• snooggums@midwest.social
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    7 months ago

    Hot dogs and other sausages without meat will always be awful because the flavor and texture is what makes them work.

    I am not a vegan or vegetarian. I absolutely love vegetarian and vegan dishes that are based on their ingredients doing their own thing.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      I’m not convinced of that. At the end of the day, it’s a collection of mostly proteins arranged in certain ways plus water and salt. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that something like that can be replicated.

      • snooggums@midwest.social
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        7 months ago

        There is cartilage, fats, cell structure, and a ton of other things that make up the majority of meat that are extremely difficult to replicate for texture both when it is first cooked/heated/whatever and how it holds up as leftovers. Like different cuts of meat are basically the same parts but wildly different in taste and texture just like plants are basically the same except for all their differences.

        Honestly I don’t get why so many people want a fake version of meat made out of plants when plants are pretty awesome on their own. grilled vegetables are fantastic! There are a ton of cultures with meals that are vegetarian or vegan and very complex in both flavor and texture because they played to the strengths of their available foods. Why bother with trying to make mediocre fake sausage when spring rolls exist?

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          If it convinces people who feel that it is necessary to have something that is a basic replacement for the meat that they eat to switch, which I believe it does sometimes, I think it makes sense.

          Even convincing people to eat less meat and have a veggie burger once a week instead of a beef burger would be a good thing. It’s easier to convince them to do that than to have Nepali food.