Meat-free ‘meat’ – irony on a plate?

Seitan is the most meat-like vegan meat substitute, pundits say. (Seitan is made from gluten, so there’s another irony if you’re a gluten-free vegan.) Heme, made from yeast that’s been genetically modified, is another trending vegan ingredient. ‘Vegan meat’ is even a valid term. Google it and you’ll find all sorts of non-meaty, yet strangely meaty, vegan things. Head-scratching things, if you’re a meat-eater who adores vegetables.

It’s no skin off a meat eater’s nose if you choose not to eat meat. Some of us, down the line, may well join the trend, for we do have consciences and understand and feel the guilt of knowing that animals die for our sustenance.

But it’s the apparent need for meat substitutes that has some of us shaking our heads – the trend to make things look and taste like meat yet have no meat in them. If you don’t want to eat meat can’t you just, well, not eat meat? Why is there a need for pretend meats? You may be fooling yourself that you’re still eating sort-of-meat, if in fact you are a vegetarian who genuinely misses red meat – but it’s still not meat. So what’s the point?

Bloomberg reports that the race to meet rising demand for vegetarian meals is heating up as Nestle unveiled plans to introduce its plant-based burgers across Europe and the US in 2019.

“Nestle’s meatless Incredible Burger will go on sale in supermarkets in Europe under the Garden Gourmet brand this April, starting out in countries including Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. Near the end of 2019, a version designed for American palates called the Awesome Burger will be available where Sweet Earth brand products are sold, the world’s largest food company said in a statement on Tuesday.”

As consumers reduce their meat intake, food companies are rushing in with alternatives, Bloomberg writes:

“Nestle’s announcement comes the day after Restaurant Brands International Inc.’s Burger King said it will start a test run of meatless burgers using patties from Impossible Foods Inc. in the St. Louis area.”

The product includes “protein from soy and wheat, and extracts of beetroot, carrot and bell peppers to help make it look like meat”, Bloomberg writes.

“The field is growing, with new entrants like Beyond Meat, backed by Bill Gates, competing with The Vegetarian Butcher, recently acquired by Unilever. Beyond Meat already is widely available in retail in the US, and an 8 ounce burger at Amazon’s Whole Foods can cost $5.99. Beyond Meat also sells meatless substitutes for sausages and chicken strips.

“Nestle’s Sweet Earth business, which it acquired in 2017, already sells various flavours of meatless burgers in supermarkets as well as bacon substitutes and veggie sausages. Impossible Foods aims to break into the retail market as well, but first needs approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the key ingredient in its patties. Awesome Burger patties don’t use the substance, a molecule called heme.”

Substitutes for the real deal are clearly big business, so one must presume that the demand by vegetarians and vegans for meat substitutes is substantial.

Says the Bloomberg report: “Nestle’s plant-based business may reach more than 1 billion francs ($1-billion) in sales within a decade, Laurent Freixe, chief executive officer of the Americas region, has forecast.”

Burger King, meanwhile, the chain known for meaty excess like its 1,150-calorie Bacon King sandwich, is now selling a plant-based burger, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

“The chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc., announced a test run for the burger in 59 restaurants in the St. Louis area. Burger King says the sandwich will use patties from Impossible Foods Inc. The Impossible Whopper is flame-grilled like the regular Whopper, and comes with the standard tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles and onion.

“Burger King is an unlikely early adopter of plant-based meat in the fast-food industry. It already offers veggie patties made by Kellogg Co.’s MorningStar Farms. Impossible Burgers, however, are designed to mimic meat using the company’s novel ‘magic’ ingredient, heme, produced with a genetically modified yeast.”

So, when business successes like Burger King and Nestle start pumping money into a trend, that trend is validated. It’s no flash in the pan, and clearly it’s here to stay. But why? I may eat meat (okay, I do), but I also adore vegetables. There isn’t a vegetable I will not eat. Even Brussels sprouts. Yes, even cabbage. And the despised turnip. You name a vegetable that is distrusted by hordes of cabbage-hating, sprout-spurning turnip-loathers and I’ll give you a recipe for it that might just change your mind.

If it’s simply about finding other sources of protein to replace those you would have got from meat, that is understood. But why does it have to look and taste like meat, if meat is the very thing you wish to avoid?

The onegreenplanet.org website carries a list of meat-like vegan ingredients and says, of seitan:

“If gluten is not an issue for you, turn to seitan for the most meat-like texture. Seitan is processed wheat gluten and it is a great source of protein. Depending on how you flavour it, seitan can be similar to chicken, beef, or pork. Seitan has a dense, chewy texture that can hold up to grilling, frying, braising, or anything else you want to do with it.”

There follows, on the same website, recipes for “Seitan Steak with Beurre Blanc Sauce, Seitan Pot Roast, Balsamic BBQ Seitan Ribs, Homemade Seitan Hot Dogs, Homemade Vegan Italian Sausage, Seitan Kebabs with Sangria Tomato Salad” and “Seitan Wellington”. Seriously. Beef-free Beef Wellington. Come on.

Nothing in the above paragraphs alludes in any way to anything that conjures up any vegetable at all, whether a squash, a bean, a carrot or a cauliflower. All of which are wonderful ingredients that can be used to create thousands of dishes that would make my meat- and vegetable-loving palate very happy.

On a Saturday, there’s me in the garden, grilling courgettes over the braai, and shoving a foil-wrapped stuffed butternut into the coals. Because they’re great! I’d hate to try to turn them into something they’re not.

I get it when Heston Blumenthal gets all tricksy and creates what appears to be a mandarin and yet, when you slice into it, it’s actually a dreamily fine chicken liver parfait. That’s not trickery, or wishful thinking – it’s theatre on a plate. But if you’re going to eschew meat – how about just eschewing meat, and celebrating the glories of the vegetable? DM