We indulged in a bit of retail therapy on Saturday, taking a turn around the supermarket and looking for excitment. Well, sometimes that's all it takes.
On the shelves for our delight we found a selection of products made by Redwood Foods a fairly right on sort of company specialising in meat and animal free products, many of which are suitable for vegans. These fishless fishfingers were among them. We also found products by Taifun another really great vegan resource but that's another story.
So we were feeling chuffed and keen to encourage the shops to keep stocking things for vegans and bought some. Actually, we bought loads of things but these are the items that have sparked a philosophical debate in the house.
When we cooked them, they smelled just like fish. And when we came to eat them, they were so like fish that Mr. Stripey Cat couldn't eat his and pushed them onto my plate. I can report that they tasted (insofar as I can remember) like low end fishfingers but with a superior crumb coating, neither unpalatable nor delicious, just a good vehicle for ketchup. So at the risk of sounding like Carrie in Sex in the City;
Why do vegan foods mimic animal products?
It's not a question that's easy to answer. Besides his very strong ethical stance on the exploitation of animals the Mr. simply doesn't like the taste of fish. Everything about it screams "I am not a food" to him. Fish is off the menu and making vegan convenience food that looks, smells and tastes like fish is not going to sell it to him.
On the other hand, I've no objection to the flavour of some sorts of fish and seafood, but if I wanted to eat them the real things are available and it's not illegal so why would I want a faux option? I have made a decision not to eat meat, fish, eggs and all the rest and I'm happy with that. Am I really deluding myself, are these fakes undermining my principles? Where does my favourite mayonnaise feature in this?
My argument on this in the past has been that it's purely nostalgia. Few of us are lucky enough to have been born vegan and when comfort foods of our childhood are sought we're looking for the things we remember from a time when decisions were simple and Mother knew best. Homely stuff like fish fingers and chips or toad in the hole, sliced meat for our sandwiches and cheese for our pizzas.
There's another significant point that I think needs to be made here too. Why shouldn't vegans have convenience foods, stuff that has all the fats, sugars and salt that seem to be part of 'normal' eating? How many times have you been given the vegan option at an event and found it bland, fat free and colourless because "we thought that's what you wanted". Being vegan doesn't necessarily mean that one has become someone with a food allergy. We like to eat. And sometimes we like to eat like slobs.
Is that enough to justify these almost identical fakes or should we be working harder towards food that is not just animal free but entirely removed from the traditions of animal-centric cooking?
1 comment:
I know what you mean- when i first turned veggie my friends bought me some Quorn, I was not happy at all with the texture and found it distasteful. I once went to Camden market where I ordered some very nice looking noodles, the gentleman assured me they were vegan, but when I got them they had something so close to prawns in them I couldn't eat them. My friend had one and assured me (and I could tell by looking at the internal structure) that they were faux. But too close for comfort for me!
However- One of my favourite treats when I have the money is Porkless Pie with french mustard.It does not have a meaty smell or disturbing texture, it is an improvement on the original and not one I think should be discarded if the whole world went veggie.(I find pork to smell disgusting) I also enjoy the odd veggie suasage roll.
I have tried the veggie fish fingers and when you are expecting them and you have checked the ingredients throughly I feel they can be enjoyed. There is a lot of processing to them which I don't feel 100% comfortable with, but when you want them you want them and so its nice that you can go and get them!
The longer I go without the things I thought I could never give up the less I want them. But sometimes I crave the replacement, and if it is veggie- why not?
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