5 ms·

Carl's also has the beyond burger, which I personally think is superior. My wife disagrees, and prefers your standard veggie burgers (we are vegans of 15 years

by moosey 8y ago

Carl's also has the beyond burger, which I personally think is superior. My wife disagrees, and prefers your standard veggie burgers (we are vegans of 15 years).

jfengel 8y ago
I haven't been able to compare the Impossible Burger. I had a Beyond Burger, and it was very good. If somebody were to hand it to a meat eater at a cookout, without calling attention to it, they'd eat it without noticing the switch. Pile on a few toppings (which people usually do because of the flavorless nature of most fast-food and grocery-store beef), and most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference in a blind tasting. It's pretty clear that it's not beef if you're looking for it, but not nearly as distinct as your standard veggie burgers. Most vegans, though, aren't especially craving meat simulacra. I think of them more as transitional for meat eaters rather than as targeting vegans.
- vwarner1411 8y ago
  I too prefer the Beyond Meat burger to the Impossible Burger, but I don't know about a meat eater not noticing. I love meat - especially beef, but lately I've also been trying meat alternatives. Just recently, I ordered an Impossible Burger, and it just left me wanting beef. It's not that it was bad - the burger looked similar to beef, and was juicy and delicious. But it didnt taste like beef. Maybe it's different for others, but for me, the beef is the spotlight of a burger. Beyond and Impossible haven't gotten that beefy taste - at least to my buds. When I cook a Beyond Meat burger at home, I usually add a little butter - I dont think there is enough fat, and I also add some Takii umami powder (which I believe is just salt, and ground up mushrooms). I think those additions help the illusion of beef. You could probably also cook the burger in rendered beef fat, and that would probably really help the beef flavor...probably defeating the point of meat alternatives though. I wish I could cook an Impossible at home, just to experiment.
  - astura 8y ago
    Your wish should come true, they announced back in January they plan on selling the Impossible Burger 2.0 in grocery stores.
  - kzrdude 8y ago
    Cooking it in animal fat is a good way to reduce meat consumption anyway, so it's a good strategy that way.
- ergothus 8y ago
  You are correct on all points, in my experience. That said, those of us that DO miss some level of meat simulacra (great phrase!) will appreciate this. I lost the taste for actual red meat over 20 years ago, but the texture is still something that has few parallels. Between the hardcore beef aficionados wanting nothing to do with "fake meat" and the hardcore vegetarians/vegans happy to consume veggies I find bland or noxious (As a vegetarian that strongly dislikes bell peppers, I can say the struggle is real) I've had limited options no matter where I turn. Both Impossible and Beyond burgers have been teasing me for years, but have offered nothing for home. This doesn't get us there, but the more fast food places that carry them, the closer it becomes to being a part of normal.
  - moosey 8y ago
    My partner picked up two Beyond Burgers and a bunch of Beyond Sausages at the local supermarket, and one of the cheap supermarkets to boot! I hope you are able to find some soon. Home cooking definitely delivers a better experience than Carl's (at least at my house).
  - jfengel 8y ago
    Beyond Meat products are at a lot of stores, including Safeway and Target. In mine they're located over by the fresh meat. The web site has a locator: https://www.beyondmeat.com/where-to-find/ https://www.beyondmeat.com/where-to-find/ It does a remarkably good job of giving the texture of a mediocre burger. Not a great burger by any means, but it might fill a niche that you don't get from the Morningstar-type burgers.
    - ergothus 8y ago
      ...the last time I checked they were only available at restaurants, so this was very happy news for me. Thanks!
- notatoad 8y ago
  >because of the flavorless nature of most fast-food and grocery-store beef this was my judgement of the beyond burger too. it's basically indistinguishable from a bad hamburger. it's certainly not a good hamburger, but it could pass as meat the same way most fast food burgers pass as meat.
sand500 8y ago
I had Beyond at Carl's the other day and I found it very bland. I definitely prefer Impossible.
landonxjames 8y ago
My girlfriend (vegan of 12ish years) actually has trouble eating any of the more realistic fake meats. She says she has just lost the taste for it and that it grosses her out now.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  This is roughly what it's like for me, too, as a vegetarian of over 20 years. I wouldn't say it grosses me out, personally. It's more that that, after many, many years of eating food with much brighter flavors, it would seem that that whole corner of the flavor spectrum just isn't palatable to me anymore. We've noticed an interesting phenomenon among kids in vegetarian families: Preschoolers who will literally fight each other over things that their peers typically avoid like the plague, like broccoli or tofu, but, if you give them a meal with some sort of realistic fake meat in it, they will diligently pick around it.
bootlooped 8y ago
I think the beyond is a little better than the impossible, but both are in the same tier, well ahead of any other competitors.
josefresco 8y ago
Nutritional facts for the Beyond burger: https://www.myfooddiary.com/foods/7209543/beyond-meat-the-beyond-burger https://www.myfooddiary.com/foods/7209543/beyond-meat-the-be... Looks slightly healthier than an Impossible burger, but not as good as other "veggie burgers".
intuitionist 8y ago
My current diet is “intermittently vegan,” and when I’m not eating meat, I find myself preferring the taste of actual veggies in my veggie burgers. Where traditional veggie burgers fall short in my experience is their texture. No matter how much breadcrumbs or potato starch or xanthan gum you add, a patty based on beans and veggies is gonna be squishier than one based on muscle fibers.
- monetus 8y ago
  I had a homemade one once, of brussel sprouts, where the leaves must have intermeshed in such a way as to be pretty damn similar in texture. No similarity in taste, though.
- astura 8y ago
  Bobby Flay nails the texture on the veggie burger he serves at his restaurant chain (Bobby's Burger Palace). Here's the recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/bobby-flays-veggie-burger-3632541 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/bobby-flays-v... It's very, very delicious, but its not trying to taste like meat.

by moosey 8y ago

Carl's also has the beyond burger, which I personally think is superior. My wife disagrees, and prefers your standard veggie burgers (we are vegans of 15 years).

jfengel 8y ago

I haven't been able to compare the Impossible Burger. I had a Beyond Burger, and it was very good. If somebody were to hand it to a meat eater at a cookout, without calling attention to it, they'd eat it without noticing the switch. Pile on a few toppings (which people usually do because of the flavorless nature of most fast-food and grocery-store beef), and most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference in a blind tasting. It's pretty clear that it's not beef if you're looking for it, but not nearly as distinct as your standard veggie burgers. Most vegans, though, aren't especially craving meat simulacra. I think of them more as transitional for meat eaters rather than as targeting vegans.

vwarner1411 8y ago
I too prefer the Beyond Meat burger to the Impossible Burger, but I don't know about a meat eater not noticing. I love meat - especially beef, but lately I've also been trying meat alternatives. Just recently, I ordered an Impossible Burger, and it just left me wanting beef. It's not that it was bad - the burger looked similar to beef, and was juicy and delicious. But it didnt taste like beef. Maybe it's different for others, but for me, the beef is the spotlight of a burger. Beyond and Impossible haven't gotten that beefy taste - at least to my buds. When I cook a Beyond Meat burger at home, I usually add a little butter - I dont think there is enough fat, and I also add some Takii umami powder (which I believe is just salt, and ground up mushrooms). I think those additions help the illusion of beef. You could probably also cook the burger in rendered beef fat, and that would probably really help the beef flavor...probably defeating the point of meat alternatives though. I wish I could cook an Impossible at home, just to experiment.
- astura 8y ago
  Your wish should come true, they announced back in January they plan on selling the Impossible Burger 2.0 in grocery stores.
- kzrdude 8y ago
  Cooking it in animal fat is a good way to reduce meat consumption anyway, so it's a good strategy that way.
ergothus 8y ago
You are correct on all points, in my experience. That said, those of us that DO miss some level of meat simulacra (great phrase!) will appreciate this. I lost the taste for actual red meat over 20 years ago, but the texture is still something that has few parallels. Between the hardcore beef aficionados wanting nothing to do with "fake meat" and the hardcore vegetarians/vegans happy to consume veggies I find bland or noxious (As a vegetarian that strongly dislikes bell peppers, I can say the struggle is real) I've had limited options no matter where I turn. Both Impossible and Beyond burgers have been teasing me for years, but have offered nothing for home. This doesn't get us there, but the more fast food places that carry them, the closer it becomes to being a part of normal.
- moosey 8y ago
  My partner picked up two Beyond Burgers and a bunch of Beyond Sausages at the local supermarket, and one of the cheap supermarkets to boot! I hope you are able to find some soon. Home cooking definitely delivers a better experience than Carl's (at least at my house).
- jfengel 8y ago
  Beyond Meat products are at a lot of stores, including Safeway and Target. In mine they're located over by the fresh meat. The web site has a locator: https://www.beyondmeat.com/where-to-find/ https://www.beyondmeat.com/where-to-find/ It does a remarkably good job of giving the texture of a mediocre burger. Not a great burger by any means, but it might fill a niche that you don't get from the Morningstar-type burgers.
  - ergothus 8y ago
    ...the last time I checked they were only available at restaurants, so this was very happy news for me. Thanks!
notatoad 8y ago
>because of the flavorless nature of most fast-food and grocery-store beef this was my judgement of the beyond burger too. it's basically indistinguishable from a bad hamburger. it's certainly not a good hamburger, but it could pass as meat the same way most fast food burgers pass as meat.

sand500 8y ago

I had Beyond at Carl's the other day and I found it very bland. I definitely prefer Impossible.

landonxjames 8y ago

My girlfriend (vegan of 12ish years) actually has trouble eating any of the more realistic fake meats. She says she has just lost the taste for it and that it grosses her out now.

bunderbunder 8y ago
This is roughly what it's like for me, too, as a vegetarian of over 20 years. I wouldn't say it grosses me out, personally. It's more that that, after many, many years of eating food with much brighter flavors, it would seem that that whole corner of the flavor spectrum just isn't palatable to me anymore. We've noticed an interesting phenomenon among kids in vegetarian families: Preschoolers who will literally fight each other over things that their peers typically avoid like the plague, like broccoli or tofu, but, if you give them a meal with some sort of realistic fake meat in it, they will diligently pick around it.

bootlooped 8y ago

I think the beyond is a little better than the impossible, but both are in the same tier, well ahead of any other competitors.

josefresco 8y ago

Nutritional facts for the Beyond burger: https://www.myfooddiary.com/foods/7209543/beyond-meat-the-beyond-burger https://www.myfooddiary.com/foods/7209543/beyond-meat-the-be... Looks slightly healthier than an Impossible burger, but not as good as other "veggie burgers".

intuitionist 8y ago

My current diet is “intermittently vegan,” and when I’m not eating meat, I find myself preferring the taste of actual veggies in my veggie burgers. Where traditional veggie burgers fall short in my experience is their texture. No matter how much breadcrumbs or potato starch or xanthan gum you add, a patty based on beans and veggies is gonna be squishier than one based on muscle fibers.

monetus 8y ago
I had a homemade one once, of brussel sprouts, where the leaves must have intermeshed in such a way as to be pretty damn similar in texture. No similarity in taste, though.
astura 8y ago
Bobby Flay nails the texture on the veggie burger he serves at his restaurant chain (Bobby's Burger Palace). Here's the recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/bobby-flays-veggie-burger-3632541 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/bobby-flays-v... It's very, very delicious, but its not trying to taste like meat.