This might explain my outlier experience then. Because i let my gf take a bite an she agreed with me. I tasted the sodium, the toppings and the sauces but not much else. The patty itself almost had a tofu-like quality of taking on the flavors and tastes of the foods with which it was prepared and cooked. It was tender. But tasteless. I definitely wouldn’t describe it as “bad” just “not good”. But ill gve them another shot.
Moderator Action
This is better suited to Cafe Society, so let’s move it there (from IMHO).
When I was considering trying Boca burgers for the first time I asked my brother, who had tried them, what they tasted like. He said: “Mine taste like mustard.”
Yeah, it seems to me that they’ve got to get the outside nice and well-heated/crisp. The ones I’ve had that didn’t seem to have as much of a very hot direct heat application seemed more “vegetal” to me; but when it had that nice crisp char, it was fine. I also prefer them done as thinner patties vs a thicker patty. And there is a difference between their latest version (which came out in I think around February) vs the one before (although the best prepared version I had was the 1.0 version at Umami burger. Theirs is a classic West Coast American double cheeseburger with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, and mustard. I need to try it again over there with the newer version and see what it’s like.)
I mean, I found my first experience (at Umami Burger) pretty surprising. While it did not meet the “tastes exactly like beef” hype that I was getting from Youtube videos from sources I mostly trust, it was shockingly close to a meat experience, in my opinion. For me, it had passed the hump of the “uncanny valley” territory of meat substitutes. I used to be of the opinion of either eat meat, or eat veggies, and forget all this weird stuff pretending to be meat. My attitude has changed. Now I think, you know, for those who want to – for whatever reasons, moral, environmental, etc – reduce meat in their diet but want a meat-like experience, they are coming up with some pretty darned good and tasty meat substitutes. For example, I like a lot of Morningstar’s products – yeah, they’re salty as shit, but their various bean patties are quite good, and not pretending to be meat. Meanwhile, I’ve hated every Boca burger I’ve ever tasted. These products – Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger – actually did make me rethink my attitude towards fake-meat burgers.
And I was a bit amused when in February I took my 5-year-old with me to White Castle’s and ordered a sack of sliders and a couple of Impossible Burgers for myself. My intention was to have the Impossible Burger, but she laid claim to it and wouldn’t let me trade it for a regular White Castle burger. This is a kid who subsists on pretty much meat and pasta and hates anything and everything vegetable-y besides French fries (she used to eat anything and everything, I swear!) So they were able to fool my finicky picky kid, so they’ve got that going for them.
Tasting just like a regular burger is sorta the entire point…
I don’t think I’ve had Beyond Burgers, but I have tried a few Impossible Burgers (2.0) and they were fantastic! Really tasted like meat, which was amazing to me. I’ll definitely try an Impossible Whopper when the BK in my neck of the woods gets it.
Boca burger is a veggie burger, not a regular burger.
I’ve had Beyond and Impossible.
Beyond Burger at Fuddruckers was an unappetizing red color. Not awful, but not as good as real cow. I’d like to try it at home and see if the kids can tell the difference.
Impossible was great. It looked, felt, and tasted like a good burger. The only clue that it was something else was a thin crispy film, sort of like the browned film on a fried egg.
I’m a long time veggie and well… The beyond burger “ate like” I was being lied to.
I could have sworn that I bought a meat product. Damn. I rarely buy meat-substitutes but I am going to a friend’s bar-b-que and wanted to get an alternative option for myself. I’m convinced. These “meat like” novelties have advanced to the point of fooling me. :o
ETA: For what it’s worth, I cooked it well done (low and slow) with oil and covered in black pepper (on an iron skillet) with a char on the end.
Um…
As I recall, the ecological impact of meat production was the motivation for the guy who started Impossible burger.
I would like to try one (or a similar product.) I’ve not seen them offered anywhere yet though. I know some local restaurants have one of them.
Pea protein, IIRC. I’ve never tried them myself, but I have a vegan friend who swears by them.
There are many ingredients in it. Singling out the pea protein instead of the maltodextrin, methylcellulose, or bamboo cellulose in it is simply uninformed speculation.
like
I heard an NPR program discussing it. The food critic said the Impossible Whopper tasted like “a memory of beef.”
well theyve arrived here in so cal i have del taco ads for “beyond tacos” and carls jr ads for a"beyond famous star" and since there 2 of the biggest so cal chains id definatly say their record ipo put them on the map…
all they neecpd is jack in the box and theyed be golden
Ok, see, you obviously are in possession of the resources amd faculties necessary to compose coherent prose, after all, look at all of this. But you didnt even TRY to edit this. You took no care or attention to what you were presenting at all. Then you hide behind ypur disability. Man, your disability aint got shit to do with you being lazy.
I’ve had both and both are pretty good. Not sure if Impossible and Beyond would be mistaken for real meat burgers in a blind taste test, but I think most people would say they are a good burger (if prepared correctly).
These are very different from boca or bean burgers.
Here’s the deal for me… as a 30+ year vegetarian… I don’t really WANT my burgers to taste “just like real beef.” I’ve been happy since my first Boca Burger to have a substitute patty that I can DRESS “like a real burger.” But I really didn’t like meat when I still ate meat. I especially don’t want any of the new veggie burgers that “bleed” “like real meat.” YUK! Kinda defeats the point.