Over at TreeHugger, Sami Grover asks “Can Meat Eaters Like Fake Meat?”

Interesting question. He also makes a distinction between fake meats and other vegetable proteins, such as tofu, which are ingredients in their own right, and are used in both vegetarian and meat dishes in some cultures. Of course, vegetarians eating out at any Asian restaurant will frequently find something they can eat in the tofu section of the menu (just be sure to ask whether there is any meat or seafood added as well).

Among the fake meats, there are an increasing number of options available. Some better than others, but I think there are only a couple that are good enough to stand alone, like tofu, as an ingredient that would be acceptable to a regular meat eater. Here’s a summary of the ones I’ve tried personally, and would recommend (or not).

Quorn
Quorn has been a long time favourite of mine since before moving out to California. When I left the UK in the late 90s, Quorn was already well established there and offered both the plain form for use in your own recipes and an ever increasing range of ready meals and breaded products.

The big differentiator for me with quorn is the texture, although even now it is relatively hard to find in supermarkets (here in California at least, Safeway stocks some Quorn products and, as expected, Whole Foods carries a lot of their products).

Quorn has been the subject of a controversy since it arrived in the US, with attempts to block it’s sale from a number of fronts. An article at Slate does a better job of explaining the nonsense in this. I’ve been eating Quorn since it launched in the UK, and have known lots of other people (vegetarian and not) who have eaten it, and I can’t remember a single problem.

Field Roast Grain Co
This was a new discovery in the Safeway veggie meats area, and one I agree with Sami about: this is less of a meat replacement and more of a product in its own right. Their sausages are now a regular fixture in my fridge (and I have more in the freezer). And the roasts, which are basically the same product in a larger form, make an excellent choice for a conventional “meat & two veg” type plate, or sliced in a sandwich.

Morningstar Farms
Another permanent fixture in my freezer for almost as long as I’ve been here in the US are the Morningstar Farms products. Over time, I think I’ve tried most of their range. The prime grillers (basically a burger replacement, as opposed to the Gardenburger type of veggie burger), the buffalo wings and the breaded “chicken” patties are my most common purchases. The breakfast links are also great, though with all the other sausage options now I find I buy less frozen ones.

In the burger replacement space, I do also buy the Boca burgers sometimes, but the Morningstar ones win my award for burger replacement. I do think the Boca ones grill better though.

Yves & Smart Sausages
Another pair of providers for alternative sausages that I buy frequently are Yves and Smart Sausages from Lightlife. The Italian style are my favourites, sliced and sautéed with some fresh veggies for addition to a nice pasta sauce.

The Yves range also includes sliced deli meat replacements that are good (though my award in that category goes to Tofurkey). Both also have ground meat replacements that are good.

Tofurkey
Not a big fan of their roast product (for that segment I tend to use the Quorn roast), but I do love Tofurkey‘s sliced deli style products for my sandwiches. I wish I could find a deli that would offer them in their sandwiches as an option in place of sliced meats.

Gardenburger
I am including Gardenburger here, even though I do not consider them to be strictly a meat replacement. I think they are a product in their own right, and a delicious one at that, and since I mentioned the Morningstar and Boca burger replacements, I thought it only fair to mention Gardenburger. Like the Boca burgers, Gardenburgers also grill well, but nobody will ever mistake one for a meat patty!

Not Recommended
I’ve tried all kinds of vegetarian protein products, and while most are fine, there are a few i just don’t recommend.

• Any of the fake meat products in Asian supermarkets! They always taste strange to me, and no matter how I cook them, that taste persists. Many times I’ll find the texture a little odd as well.
• Tofu as a meat replacement. I find it is hard to do anything with tofu that would make it work as a meat replacement. As itself, if you like it, tofu is fine, but it doesn’t work well in everything, and especially not in western dishes. The closest I could get was the marinaded baked tofu available in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets, but the products above are all berthed choices.

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