vegan meats can it be used the same as real thing.

[lfoxr deactivated]

It is easy to cook vegan burgers and sausages and
have them taste like meat. but will the vegan
versions work on taste if replaced in dishes.
Will vegan versions work as a one to one
replacement in dishes, like chili con carne, toad
in hole, cottage pie, hachis parmentier and other
meat flavored dishes.

[Amyw Profile]

I don’t understand, you’re saying it’s easy to cook vegan subs and have them taste like meat , but would they work in traditional meat dishes ? Surely if you can get meat alternatives that are a good substitute, they’ll taste good in whatever you use them .

I think meat substitutes vary enormously though I find most sausages pretty good . I tend to find I need to ramp up the seasonings a little bit to replace the meat flavour . Bisto red gravy is vegan so useful for things like cottage pie .

There’s also the option to replace meat with beans /pulses or tofu too

[scullion Profile]

yes, most can but i wouldn't know if the taste would be the same as i haven't eaten 'real' meat for over fifty years - and also don't know what meat substitutes (and their qualities) you get in the colonies.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

You'd have to elaborate on what substitute you were using but personally I think a lot of flavour in a meat dish comes from the fat and juices.

To replace that flavour in a dish with things like soy mince, jackfruit, cauliflower etc or even beans, I find you need to add more of the usual herbs, spices and other flavourings (such as tomato paste) to get a good flavour. I think that is why strongly flavoured dishes such as curries or BBQ sauce seem to be so widely used, which not everyone likes.

I feel it is best to approach both vegetarian and vegan dishes as dishes in their own right rather than taking meat as a baseline and trying to tweak. Becoming skilled at blending what may at first be ingredients not used in that way before brings a whole new dimension of new flavours and ideas.

[Gruney Profile]

I've messed about over the years, trying to use different meat substitutes in excellent new meat recipes I've discovered, for the odd occasion my veggie daughter visits. Without exception, I have been disappointed. When she was young, and I was looking after her, I became quite proficient at preparing veggie meals, and know how good they can be. I bought Pru Leith's Vegetarian Bible, and learned all the ins and outs. If it's a great meat meal - it's a great meat meal; why try to turn a delicious veggie meal into something it isn't?

It'll be vegetarian fish next.

Oh - my daughter's name isn't Blod.

[Amyw Profile]

I’ve said before in previous conversations , I don’t see the problem with m asking vegetarian versions of “meat” dishes . If you can make a dish equally as tasty , why not .

As I’ve said I like vegetarian sausages and have often made veggie sausage casseroles M&S do an amazing “chicken” Kiev and you honestly wouldn’t tell the difference . I’ve never found veggie mince I like so I’d I’m making a bolognaise/lasagna type dish , I tend to sub the mince with more veggies slightly chunkily chopped up , to give a bit of texture

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There are so many different meat substitutes

There’s a brand of frankfurter style vegan sausages called Tivalli sold round here, I think they are horrible but they are quite popular, especially with the Jewish community, as of course they aren’t subject to the dietary restrictions on meat. Some people find them convincingly meat like.

I’ve cooked many vegan/vegetarian sausage or burger patties, some bought, some homemade but most don’t really attempt to be like meat, just to be something that tastes good when cooked and served like a sausage or burger

The only real meat substitute I have used is good old TVP (textured vegetable protein), otherwise known as soy chunks or soy mince. Again, not really convincing as meat but perfectly edible cooked slowly in a well flavoured sauce for chilli or goulash or similar

I haven’t tried any of the new wave stuff like impossible burgers, and I’d like to try them once out of curiosity but probably wouldn’t bother routinely

[jeral Profile]

My vegan friends, vegan for about three years, use all types and do like the new mixed versions. I think it's the texture they miss so the new ones especially are good at replacing that. They are now expert in simple pan stir fries of only veg so have learned lots of new (to them) spices and mixed spices like za'atar.

So bottom line re one-for-one: texture probably, flavour less so and benefits from being enhanced. Their favourite is the fake duck pieces, so if they have a favourite it must taste of something! Sorry, can't say as I eat no meat or fakes.

[herbidacious Profile]

What scullion says, only a mere 34 years for me.
I think you just have to try this and find out what works for you and what you like. I usually make chilli with Quorn mince. Toad in the Hole certainly works.For some reason the idea of making lasagne or curry with faux meat does not appeal at all. I have shied away from very meaty dishes (where meat is the star) like beouf bourgninon.
A slow cook is unlikely to benefit the faux meat product in the way it would meat. (I think...)

I enjoy faux meat from time to time but am not aiming at authenticity - just change and also useful if I want to have a vegan meal. (Authenticity - as far as I can reconize it - would actually be disturbing. not sure if I want to have a moving Mountains burger again.) Just after something that tastes good and has a good texture.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

It is easy to cook vegan burgers and sausages and
have them taste like meat

Totally disagree. They don´t taste like meat at all. The texture and the flavour are both different.
However, vegan "burgers" and "sausages" can be tasty, providing you spend a little time playing with the ingredients.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I haven't tried the newest products but that's mostly because I've not found a pretend sausage that I liked, in spite of other people's enthusiasm. I much prefer the ready made Glamorgan sausages or cauliflower cheese grills to the products that try to be like meat. At home I'd rather make lentil burgers/croquettes.

Like most people, we've been working our way through the store cupboard this past fortnight. The other evening I did a stir fried noodle dish using ingredients I'd bought last year at Loon Fung. This included a tin of mock duck. It was OK, looked a bit like duck, tasted nothing like duck. We enjoy tofu dishes, if I ever see the ingredients again I'll have a stab at Scully's Burmese variation.

[herbidacious Profile]

I've had a tin of mock duck in my cupboard for a long time. Every now and again I pick it up, thinking I will use it, then chicken (!) out.

Quite possibly if it were called gluten-based protein it might have been eaten by now. The tinned aspect is off-putting too.

[Pampy Profile]

Don't you duck out of using it?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Herbi - if you´ve never cooked with mock duck then now´s the time to have a quack at it....

[scullion Profile]

waddle you think will happen if you use it?

[Gruney Profile]

I canardly imagine.

[jeral Profile]

If you post a pic of the duck tin, I'll ask Sakkarin to Photoshop "Outdoor reared" on to it. That should make it more appetising.

Another enticement for duck eaters to learn to like mock duck is that ducks are often reared on dry land never ever seeing water. Must drive the poor things mad.