Pre-note: When I mention “imitation products”, I mean a food item that is trying to exactly replicate a non vegan item. Something like a black bean burger is not an imitation production, it’s just an alternative.
I was bored so I started creating a tier list of vegan products and how closely they imitate non vegan products. I was trying to keep the list genericized with less emphasis on specific brands, but for some items the brand was really important.
What would you move around? What would you add? I only have a few items so far. I’ll update the list as comments come in.
S tier - practically indistinguishable
- Beef burgers (impossible, beyond)
- Breakfast sausages (impossible, beyond)
- Chicken nuggets/patties
- Mayo
A tier - you can tell it’s different but it’s just as good
- Queso dip (cashew based)
- Ground beef (impossible, beyond)
- Egg (just egg)
- Butter
- Milk
- Ice cream
B tier - you can tell it’s different and it’s a slight downgrade
- Deli cheese slices (some brands are C or F)
C tier - you can tell it’s different and it’s okay but a significant downgrade
- Cream cheese (most brands)
- Pizza
F tier - you can tell it’s different and it’s not good
- Beef jerky
I am not a vegan but I like almond milk/ oat milk to be better than dairy milk. I find that dairy milk has a weird smell in the US that I am not accustomed to. Also it weirds me out that dairy milk from the grocery stores takes weeks to spoil.
Also it weirds me out that dairy milk from the grocery stores takes weeks to spoil.
Say what? I open a new quarter gallon of milk for my coffee and it expires after like two days in the fridge
As a non vegan who just likes all foods I’m interested to see other people’s takes on stuff so I can go check the out.
Imitation chicken patties and nuggets are fantastic
There’s a vegan jerky made by the Grain Cafe which is like a vegan mexican Denny’s and the way the soy protein is pressed it comes out textured like strips of beef but it’s cut into usable sections that you can peel apart either in strips or layers, and more importantly it’s flavored better than beef jerky too. Corporate vegan jerky is just above trash in my book.
Immitation burgers have gotten so good, even though I am not a vegan, I prefer them now over real burgers. Not necessarily because I feel they perfectly substitute a meat patty in taste and texture, but just because they taste so dang good.
EDIT: Vegan cream cheese is another one. It doesn’t taste the same, but I really like and prefer it.
That’s funny about cream cheese, I have mostly heard complaints about vegan cream cheese. Maybe I haven’t had the right brand yet but of the three types I tried I wasn’t a big fan.
