THIS Isn’t Chicken: Salt & Pepper Pieces Review

The caption 'this isn't chicken pieces review' surrounded by My Vegan Hamper boxes and THIS isn't chicken

Probably the most realistic tasting plant-based chicken product on the market. Eerily similar texture to chicken that takes to cooking very well, with only one peculiar downside…

'THIS' is a vegan food brand of plant-based meat alternative food products. They jumped on the scene a few years back with their introductory line of mostly vegan chicken plant-based products, backed by bold and humorous marketing shenanigans. They claim to have industry-leading realism to meat in taste, appearance and texture. We're here to put that claim to the test by starting with our THIS Isnt Chicken Salt and Pepper Pieces review.

First impressions

Upon getting our hands on the product, we couldn't help but appreciate it's size and weight. It's a generous 190g with enough plant-based chicken in there for at least three meals. And as the package instructs you to cook the pieces, it's important to note that you won't be snacking on these bad boys straight out of the pack.

Ok, let's get this out the way early, because it's one of the only major criticisms we had with the product, and also one of the first things we noticed. Upon opening the package, we were met with a rather unpleasant smell. A sulphur dioxide-ey kind of odour. Very noticeable, and not particularly appetising.

We were worried but soldiered on, throwing them into the pan for a simple 'chicken' soy sauce stir-fry with kale, spring onions, and mushrooms. Read on for our full impressions.

Taste

We were purposefully light on seasoning when cooking the pieces to get a sense of the taste of the product on its own, which is pre-seasoned with salt and black pepper. Overall, these plant-based chicken pieces taste, we are happy to report, amazing.

We were surprised to find out they have a kind of 'smoky' quality to the flavour profile, which definitely adds to the meat-like experience. They are savoury but not overly salty, and the pepper is subtle.

It really does taste like the real thing, with that kind of juicy, watery quality you experience with real chicken. Drizzled lightly with oil, they absorb seasonings really well and the base-flavour is plain enough where you can make them taste like anything, so the possibilities are endless. You could coat them in olive oil, flour, and your chosen spice mix to make fried chicken, you could take a fork to them after they're cooked for shredded chicken.

As for the peculiar smell? Well, after about a minute in the pan as the plant-based chicken pieces were heating up, the smell totally disappeared. Not just disappeared, it actually started to smell quite appetising with a feint smoky aroma.

Texture

The pieces perform well in the taste category, but absolutely shine when it comes to texture. Looking at the pictures alone, you can get a sense of what we mean. The pieces are sinewy, with meat-like strands running through them that make the experience almost too real. If I ordered a meal at a restaurant with this vegan chicken, I might end up sending it back thinking that they accidentally used the real thing...

As we cooked, the pieces took on a really pleasing charred brown texture, making the outside a little more tough and smoky. But, when you bite into them and they split according to the meat-like strands in the EXACT same way you would expect real chicken to, the inside remained warm and juicy. That was seriously impressive, and not something we've ever seen in other vegan chicken alternatives.

Non-vegan impressions

We got our resident non-vegan to taste THIS Isn't Chicken: Salt & Pepper Pieces to get a sense of it's appeal to those who haven't yet made the switch. Here's what he had to say:

"It tastes really good. Almost exactly the same as real chicken. Easy to cook, you can throw this into the pan and it'll be cooked faster than real chicken. I would definitely consider buying this over proper chicken pieces if it’s better for the environment."

Well said.

Nutritional profile

THIS Isn’t Chicken: Salt & Pepper Pieces is a soy-based product, mostly made from soy protein isolate. The nutritional profile of this product is really strong, offering 23 grams of protein per 100g - the same as real chicken! So much for vegan protein deficiencies. The product is also fortified with vitamin B12, an important vitamin to consider for those on a meat-free diet.

You can read the full ingredient list and nutritional breakdown here -

Water, Soya Protein Concentrate (30%), Sunflower Oil, Flavouring, Pea Protein Isolate (2%), Potato Starch, Salt, Pea Fibre, Rapeseed Oil, Maltodextrin, Sea Salt and Black Pepper Seasoning [Maltodextrin, Black Pepper, Sugar, Yeast Extract Powder, Natural Flavouring, Sea Salt], Titanium Dioxide, Iron, Vitamin B12.

(per 100g)

Energy kcal 172

Fat 4.0g

(of which saturates) 0.5g

Carbohydrates 11g

(of which sugars) 0.6g

Fibre 7.8g

Protein 23g

Salt 1.0g

Iron 4.0mg

Vitamin B12 0.7ug

Conclusion

This product gets the myveganhamper.co.uk seal of approval, as one of only a few top-tier vegan chicken products on the market. Eerily similar taste and texture to chicken that takes to cooking very well, with only one peculiar downside in the smell.

Out of burning curiosity, we did some digging around to try and discover the culprit for the offending smell, and noticed the unusual inclusion of Titanium Dioxide in the ingredients list. Titanium Dioxide is a naturally occurring oxide that is often used as a food pigment. Could that be the source?

Regardless, the plant-based chicken tastes, feels, and looks like real chicken and could easily fool a non-vegan. You can use it in a wide variety of dishes with whatever seasonings and flavours you want, and one pack will easily give you at least three meals if not more.

For some more readily consumable protein-packed vegan goods to keep you fuelled between meals, including brand new high-protein cereal innovation from Surreal and bestselling protein bars from Misfits and Barebells, check out the below hampers! And because you took the time to read our article, feel free to use this exclusive, reader-only 10% OFF discount code in case you wanted to give them a try — IREADTHEARTICLE.