However the new “vegan pigs-in-blankets” wouldn’t be allowed in France - an amendment to its agriculture bill, passed earlier this year, essentially banned plant-based product names such as”bacon-flavoured strips” and “veggie sausages”.
But this is the UK, and you can buy a “vegan kebab doner” if you want to. It’s made from wheat protein, sunflower oil and celery.
And in Hackney, London, there’s a restaurant where, among other similarly named things, customers might indulge in a “Temple Deluxe”, which features a “1/4 patty, burger sauce, cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles”. No animals are involved at all. It’s all a facade.
That’s not to say a faction of British meat eaters won’t kick-off about Morrisons’ new Christmas cylinders.
The idea that plant-based foods should imitate the likes of chicken and lamb, and why vegans (not people simply hoping to cut down, to whom meaty vegan food makes total sense) would ever want to be reminded of flesh.
The supermarket’s launched its new “veggies-in-blankets” anyway. They “provide a vegan twist on a Christmas classic”, Morrisons said, and resemble the traditional double-pork variety quite cunningly.
The vegan “sausages” are made from tomato, potato, mushrooms and basil, which are then wrapped in an aubergine blanket. They’re sold in packs of ten and cost £2.50, which is two fewer than Morrisons’ meat version and 50p more expensive.
Morrison’s own “party food expert” Simon Whittle said: “Pigs-in-blankets are arguably the best part of Christmas dinner. We’ve listened to customers who are looking for more plant-based options over the festive period and created a vegan version.”
They are, if nothing more, just another of this year’s increasingly long list of odd Christmas foodstuffs. Just yesterday, a three-part Christmas dinner pasty hit shelves, containing a starter, main course, and pudding.
*Article originally written by Josh Barrie for our sister site the inews
