Last week I had a dream about eating meat. I was at school, someone handed me a hamburger and I couldn’t resist the temptation and started chowing down.
Now, I would like to think this dream was simply my subconscious missing a few of favorite meat products. I have a weak spot for chicken nuggets and a Primeau family special called ‘hotdog surprise.’ Needless to say the second of the two is interesting and would probably turn many to vegetarianism after eating it.
Was this dream my subconscious speaking or was it my body telling me I wasn’t getting enough nutrients and needed meat back in my life? I decided to check out the world of meat alternatives to suit my subconscious.
Companies like Morning Star and Boca are all the rage right now. Between the two they offer virtually every soy-based meat alternative there is and recently they have cracked into mainstream stores. When doing the shopping for my taste-tests, I simply went to my local Kroger and found everything I needed.
I started with breakfast and between the two companies they had the bases covered. Boca featured sausage links and Morning Star featured sausage links, patties and bacon. Since I’m a student on a budget, I couldn’t purchase them all, but I decided to get Morning Star’s Bacon and Boca’s sausage links.
Then, I moved onto the burgers. I’ve heard good and bad things about both companies’ burger patties, so there was no way I could leave the store without some.
Now, I will warn readers that these two companies run their products on the pricier side. I was trying to be moderate in my shopping, but still was taken by surprise when checking out. The burgers come in packs of four and I paid $3.99 for each package. The bacon was even more expensive coming in at $4.95!
After putting a considerable gouge in my food budget for the week, I was ready to eat. But Morning Star’s bacon might have been a bad first choice, because I pretty disappointed in the strips they were trying to pass off as bacon. After sizzling the pieces in the microwave (be careful how long you cook them- they crisp quickly) the kitchen smelled pretty good; however, do not let the smell deceive you. I found the bacon to be a paper-like bland version of the real thing.
Boca’s sausage links were a step in the right direction, though. They weren’t outstanding in my opinion, but they did the job of tasting like sausage. And the texture was very similar to what I would expect of sausage. Often times, I hear people talk about how the texture of meat alternatives is ‘off.’ Boca has most definitely overcome that stereotype by making realistic soy-based products.
Later, I conducted the burger test. I’d read numerous accounts online that said grilling the veg burgers was not the way to go. But, being stubborn, I had to try. A real burger is grilled, right? Wrong.
Boca and Morning Star burgers are not built to be grilled.
Soy-based products don’t have a lot of fat in them, so they dry out quickly when grilled or baked. After heating over the grill I was left with a dry, chewy and unappetizing patty. The best way to cook your veg burger is in the microwave so it retains the moisture.
Both burgers were decent. They were a good size and resembled the texture of a hamburger, but were slightly bland. I recommend utilizing condiments when eating a veg burger. The burger will taste like whatever you put on it so don’t be shy with spices and sauces.
Overall, I would have to vote Boca the winner in the meatless challenge. I don’t know how they’ve done it, but they have made realistic soy-based products that come out tasting close to the real thing.
Nevertheless, I still don’t know if I’m a full believer in the veggie ‘meats’. Maybe I need to have a few more dreams about hamburgers and bacon before I give in to the world of soy.
