My Biscuits Vegan Life

I know we posted that we were gonna compare vegan cheeses this week but the opportunity presented itself to do vegan sausages instead so we’re running with that. We (Sam and Jen) just hosted our traditional Memorial Day Party this year. (Yes – we wore masks. Yes – we kept it to 10 people. Yes – we kept distance. So yes – we followed Ohio’s pandemic guidelines.) With two guests bringing Field Roast sausages but Leigh Ann’s and my tastes leaning to Beyond Meat, the idea was born to try ALL the vegan brands and their various flavors. We missed one inadvertently – the Chipotle Field Roast sausage. Some of you – like us – know this is a pretty dang good product so we’re sorry to miss it. Let’s just say from the two of us, we both give it excellent scores.

We grill every year so that’s what we did. We grilled 10 kinds of sausages, cut them up, served them to our tasters one brand/flavor at a time, and voted on each one. They were rated for two things: 1) taste – a “1” meaning we didn’t like the taste and a “5” meaning we did, and 2) the “plasticness” of them – “1” having a more fake plastic feel and “5” being more “real.” Ok, we understand the nebulousness of this second rating. But of the people present, 3 eat vegan all the time, 2 “try” to eat vegan, 4 eat vegetarian with some lapses, and one was a meat eater. It was our meat-eater’s suggestion to rate the “plasticness” of the sausages, and we think we know what he means so we rolled with it. He’s not the only meat eater out there saying fake meats taste like “plastic.” And as vegans, there is a certain consistency to certain plant-based foods that lack a “realness.” We don’t know how else to explain it. Hopefully, you’ll know what we mean!

We tested the following products:
Tofurky (Zesty Anduouille, Original Beer Braut, Italian, and Kielbasa)
Beyond Meat (Braut Original and Hot Italian)
Sweet Earth (Green Chili Cheddar)
Field Roast (Apple Sage and Italian)
Lightlife (Jumbo Smart Dogs).
*Since we were grilling we presoaked all the products in water, except the Beyond Meat and Sweet Earth because of their delicate casings.

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We added up the Taste Points from the 10 of us (the higher the better) and here’s what we found:
Field Roast Italian – 44 points 
Field Roast Apple Sage – 42 points – tied
Beyond Hot Italian – 42 points – tied
Beyond Braut Original – 39 points
Tofurky Zesty Anduouille – 34 points
Tofurky Kielbasa – 29 points
Tofurky Italian – 27 points
Sweet Earth – 25 points
Tofurky Original Beer Braut – 24 points
Lightlife Jumbo Smart Dogs – 20 points

Having written these out we find that totally interesting! We are both Beyond Meat sausage lovers over all, although Field Roast is right behind. But apparently you add 8 other people to the mix and we get overridden. LOL!

We added up the Texture Points from the 10 of us (the higher the better) and here’s what we found:
Beyond Braut Original – 41 points
Beyond Hot Italian – 39 points
Field Roast Apple Sage – 37 points
Field Roast Italian – 36 points
Tofurky Original Beer Braut – 30 points
Tofurky Kielbasa – 26 points
Tofurky Zesty Anduouille – 25 points
Sweet Earth – 22 points
Lightlife Jumbo Smart Dogs – 21 points
Tofurky Italian – 19 points

Something important to note: the Beyond sausages won the “not plastic-y good texture” war among all these. BUT… the meat eater? He hated the texture of the Beyond sausages. (He gave each a “2” on taste and “1” on texture…. whereas he gave a “5” on taste and a “4” on texture to each Field Roast.) So it’s the vegetarians and vegans who pulled this brand through!

So if we add taste AND texture together, here’s what you get….
Beyond Hot Italian – 81 points – 16 grams of protein
Beyond Braut Original – 80 points – 16 grams of protein
Field Roast Italian – 80 points – 25 grams of protein
Field Roast Apple Sage – 79 points – 23 grams of protein
Tofurky Zesty Anduouille – 59 points – 23 grams of protein
Tofurky Kielbasa – 55 points – 24 grams of protein
Tofurky Original Beer Braut – 54 points – 21 grams of protein
Sweet Earth – 47 points – 13 grams of protein
Tofurky Italian – 46 points – 24 grams of protein
Lightlife Jumbo Smart Dogs – 41 points – 14 grams of protein

OK – this makes total sense to us. Beyond Meat sausage (Hot Italian and then Braut Original ARE our favorites.) And then the Field Roast sausages ARE our second favorites. And I (Jen) would venture to say that had the Field Roast Chipotle sausage been included in the comparison it would have scored just as high as any of them. (It’s great.)

While Tofurkys and Fields Roasts do indeed hold up well in soups, sautes, and pan-frying, they do not do well on the grill. It really dries them out – even when pre-soaked in water. It’s just not the best way to eat them. However the Beyond Meat and Sweet Earth Sausages held their moisture and are great for grilling.

Next post! Vegan cheese comparisons!