this subreddid just poped up and i couldn't resist to ask here.
I tasted different meat alternatives that are supposed to taste like meat but the best tasted like nothing and the worst nearl made me puke (never forget that one....)
The only time when i managed to eat those alternatives was the time i lost my tastebuds thanks to corona (thanks to the plant maca i got them back)
Could it be that many vegetarians and vegans got some kind of tasteblindness? Similar to pandas who lack a tastebud to enjoy meat?
Or why else haven't you made meat tasting meat-fraxiniles? Making them isn't as difficult after all, done a vegetarian version because i had a vegetarian ex (egg, thorn apart mushrooms, spices and glutamate - i am sure an other binding agent except an egg can be found) and even finetuned it later just because i could. Adding creatine and taurine improves the meat flavour even more. But glutamate still does the heavy lifting. Adding bertram (only know the german name of that plant, but any other root would probably do) for a better meat taste, since better meat eats roots to gain their taste. As well as adding cacao powder for a slight bitternes forbtge taste of beef instead if just pork and chicken.
Therefore have some of you tested if you miss some tastebuds?
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you are correct that I don't think that meat has some amazing flavour profile that makes all the animal harm worthwhile / the 'taste' argument at all effective. And in fact I think that things like sizzling bacon smell really bad now. However I do generally like other food. Maybe its omnivores who simply can't appreciate a nice fresh salad who have the tasteblindness actually. Why would you eat a chicken nugget when you could have some rocket leaves and olives.
specifically unami is in loads of things, in fact Marmite has a strong unami flavour that loads of meat-eaters balk at3
of course at the moment your hypothesis is just conjecture without any evidence of course but I'm not sure it clears many hurdles to begin with, and it certainly doesn't challenge any core arguments of veganism.
don't want to change the arguments for venganism, just want to know.
And about the salad, i inherited a extra strongsense for bitternes from my father, the reason some cheese, beer, whine and salad tastes bitter. Can't enjoy any of those exactly because of my tastebuds. Corona changed that for me and allowed me to enjoy those, until my tastebuds got reactivated. The whole reason why i wondered if something similar is the case with vegans and vegetarians.
I think most people'd probably report it tasted normal until they started 'really thinking about what it was', and then it became gross / unappealing. Ex-smoker vibes
I believe there's definitely differences in people's taste buds. I read some gene can make people more sensitive to bitterness and that people with it are more likely to die from heart disease (because they don't eat their veggies).
Also, there's many different tastes vegans have. Some are salad and sunlight vegans, others junk food and beer vegans. Pretty sure there's different taste buds right there.
Personally I find Beyond and Impossible are pretty good with the meaty flavor. There's nothing I miss from my non vegan past but hey that was couple of decades ago.
I am one of those with the extra bitternes. Got extra bitternes that makes me hate whine and eer from my dad and one that makes me hate orange peels from my mom, i am EXTREMLY sensitive to any kind of bitternes, including some cheeses and nearly all salad... I wouldlove to eat iolives because of their health benefits but i am unable to eat them becausse of their taste... i understand that earlier dyin part...
I don't want to get into all the problems with your post but to answer your question, yes our palettes do change after some time. When you omit certain flavours from your routine you start to not miss them or even notice. When you go back they don't taste the same either. I've accidentally had cow's milk a few times since going vegan and the pus aftertaste is overwhelming. There's a legal limit to how much pus can be in storebought milk because the cows are so frequently infected from the pumps, but I never tasted that before going vegan. Now it's all I taste.
For me it just tastes like cow poop. Maybe because I'm not from US of A where many things are rather free, such as food safety regulations.
This is the sort of bad faith that most omnivores who talk to vegans talk about. You take a kernel of truth and exploit it to be something it is not. Here, I’ll prove it. Please tell me what the difference between pus and somatic cells are and what the difference between the levels of pus and the levels of somatic cells the EU, US, and Canada allow in milk. Also, can pus form in somatic cells counts that are elevated with neutrophil counts that are low?
A little knowledge goes a long way…
Somatic cells are any cell of a living organism that isn't reproductive (like eggs and sperm)... including pus. When somatic cells are discussed in relation to milk it's just a less gross way of referring to the remnants of infected udders. This can mean pus, but can also refer to white blood cells, which are elevated during infection. That's why there's a limit to begin with. If the cows were healthy the limit would not be necessary.
None of this changes the fact that milk tastes like fucking pus.
It changes your position that there is a legal limit to how much pus can be in your milk. I am still waiting for you to validate that claim by showing me where actual pus is described in statutes as being acceptable up to a specific amount; not somatic cells but actual pus as there is a difference.
Carnist here and I agree,
I was a forced vegan growing up. I didn't really expiriment with meat until I was about 16. Red meat like steak was OK but I didn't understand what was so great about it. I started with chicken. In time I had to really understand steak to find it as amazing as I do. Chicken is the easiest starter meat to get into. I advise former forced vegans/vegetarian like me to start with chicken.
makes sense, forgetting tastes is real, had the same with bread.
Use spices. Most of what people taste with meat or veggies is the spice. If you want umami (the flavour of protein), add some soy sauce or fry up some mushrooms for on top.
No. Humans require 10-15 times before their tastebuds get used to flavours, likely as a child you were fed poorly and never got used to eating healthy plant based foods. For your own health, I would suggests starting with small amounts and working your way up so you aren't so limited in what you can eat. It's what should be done with all children so they don't grow up crying they can't eat greens...
Even for this sub, this is very low effort.
Disagree. I have a whole cupboard of spices. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don’t. For meat, spices help improve variation and interest and perhaps cover up poor quality. But I can happily eat a steak, lamb chop or chicken thigh without anything other than perhaps a little salt or pepper.
I didn't say you couldn't, not sure why so many Non-Vegans aren't capable of responding to what I actually said, instead continually goal post shifting to me saying non-vegans have to use spice...
Non-vegans are responding to your exact claim saying they disagree and you keep claiming you didn’t say the thing they’re arguing about which is exactly what you did, in fact, say.
I said most of what people taste with meat is spices, this is because most people add spices. If you don't, congrats, we're all very impressed, but it has nothing to do with what I said.
If that's still not clear enough, sorry, I can't make it any simpler.
And I’m literally saying I disagree with this claim, as are others. I can’t make this any clearer either.
So, you think the thousands, upon thousands of meat dishes from all around the world that are overflowing with spices of all types, don't exist and everyone just eats unspiced meat. Do you think BBQ is just a drink or something?
Cool story anyway!
No. I don’t think that. I think people add spices for variety. I told you this already.
So you don't disagree and are just confused. Great to solve that!
Of course I disagree. You said most of what people taste with meat is the spice. This is false. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t have meat-flavour pairings. Chicken and mint would make as much sense as lamb and mint. It doesn’t.
> Use spices. Most of what people taste with meat or veggies is the spice.
if your meat tastes like spices, you never had good meat, the cheap meat tastes like nothing - rule of fist, if the animal had a good life, it tastes way better.
> No. Humans require 10-15 times before their tastebuds get used to flavours
yeah makes sense, forgot that part, had a few experiences similar to that.
Not what I said, read it again.
If you expect Veggie options to taste like meat without spices, sorry, your disappointment is created by your own lack of reasonable expectations.
Again, learn to cook better if you want better food.
That's nonsense. When I make entrecote, chicken thighs, salmon, pork chops etc I often use nothing but salt. It tastes amazing. If you try beans with salt only however..
I neither said it was only what people taste, nor did I make it personally about you. If you can't reply to what I said, and have to misinterpret and goal post shift and misinterpret every time you reply, as you have so many, many times before, I have no interest in this discussion. Thanks though!
The person you’re replying to didn’t say you did say that. They quoted what you said and said they disagreed with that. I agree with them: it is incorrect to say most of what people taste with meat is the spice.
What they said in reply had nothing to do with what they quoted, same what you replied in the other post. Sorry if that's confusing...
I disagree, most people add spices to their meat. So most people mostly taste spices. If you think most people eat meat daily without any salt, pepper, or other spices, that doesn't reflect what I've seen in my life, but maybe where you live no one ever uses spices...
edit: Also I gave no effort in talking to Helen because they've proven again and again to me that they are violating Rule 4. No idea why the mods don't ban them, but that's the mod's choice.
Wait, you’re including salt as a spice!?
I include salt as something added to meat to change the flavour, it's not technically a spice, but it should be pretty obvious what is meant...
Salt is added to help enhance and bring out the flavour.
ETA: people will add salt to almost anything: savoury and sweet. That doesn’t mean people don’t like what they’re eating and need to cover it up with salt.
Yes, good job! No idea why you felt the need to write it as I've never said otherwise, but yeah, it's a true statement of fact. Well done.
Well don't I look silly for claiming it does!
What's that? I didn't claim it does and you're yet again arguing about something that has literally nothing to do with what I said?! What a shock!
I can see why you ran in to white knight for Helen, you argue in a strikingly similar manner.
I’m saying this (the above statement) is false. Most of what people taste with meat is meat.
I just find it funny every time vegans claim non-vegans use a lot of spices. When its vegans who are way more dependent on spices to make their food not to taste like clay.
Except that's not what I said... Again, in a debate you're suppose to reply to the topic, not goal post shift.
This post is called "meat taste question".
Yes! Well done knowing the overall topic of the thread your replying to!
But in a debate, when you quote someone's words in your reply, you are actually suppose to reply to the specific things you're quoting, not ignore it and just reply to the more generic topic the OP started.
If you want to talk to the OP, talk to them, not me.
There is a difference in how you cook/consume faux meat vs real meat.
It's not like steak or a chicken thigh where you can just add a little spice, bake/grille it, and it solo dolo. It's better used as a protein meal as part of a multi ingredient dish.
The way i eat meat normaly would be as main dish as little processed as possible, because i want to enjoy the meat taste. If those products aren't meant for that, that would explain a lot.
There is no science that would give a genetic or medical reason why different people have a different experience eating different foods
i have a more sensitive bitternes tastebud. That's why i can't drink beer, salat is always bitter and some cheese are bitter as well.
There are people born withiut or less tastebuds. They are known.
We know that there are differences in taste reception. However since it is not well studied i asked here. Because personaly noticed that a lot of vegetarians and vegans describe the structure instead of the taste when they describe an meat fraxinile product to me.
This is a survey not a debate proposition.
No I haven’t. Survey complete
There's a wide range of quality and flavor in mock meat products, so it's possible that you didn't sample the most similar ones. In my opinion, Impossible tastes a lot like what I remember mediocre ground cow tasting like. I think a lot of mock sausages are pretty close to the pig version, as the sausage spicing is a large part of the flavor of that anyway.
I mean, ... taste can be a bit particular to an individual. And there are a lot of considerations that go into this. Some people are interested in nutrition, such as protein content (your recipe isn't high protein for what it's worth). Some people want to avoid synthetic or "processed" ingredients. And some people, to be frank, never liked the taste or texture of actual animal meat anyway.
In my opinion, the best thing vegans can do is to try to make dishes savory without them being "meaty" in a specific way that resembles some dead animal product. There are a lot of ingredients, cooking techniques, flavors and textures to explore. It can be pretty liberating to have a blank slate to experiment and create things that are entirely new. However, it's a lot harder to market these sorts of things without making reference to some familiar product. Perhaps you would appreciate the plant-based meats more if you considered them their own thing rather than an approximation of something else.
Simple Fact: The vast majority of people are not out here going vegan just for the taste of alternative meat and dairy products, or because those products are so delicious.
Personally, meat never tasted as good to me as knowing that no animals had to die for my meal. Besides, I can’t realistically separate the taste of meat from the textural horror that is accidentally biting into unrendered fat, tendon, or bone.
I definitely don’t think my tastebuds were different from any other meat eater at first. Since going vegan a little over 5 years ago, my tastebuds have DEFINITELY changed, to the point where things that used to seem awful and I couldn’t imagine liking (here’s looking at you, tofu!) are a regular part of my diet now. 10 years ago, if I went to a restaurant, I’d likely tell you all about how I’d NEVER order a salad over a beef burger with fries or some creole shrimp pasta. When I first went vegan, meat alternatives made up a big part of my diet. Now, when I have options, I’m likely to pick a salad with quinoa and chick peas over other vegan options like a beyond burger. I didn’t force myself to start eating that way from the start, it was more of a gradual evolution - which is great, cuz it felt pretty easy tbh.
Yikes, and you think the problem is other peoples' taste buds.
No, difference in tastebuds is not why anyone does or doesnt become vegan.
Most vegans enjoyed the taste of meat before going vegan.
There were blind tests done (I dont have the link but should be easy to find) to compare taste of meat alternatives to real meat without the test subjects knowing which one was which, and the alternatives performed very well, sometimes scoring higher than the real meat.
Its believed that one big reason meat eaters sometimes dont like alternative meats is that its psychological bias - vegans learn very fast that if you make a vegan dish and dont label it, omnis eat and like it, the moment you label it they change their minds, even after already having eaten, its very interesting how our brain works.
And yes, tastebuds change and adapt, kinda like if you drink coffee with sugar you get used to it and then black coffee tastes bitter, but if you drink black coffee for a while you get used to it and adding sugar tastes off-putting. Same happens to all types of flavors.
I believe going plant based can definitely be easier or harder depending on taste buds.
As for ethics considerations, often people eating non plant based are unable to see the problem and many only see the ethics of the matter after transitioning to plant based diet.
So, yes, taste buds can effect how likely it is for someone to become vegan.
Veganism isn't about the taste in your mouth as it is perceived by your tastebuds. It's about the taste left in your mouth after you realise you ate someone who didn't want to die as it is perceived by your conscience.
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I'd say that I'm for sure not "tasteblind". I'm quite a foodie, somebody you could talk about e.g. different varieties of garlic and oregano, which herbs make a tea that fits nicely to that kind of cake, whether I want these or that kind of mushroom for a specific dish, the perfect bread for this and that bread spread, and I'm quite picky regarding flavors, even when others often just accept them (like: artificial flavors - for me that does not taste like e.g. cherries, vanilla, as it just is not, and I also think e.g. that such as a frozen meal, or some industry food just is not "the real one").
"Or why else haven't you made meat tasting meat-fraxiniles?"
Who exactly? A company? People here, personally?
I have not made one, as I just do not miss meat (and also do not buy meat substitutes). There are so many lovely, cool, amazing... ingredients out there that for sure I do not need a meat replacement. Each meal I cook, bake, prepare is one I enjoy and I'm looking forward already to dinner today.
I personally did not hate the taste of meat. I did not like certain consistencies, but nothing about meat itself was bad. It is just that I love so many kinds of food that I do not see any need in replacing that. Why I went vegetarian and then vegan? Not for the hate of the taste of meat and animal products, but because it makes me sad how they are produced (for me e.g. it is not appetizing eating a "drumstick", which is a chicken leg, that likely comes from a bird that did suffer... I "see" those bird claws trying to get a hold, that amputated beak... and no, really not do I want to have that on my plate) - and I really do not depend on that. There is more to put on a plate than e.g. a steak, eggs with bacon. What about some old-fashioned farmer style bread (not those sugary American-style loaves) with some garlicy hummus, or some pasta with oyster mushrooms, white pepper and a bit of cilantro, and as a side some crunchy salad with some lemon zests?
Btw.: I love umami. My favorite taste is around that: savory, umami, a bit salty.
"Adding bertram (only know the german name of that plant, but any other root would probably do) for a better meat taste, since better meat eats roots to gain their taste."
Why does better-tasting meat eat roots? Sure, some animals considered "game" do, but I doubt that e.g. freshwater or seawater fish, mussels... eat any roots. (These are meat, too!)
And you seem to forget here one thing: It is not just meat. There are also all the other animal products. For example, I think that the texture of such as a leather wristband can feel nice and smooth, it can be artisanal crafted. But I really do not want to wrap the skin of an animal who suffered around my arm to wear it as jewelry - it won't be anything that would make my day happy, looking at it and thinking of that animal.
Some people cope with it by just not thinking of it. It is not my way to do it: mine is to not buy, have it.
This article is relevant to the discussion: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/409175/meat-plant-based-blind-taste-test
It says:
First, the bad news for the plant-based meat industry: Animal meats got far higher scores on all metrics. On average, 68 percent of participants rated the animal meat products as “like very much” or “like,” while only 30 percent of plant-based meat, on average, received the same ratings.
[...] But for 20 of the plant-based products, half or more of the participants rated them higher than the animal version or rated the two equally, meaning they had no preference.
and it goes on...
In 2023, Rosenfeld co-authored a study finding that people who more strongly believed in humans’ right to eat meat, milk, and eggs were more likely to expect vegan burgers and ice cream to taste bad.
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This is not really a debate question at all, but ok.
As a vegan I don't particularly like products that try really hard to imitate meat. For example I'd much rather just have a bean patty on a burger instead of an imitation meat one. The bean patty is just trying to be a patty, but is not trying to be like meat. It is just a different option/flavor. Also I'd eat lab-grown meat.
No. I usually try to be polite on here but come on this is a stupid question. People become vegans because of the animal suffering, not because of taste. I enjoyed the taste of meat just as much as the next person, but didn't factor taste in one bit when I made the shift.
If you think you have a recipe to make plants taste just like meat, you should definitely give it a shot. There are lots of companies out there attempting to do just this and they’ve been at it for a while now.
I don’t think vegans have different tastes than omnivores to begin with but tastes definitely change over time. For instance, I snack on dry roasted edamame all the time. I used to think they tasted like grass but now I really enjoy them.
But even if it was an objective fact that meat tastes better than plants, I would still eat only plants because I don’t want an animal to experience being farmed and killed so I can enjoy one food a bit more than another.
I don't avoid meat because I dislike it or because it doesn't taste good to me. I have no reason to think I don't have similar tastes to a non-vegan. I do think non-vegans who make a big deal about disliking many vegan foods may have atypical taste buds because most of the non-vegans I know are willing to have vegan meals sometimes even if they aren't interested in being vegan.
If you don't like any of the many different plant based meat alternatives, then try other animal free sources of protein found in ethnic cuisines. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, nuts, seeds, can be delicious! The savory flavor of umami can be found in soy sauce, miso, nutritional yeast, mushrooms, seaweed, msg, and tomato products like pasta sauce.
Well only thing that will come close is lab grown meat which is real meat made of animal cells. Even then people will call gross. Vegans enjoy taste of meat but why they are vegan is not because if taste, they are sharing exploitation and killing do you not see the holocaust of animals?
This is the list of the 20 highest rated vegan meats: https://www.nectar.org/the-tasty-awards/2025-winners