I’ve spent the past 10 years or so enmeshed in the world of protein options for vegetarians. When transitioning to a meat free lifestyle, my occasional meat cravings were satisfied with the morningstar brand breakfast links. In the mid-1990’s, new fake meat products seemed to be spawning weekly. Now, there is a soy alternative for every mainstream kind of meat you might choose to eat. I love them all, though being made from soy they can wreak gastrointestinal havoc on you and in turn, your loving boyfriend. Some vegetarians don’t like most brands of fake meat for the amount of processing that’s involved in their production. Lately, I’ve seen a lot of meat alternatives that aren’t made entirely from processed soy, but rather soy + grains and/or vegetables.
Tonight I had the delectable experience of tasting the broccoli nugget. When eating other fake meats, I garnish them in the same way I would a real meat: mustard for the soy corndog, ketchup for the soy burger. But what are you supposed to do with a nugget that is not designed to taste like any known meat counterpart? What is proper broccoli nugget etiquette? It’s in breaded nugget form; do I treat it like chicken? For the record, this nugget, made by Veggie Patch, is DELICIOUS. It’s much better than the chick’n nuggets by the same company. At first I tried it dry: no dipping, just popping (into my mouth). It was good, and the flavoring was not as overwhelming broccoli as you might expect from the photo on the package. I then dipped it in Dijon mustard and my nugget satisfaction went through the roof. It was then I came to the conclusion that anything breaded tastes better with mustard. What is it about that magical combination and the location of our taste buds that makes this true? Did god know/plan that we would someday invent the concept of “breaded” and turn dirty old mustard plants into a very popular condiment?
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