. I remember thinking “Why wouldn’t you just eat a salad and a big bowl of pistachios, instead of chopping up the pistachios, mixing them with a bunch of spices, and wrapping them in a lettuce leaf?” ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/33 "2012-12-18T09:30:29Z")
Vegetarian, vegan, and raw are really different things. Vegetarian is so broad as to be virtually indistinguishable from non vegetarian food if you want it to be. With vegan, you are mostly missing milk products. For many people milk and cheese are unpleasantly similar to mucus texture, and the absence of them gives food a cleaner, sharper taste and texture. But then if you miss them there are substitutes. I have my doubts about soy cheese, but I prefer rice milk to regular milk by a lot. There are certain vegetables that need to be cooked, either to destroy harmful elements or to make certain nutrients available. But there are plenty that taste better raw. Definitely the texture is richer. Compare the difference between a chicken fillet and a ground up nugget. Also note that raw food that has been sitting in the fridge is not quite the same thing as raw foodists eat. I’ve found that much more important than the genre of food is the quality of the ingredients and skill of the preparer. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/34 "2012-12-18T10:46:22Z")
I don’t get the concept of raw food. What’s the philosophy behind it? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/35 "2012-12-18T15:00:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t get the concept of raw food. What’s the philosophy behind it? It’s supposed to be healthier, for various real and/or new-agey reasons. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/36 "2012-12-18T15:14:21Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It’s supposed to be healthier, for various real and/or new-agey reasons. That basically add up to “Fire Bad.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Aizle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Aizle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aizle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/37 "2012-12-18T15:26:19Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > Does anyone think “Gee, this tastes so much better than a Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell”, or are raw vegans (or for that matter even regular vegans or vegetarians) doing it for moral or health reasons, rather than taste preferrence? Your body is designed to like what it eats. So over time, the answer to your question is yes, vegans actually prefer those foods to “normal” fare. Having personally changed my diet to eat more healthily, I’ve noticed that if I go back to eating some foods that I loved in the past, but that were particularly greasy or fatty that they don’t taste good anymore. An easy example for most people to use to help understand this is milk. Chances are that at some point you drank whole or 2% milk and then at some point switched to 2% or skim. When you first switched, the new milk tasted “thin” or not as good. But after a while you became used to it. And if you ever went back (after having been on the new milk for a long time) and tried whole or 2% milk it was terrible, like you were drinking cream. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/38 "2012-12-18T17:19:24Z")
The raw foodists say that unprocessed, uncooked food has natural enzymes that are inactivated by cooking, and that your body NEEDS these enzymes to be healthy. They REALLY push the envelope, though. Supposedly, the cutoff temperature where the enzymes are inactivated is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. So now they are preparing dishes with a dehydrator. The various ingredients are chopped and blended into goop, and the goop is dehydrated into a leather, and woo HOO, we’ve got a new food on the menu! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/39 "2012-12-18T17:24:47Z")
I have a few friends really ‘into’ the vegan ‘scene’ (as much as it’s a ‘scene’). The consensus among those friends is that giving up cooked food is much harder than giving up meat/dairy. Sure, they’ll have raw food from time to time - even a complete meal - but giving up warm, cooked food entirely? No way. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243/40 "2012-12-18T17:37:10Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It’s supposed to be healthier, for various real and/or new-agey reasons. Don’t tell that to [Richard Wrangham](http://www.npr.org/2010/08/02/128849908/food-for-thought-meat-based-diet-made-us-smarter) ;). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-think-raw-vegan-food-tastes-better/644243.md?page=3)