TofuTurkey coming to a store near you

[MarkB]

Popularity of tofu turkey gives creator lot to cluck about

Associated Press
Mar. 7, 2005 08:55 AM

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - People may joke about Tofurky. But the the company that makes the ersatz turkey is getting the last laugh.

Oregon-based Turtle Island Foods makes what founder Seth Tibbott calls meat alternatives. Their tofu "turkey" was intended to give vegetarians something to eat at Thanksgiving. They sold 500 in 1995 and 150,000 last year.

Tibbott says there's nothing wrong with being the butt of jokes. He says you can't say Tofurky without smiling. Now, they're selling everything from meatless sausages to a vegetarian jerky called Tofurky Jurky.

Not my cup of tea but some on this board might enjoy this.

MarkB[/img]

[Jack]

Tofurky (Tofurkey?) Jerky is so delicious.

[brianc]

Why do they call it turkey when it isn't?

[Redwolf]

Why do they call it turkey when it isn't?

They don't call it "turkey," they call it "Tofurky."

I can't stand the stuff myself. I like other meat analogs, but Tofurky gags me.

Redwolf

[emmline]

Yes. Thanks for clarifying that Red.
I like the stuffing and thin slices of the "meat."

Cran's right. Tofurkey Jerky is yummy.

[Doug_Tipple]

No pseudo-meat subsitutes for me, thank you. I am a hard-core tofu eater, and I take mine plain with a little hot sauce.

[Jack]

No pseudo-meat subsitutes for me, thank you. I am a hard-core tofu eater, and I take mine plain with a little hot sauce.

I like it like that, too.

[The Weekenders]

Yeah, its been around here for a while, but can't say that I have had the ...pleasure....of tryin' it.

I will say that I worked in a health food grocery for about, oh, a day and a half before I was let go (not a good fit, she said). One of my jobs was to change the water that the cakes of tofu rested in. I already had my doubts about the stuff, but that did it! Aw, its okay in miso soup.

[Tony]

.... I can't stand the stuff myself....

Same here. My Chinese girlfriend feeds me Tofu 2-3 times a week and I try to pass it off to the dog.

I will say tofu mixed with something sugary... like cool whip or ice cream makes it tollerable.

[DCrom]

.... I can't stand the stuff myself....

Same here. My Chinese girlfriend feeds me Tofu 2-3 times a week and I try to pass it off to the dog.

I will say tofu mixed with something sugary... like cool whip or ice cream makes it tollerable.

Tastes, they do differ.

Haven't tried Tofurkey (and I'm not anxious to, either) but I like properly prepared tofu just fine. Which is a good thing for me, since my wife of 20+ years is Chinese and we eat tofu about as frequently as you do.

I'm not a vegetarian, but there are a lot of good Chinese dishes - some vegetarian, some not - that use tofu. By itself, it's pretty bland - the tofu adds texture and protein, but the other ingredients provide most of the taste. What's not to like about Ma Po Bean Curd, or pan-fried slices of firm tofu served with Chinese chives in a sweet/savory sauce? Or bowls of silken tofu in sweet sauce, served from a vast cauldron in a temple's courtyard on a cool winter's day? (I'm recalling the view from the Temple of the 10,000 Buddhas in Hong Kong as I type this)

I'll admit that some western-style vegetarian restaurants I've eaten at can make tofu awfully boring, but that's like deciding you don't like pasta because someone served you a plate of plain pasta without sauce.

[mukade]

.... I can't stand the stuff myself....

Same here. My Chinese girlfriend feeds me Tofu 2-3 times a week and I try to pass it off to the dog.

I will say tofu mixed with something sugary... like cool whip or ice cream makes it tollerable.

The stuff they sell in the UK, and probably in the US, is not what I would call tofu. I could never eat it, but I have changed my mind since moving to Japan.

Really good tofu, like the stuff my local tofu shop makes, doesn't need any flavouring at all.

My favourite recipe is the simple Hiyayakko - tofu sprinkled with spring onion, ginger, and soy sauce.

Then there is fried tofu, grilled tofu, tofu pouches filled with sushi rice.....

I'm hungry now.

Mukade

[Wombat]

I can't imagine why full vegetarians would want to eat something that reminds them of meat.

I sometimes eat vegetarian mince which has something like the texture of beef mince but renders too much liquid to be a satisfactory substitute. Still I'd rather it looked less like meat if it didn't render so much liquid and so worked better in vegetarian versions of meat dishes. It's the texture and the ability to support and complement the non-meaty flavours I'd be looking for, not something that has the same flavour. I like tofu that isn't pretending to be something else too.

[mukade]

I can't imagine why full vegetarians would want to eat something that reminds them of meat.

I have been a vegetarian for over 16 years. I don't think it's that they want to eat something that reminds them of meat, neither is it supposed to be a substitute for meat. I think it is more to do with fitting in with the meat culture around them.

Mukade

[Lambchop]

No pseudo-meat subsitutes for me, thank you. I am a hard-core tofu eater, and I take mine plain with a little hot sauce.

I like it like that, too.

I like silken tofu whizzed up with a largish dollop of chocolate Ovaltine.

Tofudding.

Hershey's chocolate sauce works, too.

[Lorenzo]

I can't imagine why full vegetarians would want to eat something that reminds them of meat.

And I certainly wouldn't want peanut butter substitutes made from any of our friendly quadropeds. Can you imagine sinking your grinders...? But, I suppose that if enough contaminates were to be found in vegetables--I could learn to accept it.

Now you've got me thinking...why does rice milk have to taste like cows milk? Why does rose "fragrance" have to smell like roses? Why does bottled water have to taste like spring water? And what will they be calling tofu-possum? Toss'em?