Flying Elephant - Tofu Snack - Beef Flavored

So why am I reviewing something called, "Tofu Snack" on a beef jerky review blog? Well, because it says it's "beef flavored", and because I can't read Chinese. For all I know, somewhere on this package it says it's supposed to be similar to jerky.

But truthfully, I'm reviewing this because I want to find a tofu-based jerky-alternative that actually tastes good. If you recall, I already reviewed several brands of tofu-jerky made by American companies that all got "dog treat" ratings from me. In those reviews I said that there's a lot of tofu-based snacks made by asian food companies that taste much better. Hence, I wanted to find one to review.

This brand of "Flying Elephant" is rather mysterious. I don't find anything on it through my Internet searches, but it's made in Taiwan and distributed to the USA by Walong Marketing, Inc., of Buena Park, CA. Walong specializes in distributing Taiwan-made foods to the States. So, can a Taiwan-based food maker do any better in making tofu-jerky than the American food-makers?

Ingredients

Soybeans, sugar, salt, chili, artificial roasted beef flavor (aromatic alcohols, palm oil, peanut oil), salt, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, sorbic acid, FD&C yellow #5.

Taste

The first taste I get from the surface is a heavy sweet flavor, and an "oily flavor" if you can imagine that. Moving into the chew, I don't taste much at all, except for a slight "fried tofu" flavor.

This stuff tastes like fried tofu, and coincidentally, looks like fried tofu. It probably tastes more like tofu than any of the American-made tofu jerky alternatives. If you've ever had fried tofu, you might know the taste I'm talking about.

It still has an aroma and taste that resembles the American-made stuff I reviewed earlier, but not quite as terrible. I think I described that stuff as "half-soured milk that has been sitting in a bowl in Lucky Charms cereal". This "tofu snack" from Flying Elephant has a more fresh taste, though still sharing some resemblance to that half-sour milk, yet tasting more similar to real fried tofu.

As for being beef flavored, I don't know what they're talking about. I taste nothing resembling beef.

In terms of saltiness, there is a salty taste in there, but not strong at all.

The predominant taste in this is the sweet flavor, followed by the fried tofu taste as a close second. The third most dominant flavor is the combination of the palm and peanut oil.

Overall, it's "ok", in terms of taste if you happen to like tofu. If you don't like tofu in any way, shape, or form, you'll probably find this disgusting.

Meat Consistency

These are pieces of fried tofu, cut into bite sized pieces, and about the same thickness as thin sliced jerky.

It's very oily to the touch. I keep rubbing my fingers and wiping them on my pants with each piece.

But it's very easy to eat. Not chewy at all. As expected, it doesn't chew anything like meat. It kinda crumbles apart in my mouth, which is exactly the way fried tofu eats.




Product Value

I paid $1.49 for this 4.93 ounce bag at a 99 Ranch Market in Irvine, CA. That works out to a price of $0.30 per ounce, making this extremely cheap (as far as tofu-based jerky alternatives are concerned).

I'd say that this gives this an excellent value if you're a vegan/vegetarian looking for a beef jerky alternative. It's got a better taste, and a fresher taste, than any of the American-made tofu-jerkies I reviewed earlier. This stuff is also priced WAY more less.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it really doesn't hold up to eating real meat. It tastes nothing like beef (as the package claims to do), and doesn't really provide the chewing satisfaction. But even if you just evaluate it on its own merits, it still didn't provide much snackability for me. I still don't find myself wanting to eat more and more.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

While this "beef flavored" tofu snack from Flying Elephant tastes a lot better than the American-made tofu-jerkies, it's still not that great tasting and therefore doesn't get the higher "average" rating from me. But then again, for you vegans/vegetarians, you might see this totally the opposite, and may actually build a craving for this. For the most part, this is really just a sweet-oily snack in the form of fried tofu, and doesn't have much more taste than that.

But what I think makes this taste better than the American-made tofu-jerky is that it's pieces of whole fried tofu, instead of some other kind of blended or pureed concoction. That allows it to retain the true flavor of fried tofu, instead of some other kind of scientific-laboratory taste.

Perhaps if Flying Elephant could create a more American-looking package design, and get this into Whole Foods Market, I think they could put the likes of Tofurky, Tasty Eats, Primal Strips, and other tofu-jerky companies out of business.

Rating: Fair

Buy this online:

• http://www.eFoodDepot.com

Read More

Stonewall's Jerquee - BBQ Beef

Stonewall's Jerquee is a brand of snacks that bills itself as the world's best tasting vegetarian jerky, claiming to offer the same great chewing pleasure of real meat jerky.

Having tried a few vegetarian jerkies, I opened this package with some doubt, but questioned if this might be somewhat good after all. I mean, it actually has something of a smokey aroma, though clearly different than real meat. It actually looks like it might taste good.

The Stonewall's Jerquee brand is owned by Lumen Foods of Lake Charles, LA, which makes a variety of other soybean-based foods.

Ingredients

Defatted soy flour, purified water, soybean oil, autolyzed yeast, fructose, tomato paste, mustard, honey, molasses, onion, garlic, peppers (cayenne and white pepper), lemon, vinegar, spices, salt, and potassium sorbate.

Taste

This brand of soybean jerky has a similar taste as the other vegan-jerky brands I've had, though not quite as harsh, perhaps because this stuff appears to be more dry. It still has that semi-sour milk taste that was left in a bowl of Lucky Charms. But I found I was able to chew it long enough and swallow without gagging.

The BBQ beef flavoring does come through, but mostly as a pepper taste, and only after the first 10 seconds of chewing. But I can't really say that this tastes like BBQ beef. This just tastes like all the other vegan jerkies, but just drier.

This does have a more salty taste than the other brands, however.

The company recommends microwaving these pieces, but I couldn't get myself to do so. I was starting to grow weary.

Consistency

These pieces are about the size of a chicken nugget, or maybe a little smaller.

They're somewhat greasy, leaving a fine film of oil on your fingers.

They also chew like a sponge. You can bite down on them fairly easily, but once they reach maximum compression, it becomes hard, just like biting down on a dish-washing sponge.

Once you're able to chew this, it feels more like a McDonald's Chicken McNugget that was nuked in a microwave for too long, and hardened up. Kinda chewy, kinda tough, but resembling nothing like meat.

And just why would a vegan want a product that eats like real meat? I thought they didn't care for meat. Like I said in my other reviews, this is proof that vegans secretly desire to feast on animal flesh.





Product Value

I paid $1.89 for this 1.5oz bag at a Sprouts store in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.26 per oz, within the average price range for jerky.

I'd say that as a soybean-based jerky, this actually offers great value. Of all such jerkies I've tried, this actually has the best taste I've encountered thus far. But don't get me wrong, it's still nasty in my opinion, just not as nasty.

But as a BBQ Beef variety, it fails terribly. This tastes nothing like BBQ beef, it doesn't resemble anything I might find from a BBQ grill, not even the charred-black chunks of BBQ sauce. All it offers is a peppery taste that takes about 10 seconds to show itself.

Rating

I'm rating this as "dog treats".

As in the other vegan-jerky reviews I've written, I can't understand why a soybean-based product has to taste so bad. Having grown up around Japanese-cuisine, I've eaten a lot of soybean foods. The Japanese are probably the kings of soybean innovation, making a wide variety of soybean snacks, all of which tastes quite good. And I'm a guy who loves real meat.

I'm thinking companies like Lumen Foods, have an awful lot to learn from the Japanese.

Rating: Dog Treats

Buy this online:

• Amazon.com

Read More

Primal Strips Meatless Jerky - Teriyaki

Meatless jerky, or vegan jerky, or soy jerky, or tofu jerky, or whatever you want to call it, is my way of knowing that vegans are secretly wishing they could eat animal flesh.

Some of the stuff out there is just god-awful, even as just a soy-based snack, it doesn't even taste good on its own, let alone as a beef substitute. I found that disappointing. As someone with some Japanese ancestry, I've eaten a lot of soybean products, including miso soup, soy crackers, and tofu itself, and all of which tastes really good in my opinion. So I couldn't figure out why "soy jerky" has to taste to awful.

My guess it's because these companies are trying to make something that tastes like meat. What a great hypocrisy! Here we have vegans, who swear that they have no desire to eat meat, and yet companies are producing a vegan-food that tastes and resembles meat as closely as possible.

Primal Strips is a brand owned by Primal Spirit, Inc., based out of Moundsville, WV. Their mission statement says their goal is to make a meatless jerky product that appeals to both vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians. The company goes on to say that years ago they ran into an old Thai chef who introduced them to a meat alternative recipe that they thought was the best ever. When their friends agreed, they decided they had a gold mine on their hands.

So, will this offering from Primal Strips fare any better than the other vegan-jerkies I've reviewed?

Ingredients

Non-GMO vital gluten, water, naturally brewed soy sauce, expeller pressed canola oil, licorice root, unrefined evaporated cane juice, yeast, sea salt, natural vegetarian spices.

Taste

This stuff largely tastes similar to the other vegan-jerkies I've reviewed, though not quite as bad. I think I said in reviewing Tasty Eats Soy Jerky that it tasted like sour milk that had been soaking in a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal. This has a similar taste, but I think it's got more of the salt and soy sauce coming through.

I think that Thai chef the company described probably sold the same recipe to the other companies.

It definitely has the same chemical smell that remains on your fingers, even after washing my hands with soap.

It doesn't taste anything like meat, in case you're wondering.

It doesn't taste anything like teriyaki, either.

Consistency

This stuff is probably the most meat-like of all the vegan-jerkies I've seen. It tears apart like jerky, it has fibers that fray like jerky, and it feels just like real meat in my mouth. If you put this into my mouth, and I was blindfolded, I'd think this was real meat, but more like cold left-over pot roast where the sauce had spoiled.

It tears apart very easily, and chews easily.

It's also very moist. It's so moist that I'd wouldn't call this jerky. It's more like deli-meat.





Product Value

I paid $5.15 for this 4oz bag at a Sprouts store in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.29 per ounce, putting this into the average price range.

Assuming that you're a vegan, or a vegan-wannabe, who is wanting to satisfy your inner urge to eat animal flesh, I'd suppose this is a good value. You're getting something that really does resemble meat, albeit, very wet and soaked piece of meat.

But if you love the teriyaki flavor, you'll be sadly disappointed.

If you love great tasting soy products, you'll also be disappointed.

Rating

I'm rating this as dog treats.

I really wanted to find a vegan-jerky that actually tastes decent. So far I haven't found one. It doesn't have to taste like meat, it just has to taste good. I'm impressed that they made this feel like real meat, but they failed at making it taste good.

I ate about 1/3rd of a strip, probably more than the other vegan brands I've tried. I guess the dogs are getting some goodies tonight.

Rating: Dog Treats

Buy this online:

• Amazon.com

Read More

Tasty Eats Soy Jerky - Original

Jerky made from soy beans is something of an oxymoron in my book. Mainly because the companies that make this stuff are trying to make it look, taste, and tear apart like beef jerky. Proof that vegans are secretly wanting to eat real animal flesh.

The problem is that most soy jerky, including tofu jerky, fails miserably at coming even close to something like beef jerky. So when I tried this brand of Tasty Eats Soy Jerky, I figured it would be another god-awful tasting belly-ache.

The result? Well, it's another god-awful tasting belly-ache.

And by the way, this brand of jerky (if you can even call this jerky), comes double-bagged, with a vacuumed sealed bag inside of an outer bag. I guess that's the preserve the freshness of the soy.

Ingredients

Textured soy protein (non-GMO), water, evaporated cane juice, expeller pressed sesame oil, spices, white pepper, salt, and caramel powder (from non-GMO cane juice).

Taste

I'll sum it up first, and give you the details later. This stuff is terrible. Absolutely awful. Digusting.

If I could compare this to anything, it would be like biting into soft turkey jerky, but tasting like milk that has soaked in a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, and has soured up a little.

Unlike real beef jerky, in which the taste gets better as it softens up in your mouth, this stuff tastes worse and worse. I took a small bite, and chewed it a little, and couldn't stop my facial muscles from cramping my face into half of its normal size.

I had to take a swig of Coke just to swallow it, and didn't bother taking another bite.

This stuff also has the same smell of dog treats as the Tofurky Jurky I reviewed earlier, and it leaves the smell on your fingers. I had to take a shower after writing this just to get the "dirty feeling" off of me.

Consistency

While the photo I presented below makes this look like one giant glop of soy-mush, it's actually several small pieces that break apart. Each piece is bite-sized by jerky standards.

These are very soft pieces, with a slight bit of moisture.

And these actually tear apart like soft beef jerky, they even fray like fibers of real meat. Except you know it's not real meat. Even in my mouth, they feel like real meat.





Product Value

I paid $2.55 for this 1.5 ounce bag at a Sprouts health food store in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.70 per ounce, putting this into the average price range.

I'd say this offers very little value. The only value is the small bit of protein, in an animal-free product. But considering that you can already get plenty of animal-free protein in bag of trail mix, it makes no sense why someone would pay $2.55 for a tiny bag of extremely horrible food.

I tried to evaluate this product on its own merits, and couldn't find any merits. I'm sure companies can make a soy product that actually tastes good. So why can't they just focus on making great tasting soy, instead of coming out with something so foul as this?

Rating

I'm giving this a "dog treats" rating.

Dogs are probably the better consumer for this product. Though you'd do better by buying real dog treats, it'll save you more money, and your dog won't think it was being punished.

I gotta believe that even vegans appreciate great tasting food, but I just can't understand anyone, including vegans, liking this.

Rating: Dog Treats

Buy this online:

• Amazon.com

Read More

Tofurky Jurky - Peppered

Tofurky is a brand of vegan food, originally meant to mimic turkey, but made from mostly tofu. It got it's start as a Thanksgiving substitute for the real deal, trying to cash in on the vegan food movement.

The brand is owned by Turtle Island Foods of Hood River, OR.

The concept of tofu-based meat is perhaps one of the biggest oxymorons in vegan cuisine. My assumption is that vegans love vegetables, hence the name "vegan". So why would vegetable-fanatics even desire anything meant to mimic meat? Considering how successful Turtle Island Foods has done with Tofurky, I guess they do.

Not to mention it's got to be the furthest thing from being natural. It's got enough ingredients to make a fertilizer scientist wet his pants.

But I digress.

So why would I, a beef jerky lover, would even bother trying tofu jerky? Well, something in the back of my mind told me that if I wanted to be the nation's foremost expert on jerky, I must try it all.

Ingredients

Water, vital wheat gluten, organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), expeller pressed canola oil, natural vegetarian flavors, shoyu soy sauce (water, wheat, non-genetically engineered soybeans, culture), non-genetically engineered corn starch, white bean flour, garbanzo bean flour, cracked peppercorns, lemon juice from concentrate, organic evaporated cane juice, granulated garlic, calcium lactate from beets, cultured dextrose and maltodextrin.

Taste

I knew going in that this stuff would not mimic anything close to real beef jerky (or turkey jerky at that), so I tried to keep an open mind. I just wanted to know if this stuff would taste good on its own.

YUCK!

OH - MY - GOD!!!

I took just one bite, only one bite from just one piece, and that's all I needed to know. I don't even want another bite.

This stuff sucks.

If I was a vegan, I would eat real food, like celery, oranges, peanuts, bread. Why on Earth would anyone proclaiming to love all natural foods, would desire to eat anything so foul as this? Are vegans secretly desiring a rib eye steak so badly, that they'll stomach this kind of hellish putridity?

Ok, this stuff kinda tastes like rotten tofu, that's been doctored up with enough salt and spices to make it somewhat plausible. I know what real tofu tastes like, because I've eaten enough it, due to having some Japanese ancestry in my lineage. This is just horrible.

This stuff smells like dog treats. I know, because I have a couple of dogs, and have purchased many varieties of dog treats. I'm telling you, this stuff smells exactly like dog treats.

Consistency

It offers some chewiness, similar to "formed jerky", where they ground up the floor sweepings of beef, and press it into strips. Except this stuff obviously contains no beef. This stuff crumbles apart in your mouth.

These pieces are also rather sticky to the touch. They leave your fingers with the same dog treat smell that you'd get from tossing out real dog treats.

If you tried to bend these pieces, they break apart.





Product Value

I paid $3.15 for this 2.0 ounce bag at a Sprouts store in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.58 per ounce, putting this into the average price range.

I'd say that this offers very little value for your money. Albeit that only vegans would eat this stuff, it taste so horrible I just can't see how anyone would want to eat it. My guess is that the original Tofurky, which is the tofu-based turkey, is probably better, or else the company would be out of business.

Take a look at the nutrition label below, and notice this stuff actually contains more fat, and more carbohydrates, than real beef jerky (or even real turkey jerky). If you wanted this for dieting purposes, you're better off with the real stuff.

If you're a vegan, and you want to pack something small, that offers plenty of protein, then pack some trail mix. This stuff just sucks.

Rating

I'm giving this a "dog treats" rating.

Horrible taste, horrible consistency, a smell that resembles dog treats, and offering nothing that mimics real jerky in any way, shape or form, Tofurky Jurky sets a new standard for the bottom of the barrel.

(And yes, I gave the rest to my dogs)

Rating: Dog Treats

Buy this online:

• Amazon.com

Read More