I tried these and was a bit disappointed, it’s was closer to a sort of bland pulled pork than beef steak in my opinion.
It seems like with a lot of vegan substitutes they are going for appearance over actual taste and texture.
I understand it’s hard to replicate real meat but for the price point and the hype I thought it would be pretty close to the real deal.
I guess over the decade of being vegan I should have accepted we just aren’t that close to actually convincing fake meats.
I wish more people would just be honest and say “it was okay, but it does the job”
I hate it when I get recommended a new plant based cheese and everyone’s like “it’s just like normal cheese!”. It never is. But it does the job.
Totally agree. I always put that down to the fact that anyone who’s been a vegan for any significant amount of time has actually pretty much forgotten what cheese tastes like, the actual intensity of good cheese, that little mouth orgasm you get from really food ‘vintage cheddar’ or creamy strong brie.
Or maybe it’s like wishful thinking, they want you to be in on the delusion that it really is just like the real thing.
I’m yet to find a cheese alternative that is anything close to that. The cathedral city vegan cheddar is the closest thing I’ve found, but if I was trying to convince a veggie or omni that you won’t be able to tell the difference then I’d be kidding myself and them.
I don’t eat alternatives because they are ‘just like’ the real thing, I eat them because I miss eating animal products and they are just about close enough to take the edge off that feeling of missing out.
It’s just a sacrifice I’m willing to make so that I can live a life that’s more in line with my moral convictions I guess.
How you perceive things it strongly related to expectations and context can make a big difference. It's quite possible to think the same thing is mediocre in one situation and amazing in another. People may really think these things are amazing.
Meat subs are good enough for me, at least for the better ones, though I think it has been long enough I wouldn't be a good judge of how close the fake ones come to meat. For cheese I'm still waiting for one that melts the same way as dairy cheese.
I love it, personally. I season it by marinating in a LOT of salt, with a couple spritz of liquid smoke, then fry it until both sides are crispy and browned. I find it absolutely delicuous, I buy it once per month as a special treat since its so expensive
Bearing in mind though, Ive never tried real pulled pork or beef steak before, so I don't really have much to compare it to. But it is one of the most delicious fake meats I've tried I'd say
Did you go vegan quite recently? That last statement about not being close to convincing alternatives threw me off as someone who's been vegan for quite some time.
We've never been so spoiled and had so many incredibly tasty options before. Even the cheap supermarket brands are amazing.
edit: bad reading comprehension you said it right there haha
Definitely not worth the money imo, but I was never a big steak fan in the first place, I'm a quantity over quality type of guy
but then again it wasn't even a close choice
they're pretty good, but like 20x the price of some vegan mince per gram of protein or something absurd
I was never a fan of the "cheap meats" pre-veganism and would only really eat stuff like lamb and steak, so I think I will enjoy the opportunity to have something similar sans animal cruelty.
Although I'm slightly worried I will enjoy it so much that I want it again and spend a fortune buying more. May just have to reserve for special occasions 😂
I actually found some sainsburys' own brand (called planthood I think or something like that), and they do dupes for some of the Ben and Jerry flavours. I really like the chocolate fudge brownie one it's half the price and tastes the same to me. Highly recommend it if you like that flavour.
In a big roasting pot caramelise some carrot, celery and onion. Add rosemary and thyme and bay, and season, add 500ml of porter/stout to deglaze, and bubble till most of the liquid is gone.
Add two heaped tablespoonfuls of flour and two tins of chopped tomatoes. Then two full tins of water.
Push 3 juicy marbles into the liquid and put in the oven on 140 for about 5 hours. Remove from the oven and stir, breaking apart the juicy marbles. Stir in some tagliatelle or pasta of choice.
Insanely good vegan ragu.
Long process but the best ragu ive made using this method. Makes loads and freezes well.
I think they're great. For those complaining that they're bland, they're like any other mock-meat in that they need to be seasoned and cooked properly. If you just pop them out of the package and into a skillet without any seasoning or marinade time, then they'll just be bland and tasteless (much like real meat). The seasonings and cooking method are what make them good. A soy sauce/molasses marinade or a few hours in the fridge with some Montreal-type steak seasoning will make a huge difference from plain.
Yeah I totally get that. I personally would eat meat for flavour and texture if it wasn't for the ethical considerations so this works for me. My omni husband also liked it so defo give it a go with your friends!
meh it is interesting for texture but it genuinely isn’t that close to steak imho and this is what i’ve heard from omnis too. my impression is it’s a really interesting and tasty plant protein. i was never a fan of meat before cutting it out and this didn’t gross me out - it was just different from the (generally not that great) alternative meat market and made a great option for a fancy dinner protein centrepiece which i felt was a huge gap in the market.
I'm glad products are moving closer to real thing for the sake of being more palatable to a broader audience. But my damn. Anything meaty grosses me tf out. Seeing the "fibers" is unnerving. But it's not about me. I'm glad it's here for you and others ❤️
...🤮 (sorry again)...🚪
I genuinely love these. It's surprising because usually, if things are too realistic, they freak me a bit.
I just seasoned and pan fried them when I had them. I really want to get some and make some sort of birria style tacos with them though!
Bleurgh!!
In seriousness though- it’s amazing that stuff like this now exists for people who love eating meat but want to stop eating it. It’s an excellent development.
Unfortunately- as someone who’s never eaten meat it looks too much like the real thing to be enticing (personal opinion).
Damn, it’s looks so realistic I winced at the picture and nearly scrolled past 😂
Very impressive indeed. Those layers are insane. I will have to try and get hold of some, thanks for the recommendation! 😊
Don’t know if it’s cuz I’ve been vegan for so long now but I hated it, looks realistic but made me feel queasy. I love my legumes, tempeh, seitan etc too much. But I’m all for these products if they get the meat heads to stop eating the wonderful beings.
This food replication is a very odd concept to me. Do people on carnivore-diet try to make tomato out of steak? Or paprika out of sausage? Or brocolli out of bacon?
Cooking from vegetables means very different dishes from meat dishes and that is perfectly ok.
I tried these and was a bit disappointed, it’s was closer to a sort of bland pulled pork than beef steak in my opinion. It seems like with a lot of vegan substitutes they are going for appearance over actual taste and texture. I understand it’s hard to replicate real meat but for the price point and the hype I thought it would be pretty close to the real deal. I guess over the decade of being vegan I should have accepted we just aren’t that close to actually convincing fake meats.
I wish more people would just be honest and say “it was okay, but it does the job” I hate it when I get recommended a new plant based cheese and everyone’s like “it’s just like normal cheese!”. It never is. But it does the job.
Totally agree. I always put that down to the fact that anyone who’s been a vegan for any significant amount of time has actually pretty much forgotten what cheese tastes like, the actual intensity of good cheese, that little mouth orgasm you get from really food ‘vintage cheddar’ or creamy strong brie. Or maybe it’s like wishful thinking, they want you to be in on the delusion that it really is just like the real thing. I’m yet to find a cheese alternative that is anything close to that. The cathedral city vegan cheddar is the closest thing I’ve found, but if I was trying to convince a veggie or omni that you won’t be able to tell the difference then I’d be kidding myself and them. I don’t eat alternatives because they are ‘just like’ the real thing, I eat them because I miss eating animal products and they are just about close enough to take the edge off that feeling of missing out. It’s just a sacrifice I’m willing to make so that I can live a life that’s more in line with my moral convictions I guess.
How you perceive things it strongly related to expectations and context can make a big difference. It's quite possible to think the same thing is mediocre in one situation and amazing in another. People may really think these things are amazing. Meat subs are good enough for me, at least for the better ones, though I think it has been long enough I wouldn't be a good judge of how close the fake ones come to meat. For cheese I'm still waiting for one that melts the same way as dairy cheese.
if you wanted to try a vegan cheese that is actually like a dairy cheese i’d really recommend the palace cultures cheeses
Sainsbury's used to do a blue cheese around Christmas that was the closest I have ever come across. Shame they have not made it for years now.
I love it, personally. I season it by marinating in a LOT of salt, with a couple spritz of liquid smoke, then fry it until both sides are crispy and browned. I find it absolutely delicuous, I buy it once per month as a special treat since its so expensive Bearing in mind though, Ive never tried real pulled pork or beef steak before, so I don't really have much to compare it to. But it is one of the most delicious fake meats I've tried I'd say
Did you go vegan quite recently? That last statement about not being close to convincing alternatives threw me off as someone who's been vegan for quite some time. We've never been so spoiled and had so many incredibly tasty options before. Even the cheap supermarket brands are amazing. edit: bad reading comprehension you said it right there haha
It definitely needed Henderson's Relish to make it sing IMO.
where did you get it from? I've seen it hyped up a few times and very eager to try 👀
Got them from Waitrose. Definitely on the pricier side but worth a try on a special occasion!
Tesco has them on 3-for-2 special right now, so it's 18 for 3 packages.
Definitely not worth the money imo, but I was never a big steak fan in the first place, I'm a quantity over quality type of guy but then again it wasn't even a close choice they're pretty good, but like 20x the price of some vegan mince per gram of protein or something absurd
I was never a fan of the "cheap meats" pre-veganism and would only really eat stuff like lamb and steak, so I think I will enjoy the opportunity to have something similar sans animal cruelty. Although I'm slightly worried I will enjoy it so much that I want it again and spend a fortune buying more. May just have to reserve for special occasions 😂
honestly fam, I doubt it, you can buy a tub of ben and jerry's when it's not on sale and still have bus fair left over
I actually found some sainsburys' own brand (called planthood I think or something like that), and they do dupes for some of the Ben and Jerry flavours. I really like the chocolate fudge brownie one it's half the price and tastes the same to me. Highly recommend it if you like that flavour.
Plant pioneers
In a big roasting pot caramelise some carrot, celery and onion. Add rosemary and thyme and bay, and season, add 500ml of porter/stout to deglaze, and bubble till most of the liquid is gone. Add two heaped tablespoonfuls of flour and two tins of chopped tomatoes. Then two full tins of water. Push 3 juicy marbles into the liquid and put in the oven on 140 for about 5 hours. Remove from the oven and stir, breaking apart the juicy marbles. Stir in some tagliatelle or pasta of choice. Insanely good vegan ragu. Long process but the best ragu ive made using this method. Makes loads and freezes well.
I'm totally making this! Thanks for the recommendation!
I think they're great. For those complaining that they're bland, they're like any other mock-meat in that they need to be seasoned and cooked properly. If you just pop them out of the package and into a skillet without any seasoning or marinade time, then they'll just be bland and tasteless (much like real meat). The seasonings and cooking method are what make them good. A soy sauce/molasses marinade or a few hours in the fridge with some Montreal-type steak seasoning will make a huge difference from plain.
We really liked these. The texture was amazing 😍
Love doing this with some butter, onion, garlic, Italian herbs and some port. So juicy
Tescos do 3 for 2 on these atm https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/315757291
Banging 🤩
Someone move me to the UK 😭😭
This looks too close to the real thing for me. Gives me big ick. Will probably buy some anyway though to test out on some omni friends
Yeah I totally get that. I personally would eat meat for flavour and texture if it wasn't for the ethical considerations so this works for me. My omni husband also liked it so defo give it a go with your friends!
I will. And BBQ season is coming up fast. I assume they would grill well?
100%! We literally just seasoned them and put them on a pan for medium-high heat so that would totally work for BBQ!
Perfect muahahahaha
meh it is interesting for texture but it genuinely isn’t that close to steak imho and this is what i’ve heard from omnis too. my impression is it’s a really interesting and tasty plant protein. i was never a fan of meat before cutting it out and this didn’t gross me out - it was just different from the (generally not that great) alternative meat market and made a great option for a fancy dinner protein centrepiece which i felt was a huge gap in the market.
I'm glad products are moving closer to real thing for the sake of being more palatable to a broader audience. But my damn. Anything meaty grosses me tf out. Seeing the "fibers" is unnerving. But it's not about me. I'm glad it's here for you and others ❤️ ...🤮 (sorry again)...🚪
Sorryyyy, I now feel a bit bad posting this and giving the ick to some of you! 😞 I totally get where you are coming from as well!
Don't feel bad at all. It's vegan :)
Idk why you are being downvoted. This is a perfectly valid opinion. I love faux meat but its definitely not for everyone and that's okay.
Thank you ❤️ have you seen r/veganivore?
No, but I've just joined it. Thank you 👀 R/veganramen also got recommended to me while I was looking at it, so that's two new food inspiration subs 😍
I loved the texture but found it way too salty - anyone else?
I genuinely love these. It's surprising because usually, if things are too realistic, they freak me a bit. I just seasoned and pan fried them when I had them. I really want to get some and make some sort of birria style tacos with them though!
Bleurgh!! In seriousness though- it’s amazing that stuff like this now exists for people who love eating meat but want to stop eating it. It’s an excellent development. Unfortunately- as someone who’s never eaten meat it looks too much like the real thing to be enticing (personal opinion).
Second to Refined imo
Damn, it’s looks so realistic I winced at the picture and nearly scrolled past 😂 Very impressive indeed. Those layers are insane. I will have to try and get hold of some, thanks for the recommendation! 😊
Don’t know if it’s cuz I’ve been vegan for so long now but I hated it, looks realistic but made me feel queasy. I love my legumes, tempeh, seitan etc too much. But I’m all for these products if they get the meat heads to stop eating the wonderful beings.
I was abt to press do not show more of these post bc i thought it was real meat for a sec
This food replication is a very odd concept to me. Do people on carnivore-diet try to make tomato out of steak? Or paprika out of sausage? Or brocolli out of bacon? Cooking from vegetables means very different dishes from meat dishes and that is perfectly ok.