As a devout vegetarian, no meat has touched my lips in nearly 15 years. What started off as a way to eat more sustainably has turned into almost a religious fervor. The very idea of eating another being with a face (or something close to it) turns my stomach.
Yet this evening I joined my wife in consuming a turkey sandwich with plenty of vegetables. How was I able to reconcile this we my stated beliefs? It wasn't really turkey; it was tofurky -- a soybean-based concoction that looks, smells and tastes like turkey!
I enjoyed eating the sandwich. I certainly wouldn't put it at the top of my favorites list, but it wasn't bad.
Generally speaking, I avoid foods that taste like meat because, if you really hunger for that kind of flavor, you might as well go ahead and eat meat. Why eat something that taste like something else that you normally wouldn't choose to eat in the first place?
So, why did I eat the tofurky? Two reasons. As I've reported here numerous times, I'm a very routinized fellow. I typically eat the same kinds of foods over and over again. I simply thought it would be good for me to change things up a bit -- if only for one meal.
The second reason is quite simple -- it was a food my wife & I could eat together. Most of the time, we eat different things because Della is a carnivore! She eats lots of chicken, fish and, of course, turkey. When she cooks these meaty meals, I generally go upstairs; I don't want to get the smell of burnt flesh stuck in my nostrils!!
Tonight though, we ate imitation turkey sandwiches. Together.
Yet this evening I joined my wife in consuming a turkey sandwich with plenty of vegetables. How was I able to reconcile this we my stated beliefs? It wasn't really turkey; it was tofurky -- a soybean-based concoction that looks, smells and tastes like turkey!
I enjoyed eating the sandwich. I certainly wouldn't put it at the top of my favorites list, but it wasn't bad.
Generally speaking, I avoid foods that taste like meat because, if you really hunger for that kind of flavor, you might as well go ahead and eat meat. Why eat something that taste like something else that you normally wouldn't choose to eat in the first place?
So, why did I eat the tofurky? Two reasons. As I've reported here numerous times, I'm a very routinized fellow. I typically eat the same kinds of foods over and over again. I simply thought it would be good for me to change things up a bit -- if only for one meal.
The second reason is quite simple -- it was a food my wife & I could eat together. Most of the time, we eat different things because Della is a carnivore! She eats lots of chicken, fish and, of course, turkey. When she cooks these meaty meals, I generally go upstairs; I don't want to get the smell of burnt flesh stuck in my nostrils!!
Tonight though, we ate imitation turkey sandwiches. Together.
Is to-furky a verb?
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to you, I only eat veg but my wife loves sea food. But this is an interesting idea.
My be we could go to furky and eat some to fushies from the sea together :)
Quite a interest topic you raised. I have been a vegetarian since '97. I avoid such flavored food stuffs, but what really captures my attention is the ingredients used like in chewing gum.
ReplyDeleteSoyabeans has really caught the imagination of mankind as they have managed to make almost any kind of flavored food imitation.
Soya sausages, soya burgers (fortunately not flavored), personally not married yet - so generally i cook what i can have or can find and usually i don't have a recipe with the various stuff i cook or have cooked.
I don't take milk or eggs but i find a lot of the food i have has it mixed with the ingredients.
Other than that i don't eat any of the other stuff.
Sounds like a nice compromise.
ReplyDeleteTao,
ReplyDeleteTofurky can be anything you want it to be. :)
Newton,
It can be difficult being a vegetarian because all sorts of meat-based substances get hidden in the foods we eat. Thus, to be a veggie, means be ever vigilant at reading labels!
Mark,
Yes, I thought so.
"Generally speaking, I avoid foods that taste like meat because, if you really hunger for that kind of flavor, you might as well go ahead and eat meat. Why eat something that taste like something else that you normally wouldn't choose to eat in the first place?"
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting concept, and one that has come to my mind before. I'm a vegetarian (although not a vegan), but I do eat soy-based things similar to tofurkey fairly regularly. If the point of vegetarianism is to avoid harming animals, wouldn't there still be a valuable difference between eating a simulacrum of meat and meat itself (although actually I don't find that it tastes that much like meat)?