#daredtoask: why are the vegan options often so much worse?
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: why are the vegan options often so inferior?
Vegan tuna that smells so strongly of fish that it feels like you're in the fish market. A vegan lasagna that not only contains plant-based béchamel but also... raisins. There's no arguing about taste, but something is definitely off here. Vegans wonder: why are the vegan options often so uh... special?
FavorFlavs Sharon tried to make a decent tuna salad from a can of fish-free tuna, but it didn't work out. She's of course all for plant-based, and tuna is sometimes caught in a terrible animal- and environmentally unfriendly way, so it was worth a try. But no, even with her mother's unbeatable tuna salad recipe, she couldn't make anything tasty out of it. It was vegan friendly, but definitely not appetite friendly. ‘Even my cat ran away in disgust.’
Little wine little raisin
We've noticed before that vegan options often have an extra creative twist that makes you think: let's not. What do you think of the vegan lasagna that Julia got at a party? ‘I don't want to come off as ungrateful, the caterer had specially made a vegan variant for vegan guests, with béchamel sauce made from plant milk, lots of vegetables and... raisins. So that lasagna was actually sweet. Why?’
In a vegan restaurant, she was also served a carrot risotto with sweet orange syrup in it. Again sweet, and completely unnecessary, right? ‘The regular risotto of my dining companion didn't have syrup on it, it was just normal. Why did I get a weird savory/sweet dish?’
Not happy with spinach donut
Caroline was looking forward to a vegan donut and guess what? ‘Instead of eggs, like the regular donuts, they were made with beets or spinach in the dough. Why? I think the chef thought: vegan is healthy, so I'll make this a bit healthier, but I really wasn't happy about it. I just want a normal donut without eggs!’ Keith sees all sorts of crazy flavors in the vegan donuts, like lavender. ‘They think we vegans are crazy about that kind of hippie stuff. But hey, what's wrong with Oreos and Speculoos? That's also completely vegan, people! I don't need rose petals on my donut.’
Another wrap
Baldwin keeps encountering spinach and beets in wraps: ‘I've noticed that the vegan option in restaurants is often something with a spinach wrap or a beet wrap. But a normal wrap is also vegan, so why is that? They don't need to add extra vegetables to make something more vegan, right?’ Want to order a vegan burger? Then you get fried kale with it. No thanks for Noa. ‘Just fries, because that's also completely vegan. That's fine, right?’
Pizza without tomato
Shane loves pizza. No problem, there are vegan ones too, for example at the American chain WholeFoods. ‘But why are there no tomatoes on it but hummus? And eggplant? Whoever knows, please say.’
Get to work!
Okay, seriously. Eating less meat and more greens is good for your health and the environment, but this way it's not going to work. Who wants donuts with spinach, risotto with orange syrup or tuna salad that makes your whole house smell like a fish market? No food producers, you still have a lot of work to do to really convince everyone to try a vegan day. This way it won't succeed.
wieke
