I really don’t like vegan meat simply cause the texture is so bad.
In: Chemistry
They could make it happen, but the process wouldn’t be “natural” enough for a large percentage of Vegans.
People already shit on the enzymes used to striate meat and “glue” meat pieces together, even though it’s 100% natural and there’s no actual issues whatsoever.
The texture in meat is muscle fibers. While meat substitutes are not made out of muscle and lack that type of fibers.
I agree with you about the texture. It isn’t there yet. They might at some point figure out an approximation but it isn’t really their priority. Right now scaling up production and having a profitable product line is.
Vegetable patties like Boca Burgers have a different texture than faux meat. You might enjoy it more but it misses the meat flavor.
I have tried any faux meats but seitan is pretty damn close for my money and it’s been around forever.
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These two guys do some really good faux meats. Highly recommended—
[https://www.youtube.com/@DerekSarnoChef](https://www.youtube.com/@DerekSarnoChef)
[https://www.youtube.com/@SauceStache](https://www.youtube.com/@SauceStache)
I just got a big bag of dried jackfruit from Costco. Cut it into tiny strips (kitchen scissors work great) then sauté it with BBQ sauce and a little oil. It makes a great, meaty pulled pork.
I don’t actually like jackfruit. To me it tastes like bubblegum. But the dried version of it has such a mild flavor the BBQ sauce overpowers it.
Crumbled-up tempeh makes a great ground beef substitute. Just season it like taco meat or something.
Re-hydrated dried mushrooms are pretty chewy too. I’ve tried snipping them into thin strips and mixing them into falafel patties. Something went wrong with my falafel though — it all fell apart.
Well they had that $300,000 burger or whatever that was made from growing beef in a lab a ways back. It was supposed to be the future, and an answer to the texture problem. A lot of people couldn’t get their head around the fact of synthetic meat. Not vegan but literally real meat out of a lab.
Not sure what happened with those efforts but that was supposed to be the future.
I think vegan suffers from a polyester problem. Being that some people see the advantages of synthetic meat, or meat made from plants, and some people just want cotton. Real meat should have the Earth’s natural imperfections in it.
Vegan meat producers in Asia have been making meats with striated texture for a long time to cater to Buddhist eaters. Plant proteins like soy and what gluten undergo extrusion to create fine fibers that mimic meat fibers. I’ve tried a lot of them and the texture is a lot meatier than plain seitan.
We’re starting to see better products in the West as vegan meat analogues gain popularity. One of the higher profile ones is the steak from [Chunk Foods](https://www.chunkfoods.com). There’s still a ways to go before it’s indistinguishable from a cow steak but the texture is that of striated meat. Pretty revolutionary for a western product but I’ve had similarly textured vegan meats from Asia.
Beyond Minced has completely replaced minced beef in my kitchen. The texture is exactly like I’d expect minced beef. They make pre formed burgers too which taste excellent especially cooked on a BBQ. Bit expensive though, but the taste is super close to regular burgers.
It’s expensive (like, once a year expensive), but try Juicy Marbles. It has the fibrous texture you’re looking for
You can achieve this with seitan to a certain degree by laminating it with something like chickpea or tofu. Stretch and fold it in one direction instead of kneading it like dough. “Vegan Express” in Culver City did this and produced the most amazing crispy chicken sandwiches i’ve ever had
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