Vegetarian Sausage

[Jenise]

Bob and I went out for breakfast this morning and I decided to break habit and order vegetarian sausage with my meal. The café is a fairly organic, Birkenstock-y kind of place where such things can be trusted. I didn't dislike it--the texture in particular was spot-on for a fine-meal banger type, which is my preference anyway, but I did find it a bit overseasoned (compensatory?).

But here's what I hate: it's been three hours since we sat down to our table and yet I still can't get the taste of that sausage out of my mouth. I ate a tangerine as soon as we got home hoping to cleanse it, but still it remains and it's a somewhat-familiar flavor that I finally just placed as the oniony taste of Mrs. Dash salt-substitute, albeit with quite an extra bit of thyme and rosemary. The brand was 'Field Roast'.

Robin, is this typical of vegetarian meat-replacements?

To each his own, so why do vegetarians work so hard trying to get something to taste like meat when it's not? I love the taste of many veggies, fruit, etc. I'm so happy they don't taste like meat of any kind.

[Robin Garr]

The brand was 'Field Roast'.

Robin, is this typical of vegetarian meat-replacements?

Field Roast is an interesting company ... hippy-dippy, artisanal sorta, and their particular shtick is not to try to make plant-based food that tastes like meat, but plant (particularly grain) meat taste good and provide protein and a flavor/texture profile that fills a meat-like hole in a meat-shunner's psyche. I haven't had this particular issue with their products, but then, my favorite of the brand is a chorizo-like sausage, wherein the heat pretty much dominates.

[Robin Garr]

To each his own, so why do vegetarians work so hard trying to get something to taste like meat when it's not? I love the taste of many veggies, fruit, etc. I'm so happy they don't taste like meat of any kind.

Lou, I often wonder why so many carnivores seem to get so worked up about this issue (not saying that YOU are, but MANY do), when it doesn't really affect them directly. To me, the answer is simple: Some people give up meat for health, environmental, moral/ethical or other reasons that prompt them to go plant-based even though they like the taste of meat. Proteins that more or less emulate the taste and texture of meat fill an emotional space without an animal having to die. It makes sense to me ...

[Jenise]

To each his own, so why do vegetarians work so hard trying to get something to taste like meat when it's not? I love the taste of many veggies, fruit, etc. I'm so happy they don't taste like meat of any kind.

This was actually very herbal, which as I said I like and it's what I like about the high bread crumb content of English banger type sausages. I would have been very happy with this tasting just like that AND being meatless. I just didn't like the fact that the Mrs. Dash aspect of its flavor, not so obvious with the sausage on my plate, was so annoyingly persistent long after the meal was over (mind you, Mrs. Dash is a flavor I don't like).