In my neighborhood there is no shortages of places to buy pre-made vegetarian products. One such place is Aldi and today was the day that I was trying on, one of their products simply called Veggie Wiener. My Canadian side came out one hot summer day and I wanted a hotdog. And just like the meat counterparts vegetarian hotdogs aren't healthy but they are tasty. And while there a few criticisms one can make about the "Mein Veggie Tag" Veggie Wiener (or in English "My Veggie Day") but when one wants a simple hotdog that you cover in sauce (ketchup or mustard never relish #relishisgross) the taste is quite nice. There is nothing wrong with the flavor, don't get me wrong, you don't have to cover the product in sauce to enjoy it but it's not a wiener that's going to blow your mind on it's own.
The Cons:
* Not Vegan - not always a con but when something doesn't need an animal product ( i know few products do) it's better to just skip it. I'm not sure what the egg whites are doing in there other then for texture but maybe better if skipped.
* Not Bio - This is a big deal. And in addition containing eggs makes this a bigger deal. Bio eggs should just be standard now....different rant for a different time.
* List of ingredients - Unlike the North American counterparts the EU has a better control on making sure that certain harmful ingredients are listed on the packages (I'm looking at you GMO) still the list contains around 21 ingredients but all ingredients either sound like real food (sweet potato concentrate) or are real food like garlic....though some ingredients like Carrageenan* while from a plant resource aren't ideal.
The Pros:
* Taste - not going to make you scream from the balcony still nice flavor.
* Price - 4 wieners for 1.99
* Ease of buying - in Berlin this can be a problem. In some neighborhoods there a few other choices. So the fact that Aldi is almost in every neighborhood is a plus.
* Versatile - ketchup and mustard or mustard and ketchup the variations are endless.....or make some nice Chili see Chili
So not a prefect product but if you are in a hurray or are looking for a nice BBQ veggie dog or looking to make a chili dog this is a great product for you.
* Carrageenan most studies suggest that it is a safe product to consume in certain amounts and while true for all foods that alone should make pause not to mention that the EU won't allow it in baby food.... that certainly does make me pause.