Missing cheese? Missing meat?

The most common reason people stop eating vegan is that they don't enjoy the food. That's usually fixable. What you're missing is mostly a few flavours and textures — and plants can give you all of them.

Savoury and meaty (umami)

This is the deep, savoury taste of gravy, stock and roast meat. Add one or two of these:

• Soy sauce — a splash in almost anything brown: chilli, gravy, stir fries, bolognese.
• Yeast extract (like Marmite) — ½ teaspoon stirred into a stew or gravy.
• Miso paste — 1 teaspoon in soups and sauces. Stir it in at the end.
• Mushrooms, fried hard — fry them until brown and shrunk, not pale and wet.
• Tomato purée — fry 1 tablespoon in the pan for 1 minute before adding liquid.

Cheesy

• Nutritional yeast — the cheesy yellow flakes. Sprinkle on pasta or beans on toast.
• Quick cheesy sauce — nutritional yeast + a little mustard + garlic + lemon juice + oat drink, warmed and stirred.
• Vegan cheese — brands vary a lot. If you didn't like one, try another; melty ones work best in toasties and on pizza.

Smoky and bacon-y

• Smoked paprika — 1 teaspoon in beans, chilli or tofu.
• Soy sauce + maple syrup + smoked paprika on thin strips of fried tofu or mushroom.

Eggy

• Black salt (kala namak) — it smells and tastes like egg. A pinch on scrambled tofu. Find it in world food shops and online.

Texture matters as much as taste

• Crispy: press tofu, cut it small, fry it until golden. Or roast chickpeas with oil and salt.
• Chewy and "meaty": lentils, vegan mince, or chopped mushrooms fried hard.
• Rich and creamy: fat carries flavour. Don't fear a spoon of oil, peanut butter or oat cream.

The two-second fix: salt and sour

If something tastes flat, it usually needs a pinch more salt or a squeeze of lemon or vinegar. Taste, add a little, taste again.

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