All things being equal, would you choose and eat fake chicken over real chicken meat?

@farmerman,

The meat dishes in an Indian restaurant will have been prepared by a Punjabi or a Pakistani. Hindus really don't do meat, in any way, shape or fashion. There's some great restaurants here in Little India, but if there is anything like meat in them, it'll be Butter Chicken, or something like that. They'll have a Punjabit who comes in to do the chicken for 'em. Great food stalls on Gerrard Street for the South Asian Festival.

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

Quote:
I don't view them as "fake meats" as much as meat alternatives.

And youve been giving Frnk Apisa **** for his considered position opn religion that is, as you stated, clearly based on semantic twists>

So now heres you with "meat alternative" as opposed tofake meat".
See how we all can easily convince ourselves of tenuous debate positions?

I think "fake meat" assumes too much. I'd say the term might fit something like a tofu dog, or tofurky products that seem to directly emulate hotdogs and lunchmeat, but something like Seitan is not fake chicken. It's texture causes many to relate it to chicken, but the product itself is not an attempt to recreate chicken. The same would apply to something like tempeh. What is it a fake of?

I don't say, "I'm going to the store to get a fake chicken." I say "I'm going to the store to get some seitan." I don't want fake chicken--I want seitan.

I think the familiar shapes of these products are manufactured for cultural reasons. They comfort. Beyond that, I've found that I like the products that tastes less like meat, and more like their own creation. That's why when I encountered a fully vegan product that had an uncanny real chicken taste and texture, my immediate reaction was alarm, not elation.

I'm not particularly worried my language on this. I hear "fake meat" more from omnivores, than I do from vegetarians or vegans. You can have the term, and you are free to use it to describe my food. Since it's food you'll not be eating, I can't imagine why you care what I call it.

A
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@farmerman,

Me too.

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@tsarstepan,

Yes.

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

Yeah, if I were exclusively vegetarian (which I'm not, but have been circumstantially in the past), I much prefer just vegetable-based meals rather than any substitute. A substitute will be sub-par by definition.

Me too. A lot of these products are marketed for their protein, but they usually are very high in sodium. I eat them in moderation. I get most of my protein from beans, nuts, and legumes. I honestly love fresh fruits and vegetables the best.

sozobe wrote:

I'm not currently vegetarian but I like MorningStar Farms Tomato and Basil Pizza veggie burger just on its own merits. It doesn't taste much like a hamburger but it tastes good, and I'm not comparing it to a hamburger, which I have if I'm in the mood for one. (I always have a box or two of the veggie burgers in the freezer for days when sozlet or I just need a quick lunch or dinner and I don't have anything suitable for entree/ protein -- yummy on a toasted bun with avocado + ketchup.)

I haven't had those, but I've seen them at the grocery. The products I find myself using the most is the Smart protein crumble, and the Field Roast Mexican Chipotle for when I attend any sort of BBQ/picnic.

sozobe wrote:

Separately, soy worries me, and I try to eat it (and its byproducts) sparingly.

Soy worries me too. I'm willing to bet that I eat less soy than most omnivores. Soy is in almost everything that's processed, but I tend to graze the salad bar and eat fresh whole vegetables. Again, it's a product to be consumed in moderation, and not all soy products should be painted with the same brush.

A
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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

sozobe wrote:
Separately, soy worries me, and I try to eat it (and its byproducts) sparingly.

yup. that's a big deal for me.

I consider tofu a real treat. I love so many dishes that have tofu, but try to limit it in my diet to less than once a month (another big thing to label-read for )

Oh....soy. Not so sure.

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@Joe Nation,

Quote:

If I were Jewish or Muslim, I would never eat anything that looked and tasted like pork.

I would have thought that you wouldn't tolerate nonsensical religious beliefs, Joe. Not eating pork has got to be one of the all time dumbest.

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I would eat the processed fake chicken just to see how close it came to the real thing. Still, I really like good old real chicken.

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Yes, I'll eat it gladly.

The article says "Milstead's bucket contains a dry mix of soy and pea powder, carrot fiber and gluten-free flour."

If it tastes good, is at a good price, I'm there.

Are peas, carrots and gluten free flour plants destroying the rain forests too?

I certainly wouldn't knock it until I tried it.

There's some product, can't think of the name off hand, that makes "chicken" patties, and "chicken" with goat cheese & cranberry filling that's made with mushrooms, and it's delicious.

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@Diane,

Diane wrote:

I would eat the processed fake chicken just to see how close it came to the real thing. Still, I really like good old real chicken.

Hi Diane

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@chai2,

Hi Chai 2.

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@tsarstepan,

This is a pretty silly question, if fake chicken really provided the same taste rewards as real chicken.

Are there really very many people who will argue that the knowledge that a living creature died to supply their table is more important than the taste rewards?

The reality is that claims that "fake" anything are as good or better than the "real" original are bullshit.

I had a Black Lab who was mad for cheese , but throw him a piece of "fake" chesse food and the second it hit his lips, he would react by spitting it out.

This was a dog who would eat just about anything, but you couldn't fool him on fake cheese no matter what the producers claimed.

Maybe when nano-technology comes of age we can truly turn **** into tasty chicken, but before then...no way.

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@Setanta,

Most of the Indian restaurants around this oart of the world are run by these Kerala guys all speak Malayalum (I picked up a bit when I was over in that sout neck of the country). Yep Hindus like their veggie dishes and these go all over the country and blend nicely with all sorts of meaty and meatless cuisines.
A typical restaurant fare in Pa Indian restaurants is about 73 courses (I may be off by a few)

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@Finn dAbuzz,

Quote:

The reality is that claims that "fake" anything are as good or better than the "real" original are bullshit.

You obviously haven't been listening. I've heard many say, many times, "tastes like chicken". Smile

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@dlowan,

Last I heard, not sure it's still true, a lot of soy is a no no for people who have previously had breast cancer. My surgeon said that was mostly about people who use a lot of soy powder as a health benefit and not so much about having a glass of soy milk once in a while. I'm like ehBeth in that I really like some tofu dishes and make one maybe once every two months. 'Course my favorite ever tofu dish was some crispy fried and stuffed with some spicy chili beef, served if I recall in some beef broth.

Past that, I'm sort of squeamish about the huge amount of land that is involved in growing soy, as opposed to a lot of other stuff.. well, that's another whole subject.

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@Irishk,

Quote:

I really, really hate that fake crabmeat stuff.

that's for sure - the fake stuff is just ugly !!!

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@farmerman,

I'm told by Hindus here that many "Indian" restaurants in the U.S. are actually run by Pakistanis because the operation is unlikely to succeed without meat. Can't say if that's true. I'm also told that some of the Indian places here will serve no meat no how. Also can't say if that's true. The Indian place we usually go to has a Sunday buffet, including butter chicken, which is about their only concession to the heathens. We went to a place once, i don't recall the name, and The Girl wanted an appetizer medly plate (she does that everywhere--Greek, Chinese, Italian . . . whatever). Well, i guess they had 20 or 30 of those. Apparently, that's something those places routinely do. So we had several. No two were the same, and not a speck of meat in sight. It war real good . . .

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

All things being equal: taste, texture, and price: Would you choose and eat fake chicken over real chicken meat?
Betting Better Fake Chicken Meat Will Be As Good As The Real Thing
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/17/152519988/a-farmer-bets-better-fake-chicken-meat-will-be-as-good-as-the-real-thing

Well fake breasts arn't bad but I do perfer the real thing when I can get it.

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@tsarstepan,

I'd certainly consider it.

Chicken "farming" is pretty gross but my biggest complaint is how awful chicken tastes these days. It's weird and spongy and flavorless and nothing at all like what a chicken should taste like.

We've pretty much stopped eating chicken and have switched to having fish several times a week. Luckily we can get great fish here.

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@boomerang,

Im amused that we should have to create something that is a fake of something else and then try to convince us that the fake stuff tastes like the REAL thing. WHy not market it on its own merits and not as a "substitute" chicken flavored congealed soy protein with some pea in it.

We buy chicken from a farm market where the bords come with a "chickny" flavor like that of old. The meat is not this pallid vampire color. Its a bright orangy with red undertoes from the natural dietd and free access to grasses and grubs.

A real roast chicken is a treat for the pallette. SOy can be used to raise fairly flavorful chickens

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All things being equal, would you choose and eat fake chicken over real chicken meat?

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