Opinion: Ottolenghi versus Tofurky

I’ve never warmed to Yotam Ottolenghi, the Guardian food columnist and chain restaurateur. Maybe that’s because he’s a meat eater who did the ‘vegetarian’ column in the Guardian for a while, or because his recipes don’t appeal to plant eaters, with their reliance on egg and dairy. After reading his opinions about Tofurky, my aversion has only grown:

5 products that give vegan food a bad name

The worst vegan food product EVER was Plamil Veeze - a late 1980s vegan cheese spread that came in a glass jar and consisted of margarine, soya flour and vinegar...or something like that. It was revolting in a way that's hard to describe, with the taste of smelly feet and the texture of wood filler. The worst thing about it was that it gave vegan food a bad name. We were reminded of Veeze when we bought another Plamil product this week:

Suffering Scoreboard: Vegetarians -vs- Vegans

Vegetarians have more in common with meat eaters than vegans, so why are they so often grouped together? On the scale of animal suffering, vegetarians do badly. Animals are not saved from slaughter by being vegetarian... cows and chickens are still killed when they stop being productive, it's just that vegetarians don't eat their flesh.

Why the Germans make the best Tofu

It's a funny thing, that a country renowned for its meaty diet should make the best tofu. German smoked tofu is a league above anything else, being moist, tasty and with a great texture too. Perhaps it's no surprise that with centuries of experience with flesh, they should excel at applying their skills to plant foods.

You can buy German tofu in the UK, under the Taifun brand sold in wholefood stores. You'll find it stocked next to lesser offerings from UK producers. Where the German tofu is tasty though, the local tofu is coarse, and with more of a rubbery texture than the smooth cutting German stuff. UK producers often cut corners too, using liquid smoke, rather than smoking the tofu blocks in the traditional way. The liquid smoke tends to make the tofu a little bitter, rather than impart that meaty deliciousness that is so desirable.

Read on for the Vorsprung-durch-Technik approach to tofu smoking...