Hi, thanks for asking. I’ve written way too much so here’s the tldr: I’m used to love it and my brain didn’t forget. They somehow cheat my brain fair enough. I

Hi, thanks for asking. I’ve written way too much so here’s the tldr: I’m used to love it and my brain didn’t forget. They somehow cheat my brain fair enough. I love tempeh and many other thinks though. —-a bit longer—- Have had meat/fish/whatever mostly every meal until ~20yo then slowly reduce it to almost vegetarism around ~30yo then transitioned to almost vegan now (36yo). I do that mostly for the animals welfare, bonus points if environmental benefits. Why I eat those disgusting patties: - I like them now. Taste is an affair of habits, and I believe also an affair of more-or-less conscious will. Traditional Chinese food is and smell horrible (no offense for the Chineses). I’m sure it I was born over there they would be great. I don’t buy at all "objectively bad". Wholegrain patties were dry and tasteless but after trying and trying they got way better (depends on the quality/brand ofc), exactly like it took me ~5 years to really appreciate red wine. Realizing that I love falafels and that those were cousins in taste and ingredients helped too. It’s weird how what you think can modify your taste. It also makes me realize that falafel often comes with tahini or a whole meal, so should I for the wholegrain patties and they became even more better. - When I crave for meat, more processed stuff do a better job. They don’t taste exactly the real stuff, nonetheless inside a barbecued burger or (sausage) in a stew, or nuggets, they do trigger my childhood memories and I’m don’t feel craving anymore. I mimic those food to act as a confort food. There’s also great way to invent recipe. So many delicious non-meat recipe would be great with meat, and vice versa. I don’t like to follow too precisely recipes anyway :p - There’s no tempeh in the restaurants where I live, it’s often tofu or nothing. The steakhouses sometimes got a behondmeat burger. I feel like you with the soy hot dog. I acknowledge my chance to be rich enough to eat as much as I want and to have the choice to go in restaurants. So when I eat what they have, in the end not so a bad situation. - Some people says your wallet votes more than your ballot. Buying those stuff make a very small impact on the sales of the merchant/maker. It also support their presence on the shelves among animal-sourced food and I think it helps veganism to move through the Overton window. I don’t eat them directly for that but when I do it makes me feel proud so I think there’s some psychology loop that make me eat them again. - curiosity and gourmandise: I love cooking and eating and they’re an opportunity to change when I’m bored. - Tofu is a bit fade, when smoked or marinade it way better. It is also very helpful for patisserie. It’s a traditional food very healthy, I don’t see it as a substitute but as a discovery of another culture (like tempeh).