“While it wasn’t night and day, there was a distinct upgrade happening and a feeling that food scientists were busy tinkering.
much has been said about the strides in vegan products over the past 20 years, but unless it was experienced firsthand, it’s hard to fathom just how much we have advanced. Be grateful for your failure to imagine if you didn’t experience the smells most generously characterized as “off,” textures that were either squishy or desiccated, and flavors ranging from mind-numbingly bland to chalky and artificial.
Indeed, in the days before the proliferation of vegan products in grocery stores, restaurants, and online marketplaces, there were wide gaps in the availability of plant-based options across the board. But no gulf seemed to be as formidable as the lack of a tasty, melty, stretchy cheese made without dairy—especially given how hard the stuff is to quit. Commercial options were limited, and they were notoriously just plain bad. Some didn’t melt as much as release into
