There’s a lot of debate about “fake” meat. Some people can’t understand why vegetarians want to eat something that imitates meat and some vegetarians eat them an awful lot. I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t rely on them, or use them often, but there are some products I do like. Some of my meat eating family do like some of the products but I’d never serve them to a meat eater otherwise. I’d much rather prove that vegan food doesn’t rely on these products and that you can make tasty meals without them. But on a hungover Saturday morning, I’m afraid a sausage butty hits the spot like no kind of healthy natural alternative ever could!

Let me start though by clarifying an issue about “fake” meat. In my opinion, tofu, seitan and tempeh aren’t at all fake meats. They are natural products which have been used for years and years and are food products in their own right. I use them a lot – tofu more so since it’s easier to get. I can get tempeh in jars locally but seitan I can only get on a trip to Birmingham. I know you can make your own but I haven’t attempted it yet.

“Fake” meats are the products that you can buy which imitate meaty products – sausages, burgers, bacon, mince etc. On our recent trip to America we were blown away by the quality of some of these products. Shops are full of them, there’s a huge range and they’re generally much better than the stuff we can get here. Still, things are improving here and if you look outside supermarkets there are quite a range of products. Some of them are better than others and everyone likes different things, but here’s a rundown of the ones I like:

Taifun sausages. Taifun seem to be a German brand and they also produce excellent tofu. The sausages are the best all round sausages I’ve found. They’re only made with natural products yet they don’t have that bland taste which is associated with tofu at all. They are great fried for when the hangover really hits, but they are still nice and moist when grilled. They come plain or spicy – both great.

Redwood sausages. Redwood are a great company. Everything they produce is vegan and they do a range of sandwich “meats”, sausages, roasts, fish products and even cheeses. (I’m sure I’ll return to vegan cheese another time). I’ve currently got some of the new chorizo chunks on order to try too. My faves are the merguez sausages – great in stews or casseroles.

Realeat fishcakes. As I mentioned above, Redwood do a whole range of fishfingers, spreads etc, but I like these fishcakes best. They’re cheaper and more solid. My guilty secret is white bread, tomato sauce and a Realeat fishcake. Yum. Realeat also do sausages. They used to be my favourites before I discovered the Taifun ones but they’re very fatty. They work well as part of a breakfast but no use at all in a stew.

Fry’s sausages are very nice but I find them very expensive and a close look at the ingredient list reveals them to be very high in salt.

Another company I have been buying recently is Ambrosian. I get them in the freezer of my local health shop. I don’t use them at home but once cooked they keep really well in tin foil so they’re great if you’re travelling and don’t know where your next meal will come from. I’ve tried the cheesy bean pasties (miles nicer than they sound), and the sosage rolls.

A word about Quorn!
I was never all that fond of Quorn even as a vegetarian. (Quorn is not suitable for vegans as it contains egg white). I found the sausages incredibly dry and unappetising. Some products were better than others and I did sometimes use the chunks for curries etc. Really, I became lazy, because I make the same curries now but use tofu and vegetables and they’re much nicer. I’m shocked though, when I go into my local Sainsbury’s and see row after row of Quorn stuff, squeezing out all the smaller brands and even the own brand vegetarian products. Even sometimes now on pub menus Quorn is used instead of thinking of a proper vegetarian option (step forward, Wetherspoons!) I’d urge people to use their local health shops (if they have them), and write to their supermarkets and pubs asking for a wider range of companies to be represented.

Please do let me know about your likes and dislikes in the “fake meat” world! And I promise that next time I’ll talk about real food!