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What Does Queen Esther Have in Common With Your Veggie-burger?

by Delilah Raybee · March 3rd, 2009

Cooking, Grocery, Holidays, Judaism, Meat, Purim, Vegetarian

burger

“Oh, there’s no blue cheese in it. We just call it blue cheese,” the diner waiter informed my mother with a perfectly straight face. It’s been a running joke in my family ever since.

Purim offers the opportunity to contemplate costumes in many form – including disguised food, which vegetarians may encounter more than others. As an omnivore, I prefer the straight-up veggie offerings: beans, nuts, legumes, and oh, vegetables, perhaps. However, to feed my vegetarian partner, the fake sausages and other meat substitutes find their way onto my grocery list with regularity. Why this compulsion for fake meat products? It could be to add some variety to a vegetarian diet. (But, think of all the meat eaters who eat only chicken all the time. Where is the variety in that?) It could be the belief that someone who doesn’t eat meat will miss it, and must therefore want these poor substitutes.

On a veggie discussion board, one answer to the question, “why fake meat?” was simple: to fit in. Posters gave examples of going to a bbq and wanting to eat a veggie burger or veggie hot dog, as opposed to something entirely different such as a salad or other dish that requires a fork. This resonates particularly well with the Purim theme: Esther sticking to a vegetarian diet in the palace, rather than eating non-kosher meat.

Which brings me away from food for a moment to ask another question about Purim. (But don’t worry, we’ll get back to the food soon). Could it have been possible that the King did know Esther was Jewish? In these days of assimilation and intermarriage, it might be easy to believe someone could pick one woman out of a group and not know she is Jewish. But, everything I know and imagine about biblical Persia would indicate that Jews lived separately from their neighbors, and would have been recognizable by their looks, and perhaps clothing or even skin color. While I never thought I look particularly Jewish (and I know there are many different ways to “look Jewish”), I was recognized as such when walking down the street in Kyiv, Ukraine. In Ukraine Jews definitely stood out from the rest of the population. Wouldn’t it be the same in Persia?

Think of Michael Pollen’s advice to eat something your grandmother would have recognized as food. In those days, it was easy to see what was food and what was not. You could tell what was a chicken and what was a carrot, and no corporation was trying to sell you a carrot that was mashed, seasoned and colored to look like a chicken. Your grandmother, or King David, also likely would have recognized a Jew for a Jew. Separations between various cultures and peoples were more pronounced. (Please feel free to disagree with me completely in the comments!)

These fake meat products often have a long list of ingredients (sodium, color, preservatives), some of which might be unpronounceable. (For example, this smart bacon has 14% of your RDA of sodium, and tastes like it). These products are best when eaten in combination with sauces and other ingredients, unlike the traditional piece of meat as the centerpiece of a meal. Interestingly, the original fake meat products such as tofu, tempeh and seitan have fewer ingredients and were developed to feed vegetarian Chinese Buddhists. (More on the history of seitan and tempeh, as well as some recipes here).

So, while I will continue to shop for tasty and somewhat healthy fake meat products, one real ingredient I have recently discovered is the dried shiitake mushroom. I buy dried shiitake mushrooms in bulk at my local natural foods store. Rehydrate according to instructions, and mix with veggie and tofu stir fry to add a meaty texture to the meal without using fake meat.

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10 Responses to “What Does Queen Esther Have in Common With Your Veggie-burger?”

Michael Croland Says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Terrific post! I plan on linking to it on my blog (heebnvegan.blogspot.com) at some point in the next week.

A lot of people have called meat analogs “transition foods for vegetarians,” and this makes sense for the routine-bound simple cook — just make a slightly altered version of your standard meal, and the initial adoption of a vegetarian diet becomes easy as can be. There’s merit to this.

But my dependence on processed soy-based mock meats shouldn’t have lasted a decade, as it did — that’s a long transition. I’ve cut back on them DRASTICALLY in the wake of reading Michael Pollan’s books, following The Jew & The Carrot, discovering a local farmers market, etc.

Still, there are times when I crave processed soy imitating meat. I rationalize to myself that it’s far better (from an ethical standpoint of what happens to animals) to have processed faux meats maybe twice a week than to eat animals, even if there are nutritional, environmental, etc., consequences. Plus, one of the arguments against dependence on soy-based mock meats is having variety in your diet, and I think that’s not an issue for me right now.

Why am I drawn to it? I think it’s habit, routine, taste preference, and familiarity. It brings back memories of the tastes I enjoyed in childhood. The texture is very appealing too.

So long as I don’t eat the mock meats too often, I think it’s a decent compromise (even though I sometimes say “Sorry, Michael Pollan!” when I do it). :-)

For what it’s worth … I’ve been in vegetarian advocacy circles for quite some time, and I’ve long noticed that male vegetarians tend to miss meat (and crave mock meat substitutes) much more than women do.
Elizabeth Raybee Says:
March 4th, 2009 at 2:49 am
You must have inherited some of my mistrust of lots of those beans in deep drag!
But…
though they are marketed and named as “fake meats”, it must be nice to have the full variety of textures available in a vegetarian diet, in the same way we omnivores have the steak, chop, cold-cut and burger range. Still, I think I’d enjoy my mashed green-beans mixed with chopped walnuts more if it were called something like “summer pate” or “bean-nut butter” than “vegetarian chopped liver”; it would feel less contrived!
Delilah Says:
March 4th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Michael – Thanks for your comments. Kudos on your efforts to cut down on actual meat products. The gender difference on fake meats would be interesting to explore… & thanks for the link to your blog, I’ll check it out!

And – thanks, mom!
Delilah
Roberta Schiff Says:
March 4th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Michael and Elizabeth, I agree with both of you. We vegetarians are often called upon to explain why many of us but and consume faux meats – it is a legitimate question. But remember many meat-eaters consume cold cuts and lunch meats and other highly processed foods with lots of unhealthful ingredients – I just learned that there are dozens of different Kraft Lunchables which are full of preservatives, fat and sodium that are marketed to children and their parents who are too busy apparently to pack a lunch and the children become accustomed to the processed taste and don’t want wholesome food.
Roberta Schiff Says:
March 4th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Elizabeth and everyone else,

Here is an easy vegan pate (I used to call it mock chopped liver until a longtime vegan freind said “you want me to eat something that tastes like a liver?”

The secret of the authentic taste is onions, sauteed very slowly, first in water and then in a bit of olive oil so that they carmelize. Do this while the lentils are cooking. Cook about two cups lentils, until soft. Add a piece of the sea veggie kombu for minerals, creaminess and reduction of gas. (good for all dried beans)No salt until they are done. In a food processor add the onions, drained lentils and walnuts (about two thirds lentils to one third walnuts). A large red onion and some shallots are a good combination. Process until smooth, season with sea salt, a bit of pepper if you like and a dash or two of good soy sauce. Simple and spectacular. Looks kind of plain though, so figure out an interesting garnish. Ring with olives, put parsley, red pepper slices or something else colorful on top. Serve with crackers, celery or romaine or endive “cups”.
Delilah Says:
March 4th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Roberta – good point on the processed meats. And, thanks for the recipe!
Roberta Schiff Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Delilah,
Glad you like the comment and the recipe.
earthmother Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Great article! I’ve never understood the whole mock meat thing either, especially since they’re so highly processed.

Since I’ve been transitioning to a diet of raw, unprocessed plant-based foods, I’ve noticed there’s this whole faction of folks within the raw community who try to recreate “cooked” food. It’s crazy.

I think what it comes down to is that our food memories are highly emotional and most of us are looking to recreate those happy, comforting memories, whatever our dietary choices.
Arlyn Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Great post. It does make things quite confusing (and food can be confusing enough. I am recalling our first foray into raw foods-at a little place in vegas circa 2001. My husband repeatedly asking the raw foods chef “So, if it doesnt have cheese, tomato sauce or flour, why are you calling it pizza?”

And I agree-most of the meat substitutes are pretty lame nutritionally…many have TVP and autolyzed yeast extract and other questionable flavorings…not so bad on occasionally, but somevegans/vegetarians eat them daily. One more reason to stick with the real thing, baby! (that’s not meant to be anti-veg in any way, btw!)
JewishGal Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I’m always suspicious of the fake meats – there are a few vegetarian/vegan restaurants near me and a lot of their menu is fake-meat, like fake bbq skewers, etc. I’d really prefer to just know what it is, not what it isn’t! (Also one time I ordered veggie kung pao at a “veg friendly Chinese restaurant” near here and I think they gave us shrimp, or the fake shrimp was too accurately shrimpy and we freaked out)