While putting this one back in the recipe folder, I found this other recipe for "Tofu Pate." (not going to fuss with trying to figure out how to do the French accent marks, but I note their absence).

Tofu Pate - 8 servings

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup EVOO

12 oz. firm tofu, well drained

1/2 tsp. salt or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives

2 TBLSP chopped capers.

Process all ingredients in a food processor until a spreadable texture has been achieved. Chill and serve on a bed of lettuce with crackers.

Those recipes look tasty, but I cannot imagine that anything vegetarian could actually taste like chicken livers. And anyway, why would one want it to, if they're vegetarian?

I have this same argument with my husband. It's just semantics, call it "vegetable spread with flavor elements reminiscent of chopped liver seasonings" or just "Vegetable spread" if that makes it any better. I like chopped liver ok but the vegetable spreads much much better. Pate is another thing, the special goose liver but pâte just means "paste" in French even though it has come to mean the liver stuff. I don't know about all vegetarians, but this vegetarian only use the term "mock" or "fake" to give a point of reference to meat eaters. I don't like the taste of meat so the closer something comes to that taste, the less I like it. Hubs on the other hand, when the word "fake" is used, finds it a pale comparison to the original, which he likes. I think there are some vegetarians who miss the taste and texture of meat. Not this one. On the flip side, I miss vegetable rich dishes, tofu, beans and tempeh, miso and other tvp and grain mixes.

Traditional Jewish chopped chicken liver could also be called "Chopped chicken liver, egg and onion salad" too. Add chopped egg and onion to something vaguely brownish and mild tasting, and it starts to taste like that salad, even without the liver. Jewish vegetarians often make "mock" versions of traditional meat dishes to be served in traditional meals reminiscent of the meat-centered ones. I once had a Jewish vegetarian friend make "mock gefilte fish" which could be made from any marinated thing since that's what "gefilte" means. I joked to him that I didn't even like REAL gefilte fish.

I used the beans in a batch of potato salad, so any "mock" spreads will have to wait. I'm remembering now that my friend called the dish he made, "gefilte eggplant" to avoid the use of "mock gefilte fish." I took a pass on that too, it's the sweet and sour element I don't like with gefilte fish, along with the texture.

Interesting recipes. I don't care for chopped liver, but I might like the vegetable spread.

I think you can call just about anything a pate or spread, regardless of tradition. I recall in the 80s when pate became very popular, some of us considered it just a fancier name for chopped liver 😄

I've never had sweet & sour gefilte fish - are you perhaps thinking of pickled herring? IMPE, gefilte fish is mild and savory.

And I believe 'gefilte' means 'stuffed', as the dish was originally a forcemeat stuffed into a fish skin.

BTW, I cannot stand pickled herring.

My bad. For some reason I thought I had read that it mean "marinated." The sweetness is the way my family eats it, and what I don't like about it. I might like it if I had another recipe. In general I would not feel too happy about eating carp though, I know too much about them. Here's the ingredients from the back of the Maneschewitz jar: "Water, Carp, Mullet, Whitefish, Sugar, Pike, Egg Whites, Matzo Meal (Passover Wheat Flour and Water), Salt, Onion, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Chloride, Dipotassium Phosphate, Pepper, Natural Flavorings." My Bubbie's gefilte fish was a sweet and sour thing. I don't like pickled herring either, and that is probably a texture thing. I have had little smoked herrings and fried herrings and I like those.

When we were kids we used to get these little cans of potted meat. As a kid I loved it.

But, I have not had anything like that in probalby 50 years. However, I have found that hummus made with chick peas is a surprisingly good second to that potted meat

Is was not by intention, rather, by serendepity that my senses drew the connection. Sure that not all would make the same leap. But, I enjoy it in the same manner as I used to love those little canned meats.

Also, I have come to enjoy a mock egg salad using crumbled tofu instead of boiled eggs. Since I am not a fan of boiled eggs, I prefer the tofu prepared in the same manner. And, one advantage of it is that it is not as vulnerable as is egg, so it keeps better for a portable meal. Not for everyone. I understand that. I prefer to refer to it as "tofu" salad and not "eggless egg" salad just because it resembles egg salad and is used much the same.

Another non meat substitute that I have found, inadvertently, is that a few regular old fashioned Fritos on a burger give it a feel and a taste much like crispy bacon. Of course, the burger is meat but I rarely buy bacon, very rarely. So, a few Fritos on the burger gives the sensation of having that delicious bacon. It is a personal preference, for sure, and no real lover of bacon is going to be fooled by it. But, it is a nice sub for bacon and there is no intention to fool anyone.

It is dismaying that non meat preperations have to be referred to in reference to meat.

These things can stand on their own, in their own merit and not have to be referenced to meat.

There is something that I have never understood about people who claim to be vegetarians . I never understood why they measure their preferences against meat. Why not just let the non meat foods rest of their own merits and call them what they are?

I dont understand these fake meats, either. Why would you want to eat fake meat that has added manipulation to contain an element that adds the taste and smell of blood in the fake meat?

If you dont want to eat meat, just dont. Be true and honest to yourself about it and just enjoy.

I dont refer to my Fritos on my burger as 'mock bacon". I just call them "Fritos".

The "fake" reference is because many people have a very limited palate to begin with, so it gives them a flavor and texture reference so they can decide whether they will try it or not. I think it depends on what you miss about a particular animal-based product that will determine whether you like the vegetarian substitute or not. And also your level of being pedantic and language-precise, and your sense of humor. I make "eggless egg salad" and "tuno" salad and "hamless" salad as sandwich spreads and find them fun and funny monikers. I brought tofu salad with vegetable relish, curry and mustard to a picnic once, and my meat-eating friend said, "How did you get the egg taste in there?" Eggs have so little taste, particularly the white parts. It's the yolks that have all the fat and flavor. The salad was made with mayo, so I think the little bit of egg in that plus the fat content helped give it the egg taste, along with the traditional egg salad flavorings. I make my "tuno" salad with tofu seasoned with all the things I like in tuna salad--capers, celery, pickles, kalamata olives, etc. My "hamless" salad is flavored with smokey barbecue sauce, stuffed green olives, celery and onion. I even make a lower fat spinach dip with half silky tofu, and my spinach artichoke dip is stretched with butter-bean puree.

I don't mind pork, fish and chicken, even lamb, but I really dislike beef, and the pricier the cut of beef the less I like it, so all these fake burgers that mention how close they are to meat are a must-miss for me. I like Morningstar Farms garden, chickpea and black bean burgers. They are yummy versions of just what the label says. I like to use "fake" sausages to season various stews and soups, and I find it's the seasoning blend that appeals to me with various brands, because the textures are quite similar, it's the flavoring that completes the role best. I use "fake" pepperoni on pizza and can't tell the difference, real pepperoni is so heavily seasoned and cured you can't taste whatever meat its made of anyway. Oddly, I can't find a vegetarian "hot dog" that I really like, and that is strictly a texture thing. I like my dogs with a lot of spicy accoutrements and I have yet to find a dog that is springy enough to hold its own inside a bun. I'll survive.

Years ago my dad went to visit some elderly Jewish relatives that he had never met, and he said that it struck him so vividly when he walked into the house that it "smelled like home" in a "homey" way which is "hamish" in Yiddish. My mother riled at that description and I totally understood why, because the smell was garlic and onions cooking, two food ingredients that my dad is very vocal about not liking and not being able to tolerate, so mom had to cook without them or sneak them in undetected. And my dad has pretty sensitive food-dislike radar. A combination of OCD and real digestive problems. Oddly, he will sometimes "pig out" on one of his "no no" foods and then get an upset stomach. He refuses to draw the connection that maybe it is the overindulgence in the ingredient that is the problem. Although I do know some folks who have lots of trouble with peppers and celery too. I have to use celery seed and dried celery leaves to make a decent sofrito if my dad is going to be eating the soup.

Link for vegetarian "gefilte potato and eggplant cakes." I can only imagine my meat-eating, food-conservative, goy-boy husband's reaction to this dish! He has enough trouble looking at matzohbrei! And my Jewish friends would probably be appalled for another reason . . . and my Jewish dad hates eggplant, but among my Jewish vegetarian friends, it might be a hit. At some point I might have to throw a dinner party with a custom audience just to see the reactions . . . https://oukosher.org/recipes/vegetarian-gefilte-fish/

This post meant to be in good-natured joking fun. Although I am well aware of the gefilte fish test and it is no laughing matter! ;)