h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

without a doubt this is the most foul stuff I have ever eaten! You know the random tofu and nut creation that they make vegetarian sausages out of? Ick! But I don't understand the motivation... we don't want to eat meat so you think you'll feed us something designed to look and taste like meat?????
Anyhoo, don't use this stuff. I once had a spaghetti bolognese made out of the stuff and it's just foul. Snausages I'm quite happy to live without and it's so easy to make a vege-burger out of any vegetables available plus a tbsp flour to each egg until it pattifies and this tastes DELICIOUS even if all you have is pumpkin and tatoes so the fake meat's gotta go!

I have to agree. I'm a meat eater by choice, but will quite happily tuck into a decent vegetarian meal rather than going near something containing fake meat. It's absolutely vile!

Unfortunly I have to disagree with you. The question is: why did you turn vegetarian?
If you did it because you don't like the taste of meat than, yes, your right in not liking ther 'fake meat'.
If you're vegetarian because of ethical reasons, cause you're sory to kill animals just to eat them, then I must disagree.
Myself, I'm vegetarian for about 10 years now, because I don't thing it's right to eat animals. But it's not because of the taste of meat. I mean, I might even say that meat tastes good, but I could never appreciate it, thinking that an animal had to die for it (By the way, do you people remember that part in Hitchhiker's Guide, were they have dinner in the Restaurant at the end of the Universe, where that genetical manipulated animal comes to the table to serve himself, asking which of the part of his body they'd like to eat. F*****g ironic.) OK, but now continuing with the main point: meat might taste good, I just can't appreciate it. Human meat might even taste good. Canibals actually say that finger's cartilage is one of the best parts. But no, I could never apreciate the taste of such a thing. But if you create something which tastes good, even if it tastes like meat, but no animal had to be killed, I see nothing wrong in eating it and appreciating eat. I like those sauseges, burgers and everything less, that kind of tastes like meat, but is still free of cruelty.

Well yes, but 90 percent of them still taste like cr*p though...

Although it is true that most fake meat products do taste foul, it has to be said that as far as I can remember, when I did eat meat, most of the ready-made products containing meat also tasted foul. I think it is not so much a matter of meat/meatless but home-made/ready-made. Using ingredients such as soya mince it is more often the case of using that bit extra of each herb and spice than you did with the meat. Of course the basis of most tasty food requires a decent stock, whether it is meat or meat free! happy cooking

Fake meat is absurd. Why when with a modicum of elementary cooking ability you can make delicious food without meat or a fake, really crappy imitation of really crappy hamburgers and hot dogs? Why would you want to imitate ground up low-quality slaughterhouse (otherwise known as "meat packing factories" in the US) byproducts with lots of salt and chemicals? I'm not a vegetarian, but often do not eat much meat for a while, and if cooking for vegetarian guests won't cook meat. This is probably due also to the fact that I live in N. America and the usual quality of any meat here except fresh Canadian lamb, free range poultry and pork from a rare good butcher is abysmal and full of hormones and drugs, and besides the beef often tastes like leather or juicy cardboard. I splurge when travelling where edible quality meat and dairy products are commonly available - Here, I eat what's in season that doesn't come from a factory or make me believe that Soylent Green may actually exist.

I would have no problem eating completely vegetarian and in that case would definitely not wish to consume really poor imitations of really poor quality meat. Better just to forget about digestion and taste altogether and live off an IV drip.

Even on the barbecue, you don't need to burn flesh to make a good meal.

See... you figure that if you refuse to eat meat there must be something wrong with you. So to ease the pain of feeling rejected and depressed, you tempt yourself with things like the "lettuce burgur" or whatnot.

Or maybe the person just can't cook beyond "in microwave" -> On button...

peace.

ok, first of all there is a huge variety of 'fake meat' products, and almost as many various reasons to eat them. 'fake ground meat' is available in the US from a few different companies. some have a lot of chemicals, some are just moist soy granules. i use this all the time. i love cooking, and there are a lot of wonderful recipies that require meat. it's not that i miss eating meat, but that i want to make authentic-ish hungarian stuffed peppers.
in russia almost all the fake meat is dried soya bits in one form or another. these can also be used to replace ground meat in many traditional recipies, or ground up with veggies to make a great patty, etc etc.
i have two reasons for eating 'fake meat' products. the first is to allow me to cook a lot of recipies i otherwise couldnt. the second and even more important is that i need protein!!! all fake meat, or nearly all, is made from soy. soy is a great sorce of protein and anyone on a vegetarian or nearly diet needs this!
vegetables are great, versatile, healthy things, but they are not high in protein. you can get a lot of protein from dairy, but eating huge amounts of dairy comes with its own set of problems.
while i completely agree that 'veggie hot dogs' and 'fakin bacon' are foul-tasting piles of chemicals, i think it's a mistake to write off all 'fake meat' products.

ok, first of all there is a huge variety of 'fake meat' products, and almost as many various reasons to eat them. 'fake ground meat' is available in the US from a few different companies. some have a lot of chemicals, some are just moist soy granules. i use this all the time. i love cooking, and there are a lot of wonderful recipies that require meat. it's not that i miss eating meat, but that i want to make authentic-ish hungarian stuffed peppers.
in russia almost all the fake meat is dried soya bits in one form or another. these can also be used to replace ground meat in many traditional recipies, or ground up with veggies to make a great patty, etc etc.
i have two reasons for eating 'fake meat' products. the first is to allow me to cook a lot of recipies i otherwise couldnt. the second and even more important is that i need protein!!! all fake meat, or nearly all, is made from soy. soy is a great sorce of protein and anyone on a vegetarian or nearly diet needs this!
vegetables are great, versatile, healthy things, but they are not high in protein. you can get a lot of protein from dairy, but eating huge amounts of dairy comes with its own set of problems.
while i completely agree that 'veggie hot dogs' and 'fakin bacon' are foul-tasting piles of chemicals, i think it's a mistake to write off all 'fake meat' products.

May I reccomend Yves products, which I have enjoyed for many years.

http://www.yvesveggie.com/home.php

I agree it is silly to seek out veggie products that mimic what you are trying to avoid, but in my case I came to a modified vegetarian diet late in life so such products work for me. In addition they helped when the kids wanted *normal* looking meals packed for their school lunches.

there are two reasons that fake meat is worth keeping around. first of all is that vegetarians, like me who once ate meat and liked it, can suppliment their diets with protein that tastes somewhat how they remember meat to taste (it's been years, so i'm not all that sure anymore except for the smell). and the second is for people dieting, fake meat has less fat. personally, i never used to like chicken patties or hotdogs and i was always pissed off when i got dark meat in my mcdonald's nuggets, and i think that the fake meats resembling them taste much better. it isn't for everyone, but it is for some people. abolishing it completely is quite drastic i think.

And btw, the *fake bacon* is very often just textured vegetable protein with liquid *smoke* (literally the filtered out smoke of a smouldering fire) and salt. Not so bad for you, and I like it on potatoes.

I also use the liquid smoke to make tofu *jerky* which is firm tofu strips marinaded in it, soy sauce (Braggs if you don't want fermented), and maple syrup and then dried. Delicious!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, potatoes (we should get a drooling smiley or something, perhaps Homer-based). sorry, got a little side tracked. you mean that morningstar(?) fake bacon is made from smoke? i've always wanted to try it but i've been a bit of a coward (same with the chick pot pie in my freezer!).

I don't know about that brand, I don't know it. Look around for veggie *bacon bits* in your health food store. Even the regular supermarkets have them here- TVP, smoke, salt, seasonings.

btw, what is someone with a chicken pot pie in their freezer doing in a vegetarian thread?

not chicken, chick--morningstar makes very interesting vegi foods! i love the chick patties! yummmy! (again am missing ample drool-smiley opportunities here!)

what does btw mean?

*by the way*

and btw, here is a site of one of the liquid smoke manufacturers- I've used their product and it is good stuff.

http://www.hickoryliquidsmoke.com/

dude, that's a pretty cool site. i never would have thought to bottle that particular flavor, so it tastes like it was smoked!? how odd and yummy sounding!

so you know your way around the block (sorry, overused cliche), how long have you been a vegetarian for?

Seriously for about 8 years, I cooked for a mixed vegetarian / meat eating household before that for a few years. Don't really miss anything, although the smell of some things get me occasionally (roast lamb). I am not a full vegetarian, though, I eat goat and sheep cheese and every once and a while some sushi. I won't justify myself, I'm happy with it so I don't have a problem if someone else isn't.

ah, that would explain the liquid smoke cooking tips! so you are a chef then? yeah, my mom's chicken (smell) still gets me, that and strange smells like bacon (this i feel very odd about, i'm weird about smells). i still eat eggs and dairy, though i wish sometimes that i didn't. it's harder to give up icecream and cheese than i thought it would be. i just sort of stopped eating meat ("cold turkey") and now i find it hard to just stop other habits! i thought it was supposed to get easier! i've been off meat for almost 5 years, give or take the occasional pizza with peperoni under the cheese!!!! damn pizza delivery! and for a while, before i learned to religiously check to make sure things were vegetarian (ie. ask, get second opinion, double check, etc..), chicken based cream of broccoli soup--though i quit once i realized. huh, it must be a mental barrier keeping me from becoming a vegan. *wow, just sort of went off on a tangent there, sorry*

Naw, like I said I have no problem with anyone's eating habits (well, maybe cannibals...). I have my own peculiar brand of diet and *vegetarian* seems to be the closest other description there is. I tried vegan but it didn't work for me, and I can justify what I eat to myself so I don't really care what others think. If you want to tread the rocky, sniper-filled road of lacto/ovo/pisca/whatever vegetarian, go for it. Lots of *vegetarian* products have things like egg white or lactose in them from eggs and milk. Personally I don't have a problem with animals like crabs that have green, copper based blood and an interior more foreign than Alien 3, but then that is just me. I swat flies too, btw. Be what you are and do what you do.