People tricking you with cheaper food

[HuntIdeas]

AIBU to get really annoyed with people substituting cheaper alternatives into food and thinking you can’t tell the difference! No dumbass, we’re just too polite to say “your food is a bit crap today” so instead say “that was lovely, thanks”

I went over to a friends yesterday and she served chilli con carne. After the meal she gleefully told us that it was quorn and lentil, as if we didn’t think we could taste the difference! At which point all we said was “I thought it tasted a bit unusual”. I really should have said “no wonder it was almost inedible” but I’m way too British for that!

There is nothing wrong with using quorn, as long as you tell the people who might be eating it. Both me and my oh have a severe reaction to it (explosive and quick! Like you've just eaten a load of senna). I thought this reaction was well known. But quorn is no cheaper than mince, so I don't see the point?

Unless your friend actually lied and said it was meat, then revealed that it wasn't , YABVU and rude.

If she said it was chili con carne, then yes, she did lie. Since, as a pp pointed out, 'carne' means 'meat'.

YABVU!

Point is if someone goes to the trouble to cook for you then you eat it unless it's really minging nothing to do with swapping it for veggie and not noticing its rude to say anything

For me, surprise quorn is quickly met with surprise shits.

Generally it's good manners, if you are the host/cook, to ask your guests if there's anything they can't eat. If they are your friends, even if they are gullible faddy twats following the latest bullshit from instagram about avoiding things cooked after midnight, you probably want to indulge them.
If you are the guest, it's both polite and sensible to let your host know in advance if there is stuff you can't eat for either ethical or medical reasons.
If you are a precious twat 'fussy eater' then tbh don't accept dinner invitations unless you know your hosts really well and they know you and love you enough to indulge your dietary issues.

But I agree with PP that putting unexpected ingredients in a dish and then going 'Gotcha' at guests is bad manners and potentially dangerous. But, unfortunately, all the food faddists and bandwagon jumpers make it difficult for those with genuine allergies to be treated sympathetically, because those who don't already know someone with food allergies tend to hear 'allergy' and think 'fucking attention seeker'.

Maybe you were the unwanted guest in that other thread :o

I use quorn in chilli and spag bol as dh and I are trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat and we personally don't mind it. DD will also eat quorn sausages and meatballs without knowing the difference. It's healthier.

That said, I wouldn't give it to a friend without asking first or I'd just make a meat version in that occasion.

I have been known to make chilli with turkey mince too (but with a meaty stock). Not to save money but because its healthier. Is that also disgusting?

It's a really shitty thing to do because:

A) If you are told you are having a specific dish, you should expect to eat that dish as described not a piss poor substitute
B) Don't like the 'Nah nah nah nah nah' attitude thinking you are so thick you can't tell they have made a substitution

My body doesn’t digest Quorn or lentils very well. 🤢 I don’t find doing what she did remotely funny. It is therefore actually the same as giving a vegan meat. Vegans may not eat meat for reasons of conscience. But it can also make some ill as their body won’t be producing the correct enzymes to digest meat.

givemesteel
I’m not sure a fungus grown in big vats is actually healthier. I think you should do a little research as it’s quite the opposite imo.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

I love that you have the words balked and bulked in the same post!

So the opposite of being British is being terribly rude?

^ This.

Its never occurred to me to list the ingredients of the meals that I serve to my guests.

I'd probably have called the quorn and lentil dish a vege(tarian) chili con carne, but I wouldn't feel that I needed to say what exactly it included.

I wouldn't be trying to deceive anyone, just cooking dinner how I like it, and usually do it. Also see adding vege to dishes/substituting turkey mince for beef mince etc - would still call it a cottage pie etc. I tend to do these subs for health reasons, and I wouldn't change just because someone was coming for dinner.

I think you're a very ungracious guest.

Quorn would actually make me really ill. So would the surprise barley, as added by a pp. So no, I wouldn't thank them for the deception, I'd be too busy dreading the pain to come.

Oh dear. How very dare people try to spend anything less than the maximum. Not like anyone needs to save the odd penny or two, is it?

Nothing wrong with food from the USA. Have eaten in many restaurants and self-catered from supermarkets such as Publix and all great quality. I would not dream of eating lentil and quorn for anything.

She should have told you upfront what she was planning to cook, not just serve it and try to pass it off as something else. Anyone would know the difference straight away.
Just don't eat at her place again.

I'd probably have called the quorn and lentil dish a vege(tarian) chili con carne, but I wouldn't feel that I needed to say what exactly it included.

Carne is meat. If someone said I'm making 'chilli con carne' fonr dinner I'd expect it to contain meat. If they said 'Vege chilli', then fair enough.

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quorn often isnt cheaper though :S i buy a pack of mince for £1.69 but quorn is £1.50 and i would often have to buy 2 bags to make the same amount of chilli, but to be honest i dislike quorn in general but i know loads of people who like it

When I visit vegetarians they regularly cook quorn for us, so I'd known that chilli etc contained it, but they don't pretend it's anything else, and the texture and taste is different (but fine for me).

I always bulk chilli out with veg and beans (not baked beans), think it's good that people eat more veg.

All the posters screaming allergy allergy allergy: it's up to you to let people know if you have an allergy if they have been kind enough to offer you something to eat.

She's not a monster for putting lentils in chilli.

Can't believe all the people on this thread who have an intolerance (or allergy) to a certain food have only just learned today they should tell their host if invited over for dinner!

YABU and ungrateful, coming on here slagging her off after seh'd gone to the effort to try and make you a nice healthy meal.

Quorn gives me the galloping shits.