There’s a new player on the mock-meat front: vegan corned beef. Jenny Goldfarb, a vegan for nearly 10 years whose family was in the Jewish deli business in New York, decided that the taste of a hefty corned beef sandwich or a Reuben should not be on vegans’ no-fly list. She spent months in her kitchen experimenting with wheat, chickpeas, beets, tomatoes, spices, sweeteners and yeast, and finally, in 2018, began introducing the results in Los Angeles. Sarge’s Delicatessen & Diner in New York started serving her Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli Corned Beef in January. It’s increasingly sold nationwide. The “meat” approximates the slightly crumbly texture of the real thing fairly well, and delivers its salty, somewhat smoky flavor. (It’s also kosher.) It’s a true departure from the usual burgers and sausages that vegan meat mimics. But what’s missing is the fat, especially for those, like me, who do not prefer lean corned beef. Thus, it’s best in a sandwich dressed with mustard and coleslaw or in a Reuben, in the company of gooey Russian dressing, melting vegan cheese and a moist layer of sauerkraut.
Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli Corned Beef, sliced, unsliced, crumbled, $26 (one pound) and up, unrealdelistore.com.
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