To wonder what most vegetarians prefer

[shaniahoo]

I was looking at reviews of a brand of meat free burger and somebody said that they're sick of these meat replacement products and that vegetarians tend to prefer a burger made with chickpeas, beans, pepper etc which is more like real vegetarian food. I'm not a vegetarian but sort of a meat-avoider because I don't like meat very much and prefer vegetarian products, but I still firmly prefer a veggie burger or sausage to taste like meat and I often find the stuff made of pulses to be quite mealy. If you're a vegetarian what do you prefer?
YABU - prefer pulses and vegetables etc
YANBU - prefer meat imitation

I like veggie burgers that are like the fake meat that have been around for a long time (the linda mcartney mozzarella one is great) but also love bean burgers. I am not keen on the ones that are full of nuts as I don’t really like nuts.

I hate all this new trend for fake chicken though and find so much nice vegetarian food has been replaced with fake chicken that is horrible.

Agree.

and hate that when you get a veggie burger it now often comes with fake cheese. Just because I don’t want meat doesn’t mean I don’t want real cheese.

I don’t like bean burgers so it would be the meat replacement. However I find them quite a squashy texture so I slice them through the middle to make them a bit firmer. I’m not adverse to meat substitutes but I’m eating less and less as I go on. There are a lot of quality ones out there but it’s trial and error. Some are rank 🤢

That is such a weird statement. Of course they have nutritional content!

I’d love to see your unprocessed tofu, I think you’ll find it’s just soya beans. Tofu is one of the most heavily processed foods 😂
And good luck making a burger out of beans without processing them.

I'm OK with dairy products as long as they're organic and free-range all the way through the chain. The modern factory-farm dairy industry is bloody awful for the animals.

I don't mind paying more.

Vegetarians aren’t some homogeneous mass! It’s like saying do women prefer chicken or pork!

I was vegetarian from a young age for over 20yrs. I loved the fake meat burgers. I probably wouldn’t class a burger as a health food or have one regularly so happy to forgo ‘unprocessed’ for an occasional meal when I fancied a burger.

Can’t stand bean burgers.

I'd much rather have a burger made from beans, lentils or chickpeas than a processed fake meat one. Not a fan of the ones that are just a collection of basic vegetables, peas etc, squashed into a patty that falls apart as soon as you bite it.

I really don’t see this at all. I’ve been to four restaurants in the last two weeks: one I had enoki tempura, aubergine salad and Thai vegetable curry; one I had a nine course tasting tasting menu; one I had an Italian take on a roast lunch, with a lentil loaf, tomato sauce, and roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips; and breakfast of Turkish eggs, smoked yogurt, brown butter and sumac. All delicious, varied, from whole ingredients. Some vegan, some vegetarian. Even the taco stand I saw at the rugby game I was at last weekend had a black bean meat free option.

A lot of places have started serving the beyond meat burgers though and I really don’t think they are that good. There are so many other makes that are a lot nicer so I am always disappointed when i read the description of a vegetarian burger and see that it is beyond meat.

I don't eat meat substitutes, for me if I wanted stuff to taste like and feel like meat then I'd eat meat. I don't like meat, or ever feel like I'm missing out. Also it puts me off the extent to which the food has been messed about with in order to become pretend meat. I just find all of it quite minging.
So it depends if the vegetarianism is motivated by ethics or dietary preference.

I think it depends on why someone is a vegetarian. I am a vegetarian for ethical and moral reasons, not because I don't like the taste of meat. I don't mind if something looks like the meat equivalent or, to some extent , if it tastes similar. I cannot however, stomach anything that looks or tastes like chicken or ham. it's all very personal I think.

Some people who used to eat meat and are kind of accustomed to the taste and texture, I think they prefer the mock meat products. Those with longer standing vegetarianism or those who grew up with it are more likely to find such things unpleasant. It does depend.
I personally prefer Quorn mini eggs to meat ones, but other than that would never eat meat substitutes. I am not vegetarian at the moment but don't really eat red meat. I love bean burgers, especially the ones they used to do at Burger King. My vegetarian friends prefer pulses, veg, peas etc as well.

I miss the Burger King bean burgers, they were so good

I think that poster was referring to ultra processing. Of course soy beans undergo processing to turn them to tofu. Just as milk is processed to cheese. But tofu isn’t an ultra-processed food. It’s been eaten for over 2000 years.

Chickpea burgers or bulgar wheat burgers are lovely and a great hit with the none vegetarians I’ve fed.

I was vegetarian in the past and am now moving towards a plant based diet.

My reason for this change is climate change. Dairy is a top concern for me as a result.

Though I will eat some meat replacements, I am very put off by the UPFs. I like real food.

Fake cheese makes me want to vomit.

Linda Mac and Quorn jazzed up with veggies every time. I don't like bean based burgers.
Veggie all my life for animal welfare reasons.

I became a vegetarian in 1980 in my very early teens.
I gave up because I didn’t want to eat animals.
This had nothing to do with the environment or taste.

I will happily eat anything that isn’t made of animals.
I don’t like packaging that says ‘no chicken burger’ though. I find it offensive.
Vegetarian food is not just food without meat, as that’s just vegetables, it does need to have a protein source.
So early burgers made of mash potatoes and bit of carrots and peas were a joke.

I have spent most of my veggie life cooking with tofu, beans and lentils. The new wave of lords of processed stuff on the shelves is not something I’m that into as it wasn’t available when I started out. I’m all in favour of it though as it is having an impact on reducing meat consumption amongst meat eaters which is a win win for the animal world.

Whilst I liked the flavour of meat as a kid I don’t think I could stand it now. My dh bought a fake lamb and mint thing and I nearly wretched.

I'm a vegetarian for the animals - not because I dislike the taste of meat. I'm alllll about the substitutes. Even meat flavour crisps are my fave!

The poster claiming its the 'new' veggies who prefer meat substitutes - rubbish. I've been veggie for over 20 years, I've lived through the tasteless burgers and sausages made of various veg and I'm glad we have more options now.

I've been a vegetarian for 45 years, since I was a young teenager. I grew up with never really being able to get anything like a burger or sausages. But, then, I never even saw a McDonald's until I went to uni!
I don't really eat meat substitutes, tbh. I just eat veggies, fruit, pulses, legumes and grains with the very odd bit of cheese or an egg. But, just occasionally, I'll buy a burger.
Last week, the kids were making pork and apple burgers for tea, so I bought burgers for me. I put them in the pan and, as they started to cook, all this red stuff came out them as if they were bleeding. Honestly, I was completely revolted. It made me really nauseous. I had to throw the burgers out, there was just no way that I could have eaten them. I don't understand why manufacturers thing vegetarians want their food to "bleed".
Lesson learned, I will not be buying fake meat burgers again. That experience has put me off for life.

My favourite burger is my homemade broad bean burger (Leon recipe), although regret to say that the DC beg to differ.

It's one in the eye for the "But veggie/ vegan food is all SO PROCESSED, unlike this beefburger which is pure meat and could even be local but probably isn't" brigade. (I'm never sure if they're saying this in good faith, having been taken in by the aggressive marketing of fake meat products, or not).

Exhibit A): this burger that I made with my own hands from organic Broad beans that I grew on my allotment, 10 minutes' walk away 😇

I'm not a vegetarian but I quite like some of the fake meats. Beyond burgers are nice and this isn't sausages are incredible. I have tried some of the more whole food fake meats and they taste awful and the texture is wrong.

I’m not a vegetarian but DP is, he’d much prefer proper beans and pulses etc but often restaurants don’t offer that anymore- it’s all ultra processed mush. Don’t get him started on the veganising of vegetarian options either…!

Sainsbury's have come out with some shocking attempts at fake meat over the last few years. I'll eat almost anything but I couldn't finish their "shroom sausages".