Impossible Burger, the review

[Torn Mind]

Price: high
Taste: Apparently, burger eaters are stunningly ignorant yet love the taste of MSG seasoned meat+glucose. It's Asian stir fry taste.
Protein: More like oat in a chili can, not mean
Cooking: No water comes out
Nutrition: Deficient because the only nutrients added back in are what is on the label. No hints that selenium or choline is put into the mix.
Desirability: Increases appetite a repeat reminders to "eat me" compared to meat without the MSG+glucose. Increase in appetite May or may not be different from meat seasoned with those white powders.
Scent: Wafting MSG scent.

Pros:
Can be eaten raw or "undercooked" because all ingredient should be sterile.

MSG is not a big deal to me, but for a $10/12oz good, it's very expensive for the raw materials used to make it.

 

[MrSquished]

I have to say of all the people on this forum you're the most qualified to start a food blog. I think you should go for it man!

 

[Zeze]

I had impossible Whopper few years ago when it was all the rage.

I enjoyed it. It tasted like a meaty veggie patty. Didn't have any of this Asian MSG taste you're referring to. Did you buy a Terikyaki flavor?

 

[Torn Mind]

I had impossible Whopper few years ago when it was all the rage.

I enjoyed it. It tasted like a meaty veggie patty. Didn't have any of this Asian MSG taste you're referring to. Did you buy a Terikyaki flavor?

It's going to be enjoyable, I am not disputing that.

A Whopper is going to be further seasoned up so that the who combo for flavors might override the MSG. Tomato sauce, lettuce, the bun, etc.

Even without MSG, it has the other components of the stir-fried meat I had eaten in the past. Vegetable oil+Cornstarch(modified food starch)+salt+the "protein". Cornstarch couagulates for stir-fry. The starch in the Impossible product likely serves some similar purpose in making it "feel meaty". Perhaps because I had avoided MSG for about three years, I might be more sensitive. But upon consumption, all my memories of stir fry came back with this product.

I bought the bare product, 12oz package. No adulteration. Cooked "rare" or medium rare. (After all the NaOH in processing the soy, it damn better be sterile.) I eat my ground meat like a simpleton. Put in pan/ heat it up, usually some water is left behind. Depending on my mood, salt is added, but I think the majority of times, I go unsalted. It's very basic.

Now, I don't believe MSG is really bad or anything, but I cannot evaluate the soy protein isolate taste due the seasonings, which includes MSG imo.

 

[WelshBloke]

I am not a fan. I'd rather a spicy bean burger from BK if I'm going vegi but even those seem a bit bland these days.

 

[eelw]

Of the plant based burgers, I like KFC’s the best. Unfortunately most burger joints that cook over an open flame charbroil it too much in attempts to make it more burger like.

 

[MrSquished]

The main fake beef imitators are not necessarily healthier for you. Probably more similar than different. But they are much better for the environment.

I haven't really had either of the main two as a burger yet. But I have used beyond ground beef in a few recipes where it was seasoned. And it was freaking delicious.

I think it's a good thing and I hope that it keeps evolving into a better and more affordable product, which is what usually happens.

 

[WelshBloke]

The main fake beef imitators are not necessarily healthier for you. Probably more similar than different. But they are much better for the environment.

I haven't really had either of the main two as a burger yet. But I have used beyond ground beef in a few recipes where it was seasoned. And it was freaking delicious.

I think it's a good thing and I hope that it keeps evolving into a better and more affordable product, which is what usually happens.

There's certainly a market for it and that's good.
I don't get on with any of the meat substitutes that well. There's an Indian restaurant near me that just does vegetarian food and they use a lot of "fake" products for some dishes and just traditional vegetarian recipes for others and the traditional dishes are so much better! The masala dosa is freaking amazing!

 

[GodisanAtheist]

A good bean burger is 100% the way to go if you want a veg substitute burger (and very easy to make yourself).

Doesn't pretend to be meat, it's just a tasty seasoned bean patty on some buns with whatever acoutriments you choose to accompany it.

Tons of fiber, easy on digestion, can flavor it however you like it, mix up the bean ratios (my go to is a southwestern style black bean patty) ,whatever.

One of my favorite warm summer evening meals.

 

[MrSquished]

There's certainly a market for it and that's good.
I don't get on with any of the meat substitutes that well. There's an Indian restaurant near me that just does vegetarian food and they use a lot of "fake" products for some dishes and just traditional vegetarian recipes for others and the traditional dishes are so much better! The masala dosa is freaking amazing!

It's tough to work with some of the meat substitutes like seitan and tempeh and of course tofu. Luckily around here growing up there were enough options where we found good ones that use them very well. And there was this one food truck that was just mind-blowingly good at making vegan food with those three substitutes when needed.

It's really easy to fuck up seitan. It can be rubbery and chewy and terrible. Tofu is easy to make bland and it's hard to find good tempeh your base ingredient. Well it's a lot easier now but it's not that prevalent.

I was a big big meat eater as it a kid and in my 20s. Burgers and steaks and meat proteins all the time. But I have to say some of the good vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes I've had in the last 20 years have been on the same level as my favorite meat dishes.

It takes skill to use those ingredients though so don't give up. Most people don't know how to use them right.

 

[WelshBloke]

A good bean burger is 100% the way to go if you want a veg substitute burger (and very easy to make yourself).

Doesn't pretend to be meat, it's just a tasty seasoned bean patty on some buns with whatever acoutriments you choose to accompany it.

Tons of fiber, easy on digestion, can flavor it however you like it, mix up the bean ratios (my go to is a southwestern style black bean patty) ,whatever.

One of my favorite warm summer evening meals.

There's a fantastic bean burger recipe I have at home. Uses (amongst other things) puy lentils which give it a nice burger texture.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's tough to work with some of the meat substitutes like seitan and tempeh and of course tofu. Luckily around here growing up there were enough options where we found good ones that use them very well. And there was this one food truck that was just mind-blowingly good at making vegan food with those three substitutes when needed.

It's really easy to fuck up seitan. It can be rubbery and chewy and terrible. Tofu is easy to make bland and it's hard to find good tempeh your base ingredient. Well it's a lot easier now but it's not that prevalent.

I was a big big meat eater as it a kid and in my 20s. Burgers and steaks and meat proteins all the time. But I have to say some of the good vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes I've had in the last 20 years have been on the same level as my favorite meat dishes.

It takes skill to use those ingredients though so don't give up. Most people don't know how to use them right.

I've kind of got into tofu. Needs to be fried in a ton of soy sauce and sesame oil for me.

 

[MrSquished]

I've kind of got into tofu. Needs to be fried in a ton of soy sauce and sesame oil for me.

hell yeah. ditto on the sesame oil. I have a couple of kinds in my pantry. The nicer made toasted sesame oil can be an amazing last minute finisher to some of these dishes. Started using tofu recently and have been enjoying it. Any other tips? I realized that you can't cut the tofu too big. It needs to have a lower quantity of tofu in vs outside that gets all the flavor. I have used a organic baked marinated tofu product from whole foods that gave a kick of flavor to it right out of the packaging.

 

[Brainonska511]

The main fake beef imitators are not necessarily healthier for you. Probably more similar than different. But they are much better for the environment.

I haven't really had either of the main two as a burger yet. But I have used beyond ground beef in a few recipes where it was seasoned. And it was freaking delicious.

I think it's a good thing and I hope that it keeps evolving into a better and more affordable product, which is what usually happens.

I don't buy meat in my house, since my wife was vegetarian (and now pescatarian), so the occasional meat substitute, whether it is Tofurky, Morningstar, Impossible, or Beyond, has been nice as a way to keep making some recipes I used to make with meat. They're definitely not something to use in every meal, or make the meal's star attraction, but they have their place.

They taste fine, and Impossible and Beyond do a pretty good job of imitating meat (since they're trying to draw off meat eaters, not vegetarians), whereas Morningstar and Tofurky are clearly more targeted towards the vegetarian crowd.

 

[WelshBloke]

hell yeah. ditto on the sesame oil. I have a couple of kinds in my pantry. The nicer made toasted sesame oil can be an amazing last minute finisher to some of these dishes. Started using tofu recently and have been enjoying it. Any other tips? I realized that you can't cut the tofu too big. It needs to have a lower quantity of tofu in vs outside that gets all the flavor. I have used a organic baked marinated tofu product from whole foods that gave a kick of flavor to it right out of the packaging.

Took me awhile to find a tofu that I was ok with to start. Ended up with a pressed tofu that's, well it's not dry but it's fairly solid and not wet.
I cut mine up into fairly small bitesize pieces then fry it it soy and oil in a very non stick cast iron pan. If I try to stir fry it straight away it sticks and ends up disintegrating.
Then I mostly just make stir fried dishes with it and a ton of veggies. A lot of oyster sauce is used!
Ive tried breading or battering it and while the kids liked it I wasn't a fan.

 

[balloonshark]

Try freezing your tofu. I press the tofu, cut it into cubes and then freeze it for later use. Freezing tofu gives it a chicken-like texture.

I also like to air-fry my plain tofu or tempeh. Sometimes I toss the tofu in some olive oil and season before air frying. After you can finish preparing it the way your prefer. I usually just use some barbecue sauce on my air-fried tempeh that I cut into 1/8" strips.

 

[WelshBloke]

Try freezing your tofu. I press the tofu, cut it into cubes and then freeze it for later use. Freezing tofu gives it a chicken-like texture.

Totally trying this!

 

[WelshBloke]

Price: high
Taste: Apparently, burger eaters are stunningly ignorant yet love the taste of MSG seasoned meat+glucose. It's Asian stir fry taste.
Protein: More like oat in a chili can, not mean
Cooking: No water comes out
Nutrition: Deficient because the only nutrients added back in are what is on the label. No hints that selenium or choline is put into the mix.
Desirability: Increases appetite a repeat reminders to "eat me" compared to meat without the MSG+glucose. Increase in appetite May or may not be different from meat seasoned with those white powders.
Scent: Wafting MSG scent.

Pros:
Can be eaten raw or "undercooked" because all ingredient should be sterile.

MSG is not a big deal to me, but for a $10/12oz good, it's very expensive for the raw materials used to make it.

You never said if you enjoyed it or not! That's the most important bit of a food review! Was it nice?

 

[Shmee]

There's certainly a market for it and that's good.
I don't get on with any of the meat substitutes that well. There's an Indian restaurant near me that just does vegetarian food and they use a lot of "fake" products for some dishes and just traditional vegetarian recipes for others and the traditional dishes are so much better! The masala dosa is freaking amazing!

Yeah Indian food can be quite tasty. They often do a great job with the vegetarian dishes. Though I love butter chicken, chicken tiki masala and the like, there are also great dishes such as the spinach one with the paneer cheese balls, which tastes awesome, even without meat. Or gulab jamen, (maple syrup desert balls basically) and of course naan!

 

[WelshBloke]

Yeah Indian food can be quite tasty. They often do a great job with the vegetarian dishes. Though I love butter chicken, chicken tiki masala and the like, there are also great dishes such as the spinach one with the paneer cheese balls, which tastes awesome, even without meat. Or gulab jamen, (maple syrup desert balls basically) and of course naan!

Masala dosa, Samoa chat, tadka dal, and lots of chapati! That's my dinner!

 

[WelshBloke]

Totally trying this!

Damn it forgot!

Did the usual stir fry with it!

 

[Torn Mind]

You never said if you enjoyed it or not! That's the most important bit of a food review! Was it nice?

I have re-evaluated it. Had bought a second pack a week or two ago, with the intention of trying it a second time to see if anything changed from the first.

It remains this conflicting mix of wanting to eat it(likely the glucose) but not actually liking it.

Cooking it longer reduces the "taste" of it so the mix of glucose+"flavor", the latter still suggest MSG to me, is not as strong. Or it could be that eating an apple and sauerkraut before the faux meat dulled my senses already.

The "pleasant nausea"(not a bad thing) still manifests itself, lending me to believe "natural flavors" in this product has MSG. I don't think MSG is bad, but the flavor mix is something that can be whipped up on the cheap.

Texture sort of distantly resembles beef but more "pellety". Tastes nothing like beef; but rather the mix of seasonings. But I'm not surprised, Americans are usually inundated with sugared and sauced up red meat and never cook ground beef at home.

Is it better tasting than cheap lean beef? Probably yes, actually.
Better tasting that 73/27 ground beef, no.

Better than unseasoned Bison or Elk? Hell no.

Does it still remind me of childhood stir fry? Affirmative, and exactly why I find this product utterly not special except for the premium it commands.

 

[nakedfrog]

I don't get how "pleasant nausea" can exist, nausea is inherently unpleasant.
Unless you've got some kind of vomit fetish, I guess.

 

[MrSquished]

I don't get how "pleasant nausea" can exist, nausea is inherently unpleasant.
Unless you've got some kind of vomit fetish, I guess.

Wow that's really disturbing.

We got to get this guy on some low dose of MDMA so it doesn't kill his appetite too much, and get him super stoned with the munchies and just lock them in a room with delicious food for a couple days.

Maybe have some like meditative flute music playing in the background so it hypnotizes him and fixes his weird thing with real food.

 

[igor_kavinski]

OP, next please try this and give it a score from 1 to 10:

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