Who has had an impossible burger?

[darkswordsman17]

I had one at a place in Tempe a little while back (about a month ago). I honestly was not impressed. I don't know if they didn't cook it right or what, but it was really dry (I thought this was the one where they put the "blood like" juice in it to simulate that for cooking). Flavor was ok, but tasted like a veggie burger (which I thought this was supposed to replicate a real burger in flavor as well). It was more expensive than the regular burgers, and wouldn't help when craving a real burger. Gets a thumbs down from me as a burger. Its alright for vegetarians I guess.

I used to get, I believe it was Morningstar Farms brand, frozen veggie burgers, and make it for my Mom when she was going through some health stuff and had to cut out meat. Their normal one wasn't that good but they had a "Grillers Prime" one that was better (and it was a fair amount like the Impossible burger, although the Impossible burger was better, not by enough). I'd change what I put on it (sometime guac, sometimes other stuff) and it wasn't too bad, but not an actual burger replacement at all.

 

[darkswordsman17]

There is a lot to be said about the future sustainability of food, and there are a lot of really interesting initiatives like Soylent & Vite Ramen (basically Soylent "whole meal" ramen noodles). I think it was the Forks over Knives video that said we already produce enough food to feed 10 billion people, and we have less than 8 billion right now, but our food distribution system is where the problem lies (corruption, dictators, etc.).

We also have incredible growing technology these days. Up in Mass, we have Freight Farms, which is a whole greenhouse in a shipping container that you can buy as literally a turn-key farm:

https://www.freightfarms.com/

Over in New York, we have Farm One, which is an indoor vertical hydroponic farming company that uses LED grow lamps:

GE has a 25,000 square foot facility using a similar technique:

https://www.ge.com/reports/post/91250246340/lettuce-see-the-future-led-lighting-helps-farming/

The benefits are astounding:

1. Produces 10,000 heads of lettuce per day, regardless of the weather or season outside

2. Typical crop farms have a 50% yield (which means a 50% loss); this method reduces food waste to just 10%

3. Through temp/humidity/irrigation control, the indoor farm cuts water usage to just 1% of the water needed by an outdoor field

Cupcake in a cup coming your way soon!

That's horrible! I go for free-range veggies thank you very much!



(There are going to be people like that though!)

Don't forget the huge aquariums, where they grow produce (kale, etc) in the water, the fish fertilize it, and you catch just enough fish to let them sustain the population (but you get fresh, good quality fish). Plus you get a pretty aquarium to look at.

 

[sourceninja]

I don't want my veggie burger to taste like meat. If I wanted to eat meat I'd eat meat. That's why I really love black bean or root veg burgers. They taste great, but they don't taste like beef.

 

[snoopy7548]

Bumping because I just had one. I bought a pack of Impossible Burger patties at the grocery store today; I would have gotten the ground... uh, whatever it is... but it was frozen.

It looked similar to raw beef, and smelled somewhat like it, but that was pretty much it. I prepared it the same as I do for my usual 80/20 - salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil. Grilled it, but it seemed to want to stick to the grill, which left some "nice" grill marks.

Reminded me of one of those crappy breakfast sausage patties which I hate, almost like they were trying too hard to get a meat flavor.

2/10. I'm sticking with 80/20 ground beef.

 

[WelshBloke]

I don't want my veggie burger to taste like meat. If I wanted to eat meat I'd eat meat. That's why I really love black bean or root veg burgers. They taste great, but they don't taste like beef.

What this guy said. I mean a ground beef pattie isn't that amazing a bit of food. I'm not sure what the obsession with making a veggie copy of it when there are better veggie burgers anyway.

 

[BUTCH1]

Bumping because I just had one. I bought a pack of Impossible Burger patties at the grocery store today; I would have gotten the ground... uh, whatever it is... but it was frozen.

It looked similar to raw beef, and smelled somewhat like it, but that was pretty much it. I prepared it the same as I do for my usual 80/20 - salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil. Grilled it, but it seemed to want to stick to the grill, which left some "nice" grill marks.

Reminded me of one of those crappy breakfast sausage patties which I hate, almost like they were trying too hard to get a meat flavor.

2/10. I'm sticking with 80/20 ground beef.

Do you think it possible you wanted to find it inferior to 80/20 chuck so you were subconsciously "programmed" for it to fail?.

 

[MrSquished]

Better off getting a pack of sweet onion Bubba burgers

 

[Captante]

Better off getting a pack of sweet onion Bubba burgers

Had a couple of those for dinner earlier!

 

[Starbuck1975]

Impossible burgers are good but you have to wonder that, with all the processing required to create the fake meat, you’re not better off just eating beef in moderation.

 

[Brainonska511]

My spouse is a vegetarian, and these meat alternatives have been great, particularly for home cooking stuff like meatballs. The burgers are also fine, but we've also just used traditional veggie burgers there. Morningstar also has these frozen crumbles, which are a good veggie alternative for things that require ground beef like textures. Overall, with all the choice, I'm not really missing meat.

The only times I get real meat now is if we get takeout, or for a holiday, I may go to a local butcher and get something nice.

 

[HomerJS]

I will try one eventually. However I'm skeptical of a product you have to process so much to make it taste like something it isn't.

AFAIK, highly processed foods are something to minimize in your diet.

 

[ponyo]

Impossible burgers are good but you have to wonder that, with all the processing required to create the fake meat, you’re not better off just eating beef in moderation.

I can't get over the ingredients list for Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat.

Impossible burger ingredients:

Beyond Burger ingredients:

I thought about trying Beyond Burger several times for research purpose but every time, I decline because that ingredients list is like miles long with not so great things. The only reason I would eat fake meat would be for health reason. But the ingredients for both Impossible and Beyond burgers are so bad, I would be healthier if I just ate 100% real beef burgers instead of these fake burgers.

I don't mind eating veggies. I eat lot of vegetables. But I eat real vegetables and cook from scratch. Not all this processed garbage pretending to be healthy. And that's what Impossible and Beyond Burgers are. Processed garbage. Not even real food. Hard pass for me.

 

[Brainonska511]

I will try one eventually. However I'm skeptical of a product you have to process so much to make it taste like something it isn't.

AFAIK, highly processed foods are something to minimize in your diet.

The ingredients for ground beef would probably look pretty long too if you had to list it out and couldn't just say "beef".

 

[Zorba]

I can't get over the ingredients list for Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat.

Impossible burger ingredients:

Beyond Burger ingredients:

I thought about trying Beyond Burger several times for research purpose but every time, I decline because that ingredients list is like miles long with not so great things. The only reason I would eat fake meat would be for health reason. But the ingredients for both Impossible and Beyond burgers are so bad, I would be healthier if I just ate 100% real beef burgers instead of these fake burgers.

I don't mind eating veggies. I eat lot of vegetables. But I eat real vegetables and cook from scratch. Not all this processed garbage pretending to be healthy. And that's what Impossible and Beyond Burgers are. Processed garbage. Not even real food. Hard pass for me.

I've never eaten one myself, but I have cooked a few beyond patties for my SIL. I always cook with ground sirloin, which is pretty lean, so the amount of fat pouring out of the beyond patties blew my mind. The only reason to eat it is if you are a reluctant vegetarian, I think.

While we are discussing ingredient lists, have you ever looked at nut "milk?" Real milk ingredients: "Milk, Vitanium D." Nut "milk" has like 30 ingredients, and nuts aren't the first few.

 

[Eno Safirey]

The approach to preparing meat alternatives at home should be that you are not trying to fool anybody, especially yourself. I am not a vegan, but I have tried these products and they are acceptable but not worth paying extra for if you're eating for taste and not for health.

I prepare them just as if I'm fixing ground beef. Use your favorite type bun and all the extras you normally use. My personal technique is spray Pam onto the patty before frying in a skillet. This adds a crispiness to it that simulates ground beef.

Hamburgers are considered fast food because they can be prepared quickly, but even better they are are usually consumed quickly. So, just fix it the way you like burgers and wolf it down the way most people do.

 

[ultimatebob]

Burger King sells these. Honestly, with all the toppings that they put on their "Impossible Whopper", you can barely taste the difference from a beef patty burger.

It doesn't really taste "off" unless you pull off a piece of the burger patty and eat it on its own.

 

[Captante]

Burger King sells these. Honestly, with all the toppings that they put on their "Impossible Whopper", you can barely taste the difference from a beef patty burger.

It doesn't really taste "off" unless you pull off a piece of the burger patty and eat it on its own.

Pretty much .... I snagged one of their "compare" bundles awhile back.

Had to keep double-checking which was which although ultimately I preferred the so-called "real" meat version.

Thing is I've had veggie-burgers I enjoyed in the past too but they were always the kind which fully "embraced" being made of veggies!

Nut milk

How unfortunate ... I'll pass.

*(no "Cream-of-Sumyungdood" either thanks)

 

[pete6032]

I think we can all agree that large scale cattle farming isn't sustainable. The real question now is whether our future meat cravings will be satisfied by real lab grown meat or imitation vegetable based meats like Beyond or Impossible burger. The current burgers seem like beta versions of a future product that could have a few less ingredients and less fat/calories but they just aren't there yet.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I like the idea of a plant based meal that tastes like a hamburger. I have had 2 impossible burgers and both were the same experience. They tasted great to start with. Halfway through it started to not taste as good and then I could not finish it. My wife tried one and had the exact same experience.

 

[ultimatebob]

I think we can all agree that large scale cattle farming isn't sustainable. The real question now is whether our future meat cravings will be satisfied by real lab grown meat or imitation vegetable based meats like Beyond or Impossible burger. The current burgers seem like beta versions of a future product that could have a few less ingredients and less fat/calories but they just aren't there yet.

I wouldn't be too worried about that. There is a still a LOT of unused land out there that could be used for farming and grazing.

 

[Brainonska511]

I wouldn't be too worried about that. There is a still a LOT of unused land out there that could be used for farming and grazing.

Could be used doesn't mean should be used. Americans could probably stand to eat less meat on a regular basis, both from a health perspective and a climate/environment perspective.

 

[Zorba]

I think we can all agree that large scale cattle farming isn't sustainable. The real question now is whether our future meat cravings will be satisfied by real lab grown meat or imitation vegetable based meats like Beyond or Impossible burger. The current burgers seem like beta versions of a future product that could have a few less ingredients and less fat/calories but they just aren't there yet.

I'm hopeful for lab meat. There is also the ground cricket route.

 

[Ken g6]

Burger King sells these. Honestly, with all the toppings that they put on their "Impossible Whopper", you can barely taste the difference from a beef patty burger.

It doesn't really taste "off" unless you pull off a piece of the burger patty and eat it on its own.

I agree. The smell, though, is very different. A Whopper smells like flame-broiled beef. The "Impossible Whopper" smells like chemicals. But I just ignored that, and the taste was good.

 

[dank69]

Burger King sells these. Honestly, with all the toppings that they put on their "Impossible Whopper", you can barely taste the difference from a beef patty burger.

It doesn't really taste "off" unless you pull off a piece of the burger patty and eat it on its own.

Yeah, when they came out at BK I thought they would be at least a bit healthier for no downside. Then I found out they aren't healthier, and in some ways are less healthy.

 

[Brainonska511]

Yeah, when they came out at BK I thought they would be at least a bit healthier for no downside. Then I found out they aren't healthier, and in some ways are less healthy.

I don't see how this is really an issue in the fast food setting. People buying cheeseburgers at a fast food joint aren't exactly eating there because they're worried about their health...