Welcome to the Vegan Theory Club Weekly Megathread!
Question of the week:
How has becoming vegan improved your life?
Feel free to talk about anything, whether it’s vegan-related or not. This is a chill space for connecting, sharing ideas, and supporting each other.
Looking forward to hearing what everyone’s up to!
I also loved the taste of seafood, I mean I still do I assume but well you know.
I recently discovered a company that makes mock prawns out of a jiggly starch. Somehow they taste of those weird “seafood sticks” so I’ve been meaning to investigate precisely what they’re flavoured with and incorporate it into cooking.
Some people become disgusted with the flavours of meat, and I understand how the violent revulsion felt when realising what it really costs could bleed over. I, however, am not so lucky. Fortunately it seems food science is moving pretty quickly and we are learning how to use certain salts and synthetic amino acids to flavour kinder food.
For now though kelp (konbu specifically), mushroom, and msg is my closest home made flavour analogue. I wouldn’t say it tastes of sea creatures exactly but can be a similar element in a meal.
Not gonna lie, I’m interested in a vegan imitation crab lol. Gardein makes a “fish filet” that tastes a little bit like the real thing but I think it’s mostly the shape and the fry batter they use. I’m also in the same camp as you I think, I didn’t go vegan over the revulsion at first. It got dialed in officially after working in ag. I am considering moving more into whole food territory though and using less meat subs, only partially due to cost. When I first went vegan, I had a goal to try and make dishes that stand on their own where you wouldn’t miss whatever traditional meat component goes in. That goal kind of got put on the back burner after losing my job and getting hit with an extra helping of depression lol.