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How the Chick-fil-A Cauliflower Sandwich was created
- baidifnaoxi 4y agoThis looks great. Good call on not making yet another plant based meat.
- zackbloom 4y agoThere's a very weird asterisk about it not being considered vegetarian. I would understand it not being vegan with the bun and all, but how did they manage to incorporate meat products into a cauliflower sandwhich?
- jasoneckert 4y agoMost likely it is fried in animal fats.
- whywhywhywhy 4y agoFirst mainstream fast food restaurant to go back on this being a bad idea and offering “non vegetarian fries” is going to financially obliterate restaurants chasing the vegan meme. Once you’ve tasted what you’ve been missing with tallow and dripping fries the rest taste like trash.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y agoSo what you're saying is that big corporations run by some of the greediest people on the planet have somehow failed to recognize this? Or do you just think they are using plant based oils out of the goodness of their hearts?
- whywhywhywhy 4y agoPlant based oils ARE the chase to the bottom you're implying about. Shipping one inferior product so make sure vegetarians/vegans order your fries at the expense of taste for everyone. My suggestion requires integrity/vision to know that either having to ship two products or forfeit the sales of a group of people for the betterment of the product will fill a gap in the market.
- prepend 4y agoChick-fil-a fries in peanut oil, although I bet it would be awesome if they fried in animal fats. I expect it’s because they fry in the same oil as the chicken.
- joezydeco 4y agoOne of the reasons McDonald's fries used to be so loved was because they were fried in beef tallow. That went away in the 80s/90s, they're just not the same now.
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- krustymeathead 4y agoThis article (https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/chick-fil-a-adds-cauliflower-sandwich-to-its-menu/3190699/ https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/chick-fil...) says it is because they include milk and eggs, which doesn't make sense, because while vegans avoid those, vegetarians eat milk and eggs. However, the article also says they don't have any designated area for prep, so your cauliflower may touch chicken or may share a fryer with chicken.
- candiddevmike 4y ago*Some vegetarians eat eggs and/or milk. As an aside, I can kinda understand vegetarians eating eggs because chickens will just lay them and you either eat them or they rot, but vegetarians who eat milk have no moral ground to stand on.
- igleria 4y agonot a vegetarian but
- consumer451 4y agoI have a friend who won't eat any animal which has died for religious reasons. She eats plenty of dairy, as nothing died, and considers herself vegetarian. She has in fact never eaten meat once in her life yet you have entirely discounted her moral standing. Your argument sounds a lot like No True Scotsman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman
- lobochrome 4y agoIn order for the cow to produce milk there needs to be veal… Speaking as a vegetarian myself.
- consumer451 4y agoI just think that the condemnation of others who one considers less pure than is ideal is extremely counterproductive. For example, I often imagine what our carbon budget (and theoretical karma budget) would look like if we could get more people who are pro-animal welfare (and people who are concerned with climate change,) to accept the idea that getting a few billion people to eat less beef might be more beneficial than getting a few million to eat no beef. There is a really interesting paper on this topic which often comes to mind titled "The seductions of clarity." [0] There is also an interview by Sean Carrol with the author of that paper titled "C. Thi Nguyen on Games, Art, Values, and Agency" [1] [0] https://philarchive.org/rec/NGUTSO-2 https://philarchive.org/rec/NGUTSO-2 [1] https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2021/10/18/169-c-thi-nguyen-on-games-art-values-and-agency/ https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2021/10/18/169-...
- nemo44x 4y agoIt has eggs in the recipe. It is mentioned here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/02/09/chick-fil-a-cauliflower-sandwich-new/11205023002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/02/09/chick-f...
- lm28469 4y agoThat's not what your source says tho, eggs are vegetarian The key part is: > But it is not isolated in our kitchens. We have chicken all day, every day, and that's not going away, so we want to be very candid and open and honest with our customers."
- nemo44x 4y agoI think this is key too: > "This is made with cauliflower, pickles, bread, milk and eggs. If that works for your definition of vegetarian, awesome," Neslage said. I know vegetarians that won’t eat eggs.
- lm28469 4y agoI know vegetarians who eat fish and/or chicken so... The conventional definition concerns animal meat and by-products of animal slaughter, but many people do whatever they want There are many subtypes of vegetarianism but only a few skip eggs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Comparison_of_vegetarian_and_semi-vegetarian_diets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Comparison_of_vegetar...
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- skrebbel 4y ago“McPlant”, a 100% plant based burger from McDonalds (might be a Netherlands-specific thing) has the same caveat and it’s because they cook the plant burger in the same kitchen as all regular meat products and they don’t want to guarantee that there won’t cross-contamination. I think that for many vegetarians, that’s good enough. But not for all of them of course.
- Kaibeezy 4y agoUK BK Vegan Bakon King is a chickenoid thingy deep fried with the chips, hence vegan. It’s edible! and has supplanted ur-chicken on our occasional dinner-and-a-show car wash outings. Why? Why not? Considering how mass food animals are treated, fed, medicated and processed. My understanding is the chicken flavor is exogenous anyway, the flesh a near-flavorless substrate for lab-made enhancement.
- agotterer 4y agoI believe the target market for this sandwich is larger than just vegan/vegetarian and should include the general health conscious crowd. I imagine there’s a number of people who don’t eat Chick-fil-A because it’s not healthy. This sandwich be a way to tap into that audience. I personally eat meat, but often eat veggie burgers and other plant based burgers because (most of the time) it’s healthier (and I enjoy the taste).
- stavros 4y agoIf you're health conscious, you won't eat deep-fried anything. It's not like deep-fried cauliflower is more healthy than grilled chicken breast.
- saaaaaam 4y agoI don’t think many health conscious people would even be thinking of eating at this place. Highly processed white bread with unnaturally thick highly processed batter on a small amount of vegetable cooked in god knows what oil that has probably been heated so high it has hydrogenated and turned into trans-fat… it sounds like a glycemic insulin spike artery destroying nightmare death food.
- narrator 4y agoThey probably don't want to have to deal with all the animal rights ideologues nitpicking them and starting drama, so they're just saying they don't care about the politics, and they can mean that by saying it's not vegetarian, so eat it if you want, otherwise go somewhere else.
- d--b 4y agoGood point chick-fil-a, no one said vegetarian food had to be healthy!
- lm28469 4y agoTook the fast food industry years to figure out you can use vegetables instead of coming up with ultra processed "fake meat" alternatives, wow Hopefully one day they'll discover black beans patties, but that's very high tech and requires cutting edge technology
- Kaibeezy 4y agoWimpy’s spicy bean burger ftw - https://wimpy.uk.com/food-stories/like-scrunchies-and-leg-warmers-the-bean-burger-is-an-icon-born-in-the-80s https://wimpy.uk.com/food-stories/like-scrunchies-and-leg-wa...
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y agoMany places used some kind of vegetable patty long before the invention of modern meat substitutes. They choose to use the modern meat substitutes because people prefer the taste of them.
- onewheeltom 4y agoSome people prefer the taste of them.
- Ekaros 4y agoIs it about taste. Or is it that they are seem has hip, and thus marketed in big way so they can try to get more customers?
- John23832 4y agoI appreciate that it’s a whole cauliflower. In this plant food craze, it’s often lost on people that whole vegetables are better than processed patties. Now, the fact that it is deep fried and full of preservatives is a whole other story.
- elif 4y agopreservatives? Do you just mean salt?
- geoduck14 4y agoSalt is pretty much what makes "processed foods" processed. Source: I asked a nutritionist
- brodouevencode 4y agoNot all preservatives are created equal: nitrates, nitrites, benzoates, and propionics. But in this case probably just salt.
- badcppdev 4y agoDo you have any references for the claim that: "it’s often lost on people that whole vegetables are better than processed patties"? Sounds like a baseless generalisation.
- rogerclark 4y agoLike most vegetables, cauliflower contains almost no protein. The sandwich probably tastes great, but cauliflower doesn't make any sense as a nutritional substitute for chicken.
- avidphantasm 4y agoMaybe they should focus on providing adequate traffic control for their locations rather than causing traffic jams and delays for people who are trying to use public rights-of-way.
- Scubabear68 4y agoI truly do not understand the mad traffic at these locations. I tried it, seems no better or worse than chicken products at other fast food chains. What am I missing?
- bioemerl 4y agoIt's like apple. Chick filet managed to market to the masses while feeling upscale.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoIs it possible that they have succeeded at providing a product at a price to quality ratio that many people find acceptable?
- a2tech 4y agoYou're missing the virtue signaling of eating at Chick-fil-A. People see it as a wholesome Southern option that sticks to the hardworking America of yesteryear morals. IE no gays, overt Christianity, and limited minorities or immigrants up front. Don't go to Chick-fil-A. Its not morally worth it.
- showdeddd 4y agoWithout needing to resort to racist slander like you did, I can tell you why chick-fil-a rules: - employees are friendly and work quickly - the food tastes great and costs no more than other fast food - the food is healthier than other fast food When I go to a place like Mcdonalds or Burger King, the employees are typically angry, mean, rude, and work slowly. And I get a pile of slop that obviously reduces my lifespan.
- syncbehind 4y agoAt what point does an "interview" become less an interview and more of an advertisement? Because that's what this post feels like to me.
- emehex 4y agoI mean, it is on their own website?
- Kaibeezy 4y agoThere are news articles about this too. I agree, it’s marketing-y, but at least provides some insight and is from the original source. The most interesting bit in all this is really just the mere fact of a fast food chain making a fried vegetable sandwich. Many people here seem very interested in food generally and meat alternatives in particular. For me, cooking is one of my favorite recreational hacking opportunities.
- chiefalchemist 4y agoFunny. I was thinking similar. This sandwich is being trialed in three markets. But I wonder how many ppl have bebeen triggered and now thought* "Today is a good day for Chick-fil-a"? *not necessarily on HN, but everywhere.
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- chiefalchemist 4y agoDeep fried veggies on a bun. Glad to see a non over-processed alternative to meat being offered. But is this the best they can do? Or is the brand too strong, and expectations such that there's no room for moving any further?
- smoldesu 4y agoNot personally a fan of Chick-fil-A, but damn am I glad someone made a cauliflower sandwich. One of my favorite burger joints growing up would deep-fry cauliflower, and I remember wanting to put it on a bun so bad when I was a kid. It's not health food, but this is one of the few veggies I'd happily eat over chicken.
- Overtonwindow 4y agoGhost broccoli.
- donclark 4y agoI do not see it listed here: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/nutrition-allergens https://www.chick-fil-a.com/nutrition-allergens This page says that the nutritional information will be available in 3-10 days. https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/02/10/where-to-buy-chick-fil-as-new-cauliflower-sandwich-and-is-it-vegetarian/ https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/02/10/where-to-buy-chick-fil...