Rude food by Vir Sanghvi: Yes, this ‘meat’ is vegetarian!

All over the US, fake meat has become a craze. It is ‘meat’ that even vegetarians can eat

Is there a way to get vegetarians to eat ‘meat’ and still remain purely vegetarian even while they munch on a nice, juicy hamburger, cooked medium rare, with a little blood oozing onto the bun?

The fake meat industry dreams of making a good steak(Shutterstock)

Most vegetarians would rather eat a tasty aloo or channa tikki than a bogus meat burger

All over the US, financial analysts talk about ‘vegetarian meat’ as the Next Big Thing, on par with, say, Red Bull at its peak or almond or soy milk.

The Impossible Burger has a fat patty made with vegetarian ‘meat’

But it is the reporting of such projects that has spurred interest in animal-free meats. Once upon a time, Americans were convinced that the very idea was a joke or an impossibility. Now, enough Americans are willing to concede that it can be done, which is why vegetarian ‘meats’ are flooding the US market.

Jackfruit or kathal is a prominent meat alternative used in Indian vegetarian or vegan dishes

The idea of trying to mimic the taste and texture of meat with vegetables is hardly new. The Chinese have been making mock meats from wheat gluten and other plant derivatives for centuries. These are made to look like duck or pork and cooked in the same general way. One theory is that these foods were created for the Buddhist fasting period, but they continue to be popular across the board today.

Meatless meat products such as soya chunks never became a popular choice among vegetarians (Alamy Stock Photo)

But put it in a real (not fast food but one with a large patty) hamburger, and I don’t think it works at all. I had an Impossible Burger in Singapore last week and I thought it was a complete waste of time.

A patty made with bogus meat will never have the taste of a proper hamburger (Alamy Stock Photo)

Fake meat works for those who are concerned about the environment and believe that it is better for the earth if we slaughter less animals and eat more plants. Fake meat certainly meets that requirement. There have also been attempts to suggest that fake meat is healthier than real meat but so far, the evidence is mixed and at best, not very convincing.

What you really taste in a hamburger are the bun, sauces, salad vegetables, etc., not the meat (Alamy Stock Photo)

Yes, there will be some people who will try them out of curiosity. But I can’t see these people coming back again. It is significant that, as far as I know, the big fast food companies have no immediate plans to bring these meatless burgers to India. Even Burger King, which has the heft to push fake meat to every corner of the Indian market with its 193 stores, says that the Impossible Whopper is not on its list of product launches for India.