Fake bacon - is it all horrid?

[LadyLazarus40]

Dd is working hard towards becoming a vegan - we tried some fake bacon today and it looked and tasted unpleasant- her comment was it was like a bad frazzle! I was a vegetarian for 20+ years but never ate imitation meat (or whatever it’s called).

Are there any fake bacon products which have a decent taste / texture or should we give up the search?

We get Richmond’s, and it’s lovely! The key is to cook it so it’s quite crispy.

Oh I’m interested in this too, not for me personally as I don’t want to eat it but my son wanted to try it (we are not vegan but don’t eat pork) I thought it looked and smelled horrible but he loved it; this was the richmonds one

DC like the marks facon.

I like the 'Naked - without the oink' bacon.

It's not exactly like real bacon in terms of taste and texture (and looks really fake) but I think it's pretty close. Tastes good and cooking it in a frying pan gives it a crispy-ish texture similar to bacon.

The vivera bacon bits are really nice.

Dd is vegan. I’ve never tasted anything as disgusting as fake bacon in my life.🤮and l will eat anything.

I personally don’t like fake bacon. Richmonds meat free sausages are really nice though. I have those in my weekend buttie.

@tigerbear

We get Richmond’s, and it’s lovely! The key is to cook it so it’s quite crispy.

Unfortunately it was Richmond we had today but we could maybe have cooked it a bit more!

I will give one of the others a try before giving up.

Denny’s vegan bacon is yummy

I will eat most of them, but they need to be crispy! The 'it's not bacon' one in the white box (Tesco sell it) is good.

I was also going to recommend Richmond and cooking it crunchy. Avoid the quorn one.

I have two friends who turned Vegan due to health reasons and have actually now opened their own cafe/restaurant. They make their own 'Fake-'n' which I think is revolting. But then these were two people who liked eating meat but gave it up for health reasons.

Their bacon is textured, chewy and meaty and they pride themselves on that. They use this as a selling point and criticise what they call 'plastic' bacon as in the Quorn range, as just one example.

But I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat meat because I don't like the texture and chewiness of meat, so the 'plastic' untextured stuff is perfect for me.

I think it's one of those products that you should retry after a while of being vegan. I hated it all in the first few months but a year after I tried a lot again and found some favourites.

Can I ask - does anyone know if there are any brands at all that aren’t based on soy or wheat, & which don’t have MSG or nooch in? I really tried at being vegan but had to admit defeat due to multiple intolerances. I can have wheat if it’s organic though - I think it’s a pesticide thing, I bloat horrendously if I eat normal bread, pasta etc but am ok with organic.

The "This Isn't" bacon is the best of the ones Ive tried. It doesn't try to look like a rasher, but it has a great flavour and texture for sandwiches etc. Fry it till crispy.

DW cant stand the smell of them cooking though unfortunately.

I love the M&S one!!

My vegan daughter cooks it until really crisp and uses it as a texture element rather than eating it alone. Ie in a BLT - stuffed with tomato, lettuce and vegan Mayo with loads of seasoning. She uses some vegan sliced sausage but again to add a bit of difference in a really good salad sandwich. I've tried the M&S No duck wrap and would happily eat it, because the fake meat is just a small element of the meal it's good. I'm not sure any would stand up to a side by side comparison for a stoic carnivore. My daughter is mostly plant based but a little fake meat adds diversity.

Sack it off completely and make a "BLT" with smoked tempeh.

There's no point in trying to replicate bacon and these fake bacons are so ultra processed it's gross. But if you're after a crispy, Smokey, umami taste then smoked tempeh works best and so much healthier.

A TLT. Lovely.

It’s hideous ultra processed crap. I don’t know why people fall for it’s ‘earthy’ packaging, read the ingredients then never buy it again

I'm not sure any would stand up to a side by side comparison for a stoic carnivore

I don’t think that’s the point of them. It’s nice to have something vaguely bacon like that tastes nice. Fake bacon is never going to be bacon.

I’ve never tried tempeh but I use smoked tofurkey a fair bit in sandwiches or pasta dishes to replace the bacon. That works really well.

I love the Aldi one, but then I don't like the texture of actual bacon or meat and just wanted something crispy and bacony to go with my eggs. It's like the 1990s veggie bacon which I loved then.

@hamstersarse

It’s hideous ultra processed crap. I don’t know why people fall for it’s ‘earthy’ packaging, read the ingredients then never buy it again

I’m not buying it for health. Proper bacon isn’t exactly health food. Not every single thing you eat needs to be healthy. It’s the balance of the diet as a whole.

I've not found one that I like, same with vegan cheese.

@PurpleDaisies ‘proper’ bacon is 100% healthier than this fake crap. Proper meaning also non processed.

You eat food for non health reasons, that’s fine, but there are some people who chose not to use food like that and only eat food which doesn’t cause harm to your body, I’m one of them,

A few months ago I rekindled my wish to have a bacon buttie and tried 4 different brands of fakon. To be fair to fanon, I don't miss bacon. I never liked the smell and the fat. I ate the products, but I won't be buying then again and to the pp who wrote about intentionally but wanting things with a nasty texture, I'm with you on that. I still feel ill at the meaty texture of a fake chicken product I tried last year.

These products have very little nutrition. I do however like the sausages and preferred these even while I still ate meat. I like linda McCartney.