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I was wondering this the other day when eating a saag paneer curry instead of my normal meat-based order: why would anyone go through the motions to have fake chicken when you have multitudes of vegetarian options which can be treated similarly to how we treat meat in cooking. Paneer is not 'trying to be chicken', but it can be put in a curry or fried, so can serve a similar purpose -- but is distinctly delicious in its own right!

Same with tofu. I have fried tofu sandwiches with gochujang and spring onions. Treat your meat-free foods as the unique items they all are!

A chap I worked with years ago had his wife cook us some food for a week or so, and brought it into work each day in little plastic tubs. Lentil curry, chickpea curry, all sorts of vegetarian food, and it was amazing. One was even a soya-chunk curry, which tasted better than meat, and zero chance of bones. I think playing to the strengths of the vegetables is always going to work better than creating stuff like facon and such. It always looks so...unappealing. That being said, perhaps the reason we eat so much meat in the UK & USA is because we're also taught that to cook vegetables you boil them...in water. Nowhere else in the world do they think it's a good idea to do this. They have flavours, they incorporate vegetables into meals, not just a spoon of boiled carrots, a spoon of boiled broccoli, and a spoon of peas.

>why would anyone go through the motions to have fake chicken when you have multitudes of vegetarian options

Because meat tastes better, and I want it. If I can have that taste without an animal involved then it’s all the better. If not then I’ll continue eating meat.

Vegetarians and vegans just don’t seem to understand this. Food is all about personal preference but the extreme majority of people eat and enjoy meat. They enjoy it because they find it delicious. If people felt vegetarian options were as delicious as meat we wouldn’t be having these discussions.

People who don’t have a taste preference for meat are obviously not the target for plant based meat.

Vegetarian here, you're wrong. Boil a chicken breast and eat it and tell me it tastes better. If you handed me a plate of boiled peas and a spoon I'd probably hand them back to you too.

Good _food_ tastes good. Most times you eat it's complemented with sauces, marinades, etc. Cooking vegetarian requires the same effort. People who slather a Midwestern meatloaf in ketchup likely wouldn't even notice if it was vegetarian unless you told them.

> If people felt vegetarian options were as delicious as meat we wouldn’t be having these discussions.

Meat is a luxury and a status symbol. Eating meat every day is something my parents did because they could afford to because their parents _couldnt_. I'm not going to sit here and tell you a bone in rib eye with a pan sauce isn't delicious - it is, but so is a paneer masala, or huevos rancheros.

> Vegetarian here, you're wrong.

Legitimately laughing out loud at this response. You're sitting there at your keyboard telling other people that their food preferences are wrong? Seriously? No one is going to take you seriously if you can't acknowledge the basic premise that food preferences are personal opinions.

"Food is all about personal preference"

Then maybe your original post shouldn't say: "Because meat tastes better, and I want it."

> Because meat tastes better, and I want it

Sorry, as a person who eats both, meat doesn't "just taste better". If by vegetables, you're referring to standard meat and 3 veg that western countries were used to, then yeah meat tastes way better. But if you're trying Indian/Thai, etc, vegetables can taste as good as meat, and in some cases, even better.

The number of people chiming in on this article proclaiming food preferences as "wrong" or "correct" is truly astounding. No, my preferences aren't wrong. No, yours aren't wrong either. Food preferences are personal.

The only thing "wrong" here is all the people chiming in to tell others that their differing preferences are incorrect.

Well, you're one of them. Your comment has a blanket statement "Meat tastes better" like it's an objective fact.

> Because meat tastes better

I don’t think you can reasonably state this as objective fact.

I eat meat mostly because it’s the easiest way for me to hit specific protein targets. I personally prefer vegetables in most circumstances though.

I'm not a vegetarian and I have a taste preference for meat on many dishes.

Because our culinary repertoire and tastes are cultural.

People know how to pan fry up some chicken/beef, this their fake analogs too, but not how to make saag paneer curry. Or some pan fried chicken is what they crave while they’ve never had these foods you consider superior.

Our relationship with food is very weird and delicate. It’s more of an identity trait than a rational choice we make daily. We like our comforts.

Thanks for sharing, that's a good point!

> One thing I'm seeing all the time is people approaching vegetarian food by removing the meat and adding something else instead.

As somebody who does not really eat meat but is very concerned about protein targets, this isn't quite so simple. Various meats (chicken, some fish) can be extremely cheap extremely high protein foods. When you don't have these to work with you need to think a lot more about your options.

I often "replace" a meat protein option with seitan, tofu, or tempeh just to hit my goals. These things aren't engineered in a lab the same way that Beyond etc have been, but they are processed/made and fill the "chunk of protein" requirement in a way that whole plants struggle with.

If you don't toss in a "chunk of protein," you need to be incredibly careful working in proteins. Anything with a low protein/calorie ratio becomes difficult to work in. Cheap staples like pasta and rice are even questionable because their protein ratios are relatively low, and then you find yourself eating only beans...

This is easier for vegetarians who eat cheese and eggs, of course. Nutritionally these things act more like meat and you can use them as such.

Food is highly cultural and habitual. Changing their diet can take years for some people. Also, many people probably never have tried many truly vegetarian dishes, so there is a learning curve.

I for one really gained an appreciation for curry, and since they're stewed to fuck anyway you barely notice whether or not there's meat in them.

I hope that people trying to improve their diets will discover spices beyond salt, pepper and chillies, lol.

I do believe part of it is that western diets are more about the ingredients and the textures / mouthfeels / flavors thereof than spices. Which is ironic, given the whole colonization and world spice trade thing from some time ago.

Completely agree with you. I'm not a vegetarian at all and honestly most of my dinners are vegetarian anyway because half the time I'm just too lazy to deal with meat. Plenty of delicious cheese centered meals, for instance. Mac and cheese can be made in a million different ways. Sometimes I'll make my chicken rice and mushroom casserole but throw in legumes instead. Lots of great things to make with eggs for protein too.

I've accidentally cut my meat consumption down drastically through sheer laziness, so I always find it puzzling that people make a fuzz about it.