Anyone tried a tofurky?

[begin_within]

Last year my friends had one, and they said it was good, but I never got to taste it. Just wondering what it's like.

[texanwitch]

1. Looks interesting.

I think I will have the real thing.

[jilln]

42. The real Tofurkey? Cool.

Tofurkey is not fake. It's just not cruel and apparently that puts people off.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. I've had it but...

the Zen & Now UnTurkey is much better.

[ruiner4u]

3. MmmmMMMmmm

Turkey... In a bag!...

[BlueStorm]

4. Looks more like a giant... sausage n/t

[T_i_B]

41. I thought it looked like...

...those cheap haggis's you find in Tesco's. Same shape and same plastic wrapping, only a different colour.

[LeftyMom]

5. It's not bad. The tofurkey gravy is really, really good.

The stuffing inside those little tofurkey roasts is also pretty good. Tofurkey isn't really like turkey in texture (it's a bit firmer, not tofu-like as the name would suggest, but it's good.

[jobycom]

6. I like them, but you have to prepare them with a little pizzazz

Their web site has several recipes that work well, and their box has a simple recipe with "giblet" gravy. I usually make a mushroom gravy with a good mushroom soup. My favorite way to cook it is the Santa Fe style recipe on their site--very good.

Without a good recipe, though, it's a bit dry, and it has a little bitterness to it. Not much, just enough to be noticable. The stuffing inside is good.

Like an offal turkey, you can slice the leftovers into a pretty good sandwich filler, too.

Whole Foods has a wheat roast with a stuffing, and it's also very good. Pricey, though. I'm sure there are other variations. Quorn makes a "chicken" style roast that's good, too, out of their fungus whatsit stuff.

[TheMightyFavog]

7. It looks...

Disgusting, if you ask me.

[Nevernose]

8. I generally HATE vegetarian food

Mostly because I'm not a vegetarian. But my ex-wife's in-laws were Seventh Day Adventists, and when I first served them, they gave me Tofurkey. It was excellent. It even had the right texture.

Of course, after I ate their vegetarian chili, I had gas for 48 hours. They did, too, though, so it made for an interesting weekend...

[eyesroll]

29. I generally hate (insert ethnic cuisine here), mostly because I'm not (insert ethnicity).

Doesn't make sense, does it?

:shrug:

If you generally dislike vegetarian food, it's probably because you've not had good examples of it.

I'm an omnivore but one of my favorite local restaurants is an all-vegetarian Indian place nearby.

[Zookeeper]

9. Well, if I were opposed to eating real turkey....

I would probably have sushi for Thanksgiving dinner. Or veggie chinese food. Or a nice casserole with grains and autumn veggies.

I'm not crazy about substituting imitation meat. Especially after a dinner many years ago when some friends molded a "turkey" out of tofu. (And I like tofu!)

[u4ic]

10. Hi Zookeeper!

Nice to see you around. How are you doing? :hi:

[Zookeeper]

12. Hey, u4ic!

Fine, thanks! And how are you? Do you have snow up there yet?

I was off-line all summer and much of autumn due to a hectic life and many projects (I've been trying to single-handedly scrape and paint my house, but I've run out of weather. ;-) ).

I'm happy to see you are still hangin' around the Lounge!

[u4ic]

14. I'm down with a bad cold...

x( Otherwise, I'm doing good!

Snow! We've had it for a month now, at least. It's already gotten down to -20c, as well. It's warmed up lately, but going back down to a similar temperature again by the weekend. The roads will be fun. I should just get out my ice skates, it'll be easier to get around. :D

Glad to see you back! Sounds like you had a productive summer!

[Zookeeper]

15. No snow here yet....

In fact, we haven't had much the last few years. Or, at least, we don't get it until mid-winter. It's put a real damper on winter recreation.

BTW, have you tried Zicam (Zinc Cold Remedy Swabs)? It's basically a Q-tip with zinc that is wiped inside the nostrils. I've been using it all year whenever I feel like I'm getting a cold or flu (with three kiddos, that's fairly often). I've found that it stops or shortens any symptoms. It's homeopathic, but available in most pharmacies. (And, I don't own stock in the company, really!)

I hope you feel better soon....:hug:

[u4ic]

18. This has been an unusual winter

so far. This century we haven't had nearly the snowfall that we have had in the past. I think we've had at least half a dozen separate snowfalls in a month's time. It's also been unusually grey. It tends to be very sunny here in the winter. Or it used to. As it warms up (climate change), it's getting damper and greyer. (it's the Prairies! Damp??!)

Have you found the same thing there?

Thanks, I'll look for the Zicam. I don't think I've seen it here before, but then again, I haven't looked. I usually use ColdFx, but there was none in stock in the few places I visited, it's very popular up here (and I find, it works). I did finally find some today and started to take it, but it's best if taken when you first feel the symptoms.

Thank you! I hope so, too. :hug:

[Zookeeper]

21. Well, we're right on the edge of the Prairies....

and our winters have definitely become milder in the 19 years I've been in Minnesota. My impression is that they have been drier, then we have a month of rain and grey skies in May or June. And summers have become quite hot and humid. I think I spend more time indoors hiding from the weather in the summer than I do in the winter!

January and February are usually sunny here, and isn't that the saving grace of the short winter days?!

Maybe you're getting a weather pattern that will reach us eventually? (Hopefully, not before Wednesday, when the temps are supposed to be warm enough for me to finish painting the front of the house!)

[u4ic]

23. What's odd is that, yes,

in terms of precipitation, it's getting drier. However, in the winter - the past few, anyway - the air has been damp. We don't necessarily get snowfall, but definitely the air is damper than what it used to be.

I know what you mean about summer! Here, it's not bad, but I grew up in the burbs of Toronto, where it is very hot and humid, and did the same thing. I can deal with the cold easier than the hot weather - particularly hot, humid weather (though I'm more of a fan of temperate weather).

I don't know if you'll be getting this weather. I can't help but wonder if it's a little bit of a chinook (we don't get them like southern Alberta, but sometimes they do have a mild effect on us). There was some wacky weather in the south of the province last week...

[crim son]

13. Yeah, I don't get the meat replacement thing.

There is a world full of vegetarian meals, wonderful vegetarian meals that don't involve using imitation flesh. However some traditions die hard and I guess I can see where the tofurkey might appeal. Just not to me.

[Zookeeper]

17. And aren't you just setting yourself up for....

disappointment when you say, "Here's our (pretend) Thanksgiving turkey!" It doesn't look like turkey. It doesn't smell like turkey. It doesn't taste like turkey.

I think that if a person was that attached to tradition, they wouldn't be fully satisfied with a substitute anyway.

[LeftyMom]

19. Honestly, most of those foods are more for convenience than cravings.

Tofurkey is easier and faster to prepare than a lot of alternatives for savory home-made entrees. While newbie veg*ns might use stuff like that as transition food, for the most part it has a lot more to do with easy preparation than taste as the homebrewed alternatives usually blow the storebought meat analogs out of the water.

[Zookeeper]

22. Maybe the problem is the name....

I'm not a vegetarian, but I frequently order mock-duck dishes at chinese restaurants because I like it and it's healthy, not because I think it's anything like duck. If I actually wanted duck, I'd be very disappointed.

I'd be curious to know what the meat analog companies are thinking about those issues. I'll bet they'd like to find a way to promote their products that wouldn't involve comparing them to meat.

[WillParkinson]

25. Vegetarian

I haven't any issues with the faux meats. I don't eat meat because I refuse to take part in the killing of an innocent creature, not because I don't like the taste.

[u4ic]

11. I'd like to - but it's not gluten free

Most of the imitation meats aren't...

[Cascadian]

16. I have. It's good.

I maybe eating that next Thanksgiving as I move towards vegetarianism. I will have only a sliver of meat this Thanksgiving though.


John

[jgraz]

20. I hate to admit it

because Tofurkey is about a far away from my own culinary philosophy as you can get...but, the stuff ain't bad. They also make bratwurst and keilbasa, which taste nothing like the real thing but are pretty damn good in their own right. All of them have LOTS of salt, so watch out for that.

Whatever you decide, I'll be having a nice, free-range organic real turkey with all the trimmings.

[WillParkinson]

24. We have one every week...

During November when they're on sale.

They're very good. The gravy is excellent.

I haven't tried the Now and Zen one yet, though, so can't say which is better.

[emmajane67]

26. Tofurkey goooooooood.

Last Christmas was the first time I've lived somewhere that has such things and it was very exciting I can assure you.

8 years of falafel and potato salad for Christmas dinner and you start to feel a bit ripped off!

No Tofurkey for me this year thoug, I'm going home so it'll be salad etc but I'll be sure to drop by and skite about going to the beach on Christmas day. :)

[CottonBear]

27. I know someone who cooked one, tasted it & promptly tossed it in the trash.

It grossed them out and they're vegetarian. It looks unappetizing to me and I like tofu. :puke:

[jakefrep]

31. That sounds like what my cousin and her husband did...

...last Thanksgiving. I'm not sure what they're planning for this Thanksgiving, but it's a good bet Tofurkey isn't on the menu.

[zanne]

28. They always say it's good.

My cat thinks dead bird is good.

[YankeyMCC]

30. Tried a sample in a store and

it was horrible. I'm not opposed to tofu substitution of meat at times, in fact I occasionally use tofu "hotdogs" when I want a dog.

And tofu can be good in dishes. And although I'm a committed carnivore I often enjoy veg meals and I think there many good veg meals that can substitute for a traditional main course even for an American Thanksgiving.

What I don't get is the need to make the veg substitute look and act like meat. If you're going veg better IMHO to not try and dress it up as a meat substitute. You'll end up with a better meal instead of being disappointment because what you really wanted was meat.

[Moloch]

32. No....

Mom (a vegetarian) made one last year and everyone agreed that it was the most awful tasting thing ever.

[buddhamama]

33. i have had it twice

the first time is was yucky and i couldn't eat it.

the second time i cooked it myself and enjoyed it.

as with many tofu products what you add to it in the way of herbs and spices (cooking method too) determines its taste.

[anarch]

34. I read this as "Anyone fried a Tofurkey?"

And no, I haven't fried one, but now I'm thinking about it....

[jakefrep]

37. I'm sure somebody will try it...

....we've deep fried just about everything else.

[seemunkee]

35. We cook one for my son and daughter

They both like it. My son prefers Unturkey but I couldn't find it.

[RebelOne]

36. I have eaten it just once and I didn't care for it at all. n/t

[flvegan]

38. I make mine with an apricot glaze. Unturkey (Now & Zen) is better, as

Haruka stated above (in my opinion), but Tofurkey is still quite good.

[zappa_parappa]

39. My girlfriend brought one to thanksgiving last year

Everyone agreed it was one of the nastiest abominations ever created...the gravy isn't that bad...but put the tofurkey down and run very far away.

[mzteris]

40. we tried it a few years ago -

when we first went vegetarian and weren't very impressed.

The next Tgiving we just went the veggie only route - which was okay.

But then we discovered QUORN turkey roast. YUM!!! We cook it even not at Tgiving! Hubby (the non-veggie in the family) isn't CRAZY about it but it's "better than nothing" he says. lol However, he does like it for "turkey sandwiches" after it's cold.





One note - I could probably prepare the Tofurkey better than I did that first time if I had it again. I think the spices help a lot. Also, we didn't have any veggie gravy. I've never had the Tofurkey gravy - which I understand is very very good. I usually get the Hain's veggie gravy (NOTE To self - go make sure we have some!!!)

[CabalPowered]

43. I like them but I don't like the fake skin