Sunday, December 4, 2011 8:00 PM

Sorry - it's been over a month since my last post!

I've tried out three new fake meat products - a fake burger, fake bacon, and fake beef tips.


First up - Gardein Beefless Tips, made from wheat and other grains.

I browned them in a pan with olive oil, onions, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.

The packaging had a recipe for Asian style teriyaki beef.

When the beef seemed ready, I tossed in some pasta and plated it on a tomato sauce heavily flavored with extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Very simple preparation.

The finished product was good - the 'meat' had browned nicely and had a bit of a sponge-y consistency. The taste was similar to meatloaf, and it wasn't overly salty like other fake meats. Would I buy it again? Yes, but not on a regular basis (fake meat is more of a curiosity for me than a staple).

Next up - fake bacon, made from tempeh.

I decided to go with the traditional American breakfast - 'eggs and bacon'. I scrambled up crumbled tofu with tumeric, rubbed sage, cayenne, zucchini, and mushrooms. Then I browned the bacon in the same pan after plating the tofu. I also baked some tater tots (not pictured).


The tempeh had greasy sections in it like bacon, and the texture was like partially hydrated beans squished up against each other (a bit crunchy and mushy at once). The taste was very similar to bacon, though a bit salty (I'm not sure if all bacon is that salty - I might just be out of touch with the original). Would I buy it again? No, the texture was very unappealing, and I had trouble finishing the package (2 servings) in three meals (kept pushing it to the side of my plate).

Finally - the rice burger - I got the Jerkin' Spicy.

I browned the burgers like the instructions said. Then I took some old rice, turnip greens, wild rice, and mushrooms in a pan with the burgers and made something similar to dirty rice.



I am not a fan of fake burgers, but I had really been missing Jamaican jerk flavors. I had high hopes for this baby, and luckily it did not disappoint. My only complaint - too salty. But everything else fell in place. OK, so it didn't taste like meat, but it was satisfying and flavorful. Maybe if I had eaten it on bread like an actual burger, it might not have come across so salty. Would I buy it again? Yes, but again, fake meat isn't a staple in my apartment. So it would be more frequently in my place than other fake meats, and one of the few kinds that would be a repeat visitor. But I'd rather test out other kinds and see what crazy foods are emerging in the health-centered world of chemicals and natural flavorings!