In this thread one poster praises a canned jackfruit as a “meat substitute” while noting that it has essentially no protein.
Another poster expressed puzzlement expressing the perspective that “one of the points of meat substitutes in vegetarian cuisine was to provide some of the missing protein.”
Obviously the op was looking for the mouth feel of meat, and isn’t looking for its protein. (And feels that lower protein than most Americans, including many vegetarians, eat would be healthier.)
How about you? What are you most concerned about replacing with a “meat substitute”? What does that phrase mean to you?
I want something that has the flavor and savor of meat. I don’t give a rip about protein because I go meatless so seldom. But I can enjoy a nice portobello burger or eggplant stir-fry or seitan Bar B Q once in a while.
If I use a meat substitute it’s to take the place of ground meat in spaghetti sauce, tacos, or something seasoned where I can taste the other stuff more than the meat anyway. It needs to have the texture of ground beef or turkey without adding offensive flavors.
Since dinner is when I get most of my protein, I am looking for a lower fat, high protein ingredient.
We thought this one was pretty good, but still usually stick to lean turkey since I don’t see a lot of huge advantages unless we go full-on vegetarian.
Definitely taste and texture. The idea that vegans or vegetarians are “missing protein” is a bit misguided. I think it would be quite difficult to consume enough calories in a day yet some how not get enough protein.
I think it can depend on what kind of vegetarian you are. A good friend of mine will eat products from animals, like eggs and cheese. His philosophy is “an animal should not have to die for me to eat”. That said he eats mostly raw veggies, fruits, seeds, beans and nuts. And a lot of kale and chard based smoothies. He claims this is what we evolutionary speaking were designed to eat and digest. I’m not sure he’s wrong. He’s quite healthy.
I’m not that keen on “meat substitutes”, particularly when I like vegetables, legumes, fruit, grain, nuts, and so forth on their own merits. I don’t need to eat meat every day.
But, if pressed - mouth feel and texture. Also, umami. If you’re going for a meat substitute umami is very important. Hence the popularity of things like mushrooms and soy sauce for these sorts of questions.
nothing, really. If I’m going to eat a veg dish, I’d rather it be something that was meant to be meatless/vegetarian from the get-go. I don’t really bother with fake-meat. I’ll devour bowls of chana masala or mounds of falafel balls before I’ll give textured vegetable protein the time of day.
What Broomstick said, but i’m a sucker for a good gas-station sleazyburger made with half (all?) textured soy protein. I’m in Illinois so I gotta love the soy! And corn. If I can eat milk and egg products I could go veggie seamlessly. But not vegan. Discover had an article about plant communication and intelligence I would like to show to a vegan. He’d never eat again!
Me too! In fact, I generally prefer them to hamburger (I’m not a vegetarian, obvs.)
In general I think different meat substitutes are good for different things. Seitan makes a great replacement for fajita strips in both taste and texture!
My standard for all sorts of food is the same: I want it to taste good. In the course of eating things that taste good, I generally end up meeting my various nutritional requirements anyway, so I don’t worry about that. And if one particular meal happens to be low in something, well, the next one probably won’t be.
Now, if I were feeling a craving for (say) pork, then I probably wouldn’t have jackfruit, because a craving probably means that I am a little short on something (for a meat craving, probably protein). But actual cravings (as opposed to just “in the mood for”) are pretty rare.
I think the gold standard in my mind is Falafel. It doesn’t pretend to be meat, but it holds a similar role in pita sandwiches and other middle eastern dishes as meat does, and it tastes amazing.
