Looking for something other than a cheese sandwich for lunch, I found 3 remaining vegetarian sausages in the fridge that had been left there by one of our daughters and needed eating. Now I wonder why I ate them.
Linda McCartney’s vegetarian foods has been around for a long time; since 1991 the label tells me. Linda was ridiculed as being a bit ‘cranky’ back in the 1970s , but is probably having the last laugh as more and more people eat ‘meat-free’ these days. Besides, the business was acquired by Heinz in 2000 and again by Hain Celestial Group in 2006. However, having now been to the Kintyre peninsular walking and seen the memorial garden to her there, it is clear that she was a true pioneer and did ‘walk the walk’ as a vegetarian herself. Yes, she did get lots of publicity, but at least she had the idea. That’s a positive.
I also have a personal relationship with the company of that name, as it is based on Fakenham in Norfolk where I live, and I have to walk past it to B&Q/Lidl or the doctors. It is a large factory site producing a range of foods and is quite a big local employer. There are many food manufacturers in Norfolk as it’s close to lots of local ingredients suppliers and I guess the space is more affordable. Outside their factory are signs saying ‘caution, hazardous chemicals’. I am sure all food factories have that, but it has always struck be as incongruous to the brand. Somehow, one thinks vegetarian foods should be wholesome, organic and that they are less industrialised than others.
Having eaten one sausage (three actually), I now know better. I nearly didn’t finish them because to me and my omnivorous palette, they were almost tasteless. True, I am used to the taste of meat in a sausage, but I have eaten a good amount of vegetarian food over the years and even lived meat-free for 9 months once. During that time I mainly cooked myself, so I guess I am not a big processed foods person either.
My good fortune was to eat these ‘sausages’ with some lovely French wholegrain mustard (Moutarde de Meaux, Pommery) gifted to us for Christmas by a neighbour who had recenly visited. This made me think, that despite the mustard’s wholesome packaging, that it too was probably produced in a large industrial factory somewhere and distributed through the same food chain. But at least the ingredients seemed familiar (Water, mustard seeds, vinegar, salt, spices).
Why do vegetarian sausages have to taste so bad? I looked at the label and saw the word SOYA, which explains a lot. Having tried to cook with it a few times, I know it has no taste. But I know why it’s in the sausage and that is because it is high in protein and these sausages boast 20% protein content; important for committed vegetarians.
Looking at the ingredients, it is a confirmed highly processed food and contains many unusually named ingredients to get it through the long food chain and to have shelf life, but few to give it taste. A little onion powder, some yeast extract and tomato puree was all. I guess it lacks a lot of the real sausage flavourings such as thyme, sage and mace because it is simply a ‘vegetarian sausage’ not a Lincolnshire or Cumberland sausage packed with herby flavour. I await their regional varieties, as I won’t be eating a plain and simple vegetarian ‘sausage’ again.
Ps. Cranks was a wonderful vegetarian restaurant on Goodge Street in London. Vegetarian food can taste excellent.