Why make vegetarian meals look like meat ?

[sidevalve]

Here is a genuine question for the vegetarians / vegans here. Why are so many vegetarian recipes made to look like or called the meat equivalent ? Vegetarian burgers ? Vegetarian sausage ? When I cook a steak I don't try to make it look like a carrot so why the pretence ? I mean if you choose to be vegetarian then fine - that is up to you and it's ok by me but I don't understand the seeming need to hide the fact. Is it a strange commercial thing with companies thinking they can sell more of their product if they disguise it for the not so sure who want to 'fit in' with both ideals ? After all there are LOT'S of ways to prepare vege without it looking like meat dishes.
Like I say this is no downer on vegetarians just a simple question after all there are no meat cabbages or pork bananas.

 

[Morning Glory]

I sort of agree. But a vegi-burger is a vegetable patty or cake. Its not really trying to resemble meat and there are many examples of vegetable 'burgers' or patties in Indian cuisine, for example. My daughter is vegetarian and likes Aunt Bessie's Vegetarian Toad in a hole! There isn't anything wrong with making vegetables/cereal/pulses into a sausage shape in order to cook it in such a way. Indeed, there is the traditional Glamorgan Sausage which is vegetarian:

Glamorgan sausage (Welsh: Selsig Morgannwg) is a traditional Welsh vegetarian sausage for which the main ingredients are cheese (usually Caerphilly), leeks and breadcrumbs.[1][2]

Glamorgan sausage is mentioned by George Borrow in his work, Wild Wales, written in the 1850s and published in the next decade. They were originally made with Glamorgan cheese, which seems to be no longer available, but Caerphilly cheese is a direct descendant of the old traditional Glamorgan cheese recipe and lends the same general texture and flavour.[3]

I also use Quorn mince which is really rather good if you are making a keema style curry or a vegetarian spag bol. The Quorn chicken pieces I do find a bit silly. They don't behave like chicken pieces at all when you cook them, although I have used them in a 'chicken' and leek pie with success.

I think that the branded vegetarian foods made to look meaty are partly to cater for households where 'the cook' wants to provide some healthier lower calorie meals but can't persuade the meat eaters to try them unless they look meaty!

 

[winterybella]

Like I say this is no downer on vegetarians just a simple question after all there are no meat cabbages or pork bananas.[/t]
I will wait patiently for the others to "weigh in" on this. I stumbled on a piece of reading that spoke to the guys in the lab working feverishly to transform the world with the perfected vegetarian meat. I for one wished I used more vegetables and would LOVE to see my husband substitute the pork with the 'pork bananas'. I am more than eager to follow this global conversation.

I think that the branded vegetarian foods made to look meaty are partly to cater for households where 'the cook' wants to provide some healthier lower calorie meals but can't persuade the meat eaters to try them unless they look meaty!

http://fortune.com/2013/10/03/the-bill-gates-backed-company-thats-reinventing-meat/

 

[Wilson Wade]

I believe vegetarian lifestyle is a choice and to add a sense of "normalcy" and to probably initiate "new converts". For example, a girl is Vegan but her boyfriend is omnivorous to get him into eating and sharing the same food the girl could think of ways and be creative with food. Like making burger patties out of banana artichokes or making steak out of tofu. this is actually a Jedi mind trick when transitioning to a vegan lifestyle.

 

[MyExWasAChef]

Nostalgia I suppose? I really can't say but just think about it this way-- is a Red Velvet cake still a velvet cake if it isn't red? In the same line is a burger still a burger even if you use mushrooms for patties? We all want to stick to the original thing without compromising a lot that's why I think vegan patties, tofu steaks and everything else turned vegan will still try to resemble the real thing. Consumers probably don't want to buy just fruits and vegetables-- they want an amalgamation of it.

 

[sidevalve]

Not saying there's anything wrong with it just why? After all a chocolate cake without chocolate isn't really a chocolate cake anymore.
If you want to make your vegetables look like a burger for some odd reason then fine - just give them another name. Be vegetarian / vegan and be proud of it. Just because it's round and flat it doesn't have to be called a burger

? We all want to stick to the original thing without compromising a lot that's why I think vegan patties, tofu steaks and everything else turned vegan will still try to resemble the real thing. Consumers probably don't want to buy just fruits and vegetables-- they want an amalgamation of it.

Sort of answering my very point there - why copy 'the real thing' ? If it had another name then xxxxx would be the real thing ie a flat round food item not made from meat. I could if I wished go to a restaurant and order a XXXXX and know exactly what I was getting. If you make the decision not to eat meat then absolutely fine BUT why carry on pretending to be eating meat ? Or is it as I suspect a commercial thing to sell to the unsure ?
Still just curious.

 

[djordjem87]

I agree. I am a vegetarian and I believe this means that people doing this really want to eat meat but they trying hard not to. It should be easy. I simply do not eat meat because I really do not like it that much. I like sandwiches and I make burger shaped flax based things that I fry and put in my sandwich but I do not want it to have a meat taste. Why would I? If I wanted meat I would eat it. I never understood this. You are basically torturing yourself if you do not eat what you really want or you are just testing your strength. Either way, you are not free of meat if it is what you stream for to make from vegetarian/vegan food.

 

[classic33]

Nostalgia I suppose? I really can't say but just think about it this way-- is a Red Velvet cake still a velvet cake if it isn't red? In the same line is a burger still a burger even if you use mushrooms for patties? We all want to stick to the original thing without compromising a lot that's why I think vegan patties, tofu steaks and everything else turned vegan will still try to resemble the real thing. Consumers probably don't want to buy just fruits and vegetables-- they want an amalgamation of it.

Only if you don't use brown sugar does it cease to become a red velvet cake. It remains a velvet cake however.

 

[Corzhens]

This thread reminds me of the first time we had seen that restaurant called Bodhi. It was inside the food court of a large mall. We had no idea that it was a vegetarian restaurant and we ordered barbecue and spring rolls plus rice. When we were eating, we were wondering why the taste was like that, so bland like... yeah, vegetable. And it dawned on us that the dishes we ordered were made from soya patty. Now we never went back to that eatery simply because vegetarian food is bland.

 

[Zyni]

I don't know. I think it's because some people enjoy a burger, but they don't want to kill animals to eat one. So, they come up with a substitution. It doesn't seem that unusual to me. I know that a lot of people like a substitution for holiday meals as well (tofurkey, anyone?). When I cook for vegetarians or vegans, I don't necessarily try to mimic meat. I usually just try to make sure they have their own "entree" along with some sides. One dish I like to make is broiled tomatoes as an entree. It's a good size and shape for an entree.