Cooking & EatingMore and more sausages without meat are for sale in the supermarket. But what do those vegan sausages actually taste like? The Consumers’ Association tried seven. The test team was not impressed.
There are more and more vegetarian smoked sausages for sale. Those vega sausages were originally only something from food producers who make vegan products. But Hema now has two, Albert Heijn has one and Unox also has one. The Consumers’ Association had a panel of 60 meat substitute enthusiasts taste seven of these smoked sausages without meat. The researchers also looked at the ingredients of the sausages.
The outcome is discouraging: the taste of the ‘sausages’ was often substandard. None of the sausages scored a pass, the Consumer Guide reported today. The reactions of the panel members: ‘I’d rather no smoked sausage at all than this one’ and ‘not comparable with real smoked sausage’ are two of the friendly responses to those of Albert Heijn, for example. And that while AH itself claims that their sausage is ‘just as tasty as regular’.
Vega sausages are also regularly visited online. There are fans, but there are also consumers who warn others: don’t do it. He tasted like vomit, reported a columnist from The Stentor about the copy of Unox she ate. And vegetarian smoked sausages are also more expensive than those with meat, reported Inspection Service of Value already in 2019 in a broadcast. The sausages from the Consumers’ Association test cost between 2.95 euros (Valess) and 3.85 euros (Unox).
AH: only a big 10 for the label
In terms of taste, Hema’s sausage gets the highest score in the test: 5.7. Just not enough. The snap that you hear when you take a bite and that inextricably belongs to the smoked sausage, is difficult to imitate. The Vegetarian Butcher is the only producer that manages to achieve this crack. When it comes to taste, there is much to be gained, says the Consumers’ Association.
The Garden Gourmet imitation smoked sausage received the highest test rating because it is still reasonably healthy: it contains little unhealthy saturated fat and it contains a lot of protein. It is not suitable for vegans because it contains chicken protein. It is the best buy, according to the researchers. Normally there is always a product tested that gets the ‘Best in the test’ label, but none of the sausages deserve that award. Albert Heijn only gets a 10 for the label, because it clearly states which parts of the packaging you have to throw away when you separate waste. The taste is not enough for the sausage with a score of 4.2.
Tip if you do want meat: have one with chicken or pork
Most sausages also have little to do with health. The majority of manufacturers opt for a lot of salt. Hema’s ‘too sausage’ is the unhealthiest with 2.5 grams of salt and a high content of saturated fat. The sausage with vegetables is actually the least salty.
If you do want meat, choose one without beef, advises the Consumers’ Association. This makes a significant difference when it comes to sustainability: the production of a chicken or pork sausage releases less CO2 than a beef smoked sausage.
This is how you make delicious sauerkraut stew with smoked sausage:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Vegan #smoked #sausages #tested #dont #taste #good #arent #healthy