4 ms·

As a meat eater, I've had mixed results with Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger. With real meat, it's pretty hard to mess up a burger; if it's anywhere fr

by daeken 7y ago

As a meat eater, I've had mixed results with Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger. With real meat, it's pretty hard to mess up a burger; if it's anywhere from medium rare to medium well, it's still going to be a pretty tasty burger. The current burger substitutes require a much more narrow window before they just don't taste very good. That said, I'm extremely bullish on these; they're already great and they're only going to get better from here.

jordanpg 7y ago
Good points about ease of cooking and error. So much of short-term adoption of these is tied to marketing and time, but their long-term success strikes me as a foregone conclusion. In marketing, they will need to get past a latent psychological hurdle and in time, waiting for the crotchety older folks who insist, no matter what, on a "real burger." Both things are related to the living generations who have grown up with "real burgers."
- daeken 7y ago
  I genuinely can't imagine an outcome where these don't become commonplace. Not going to predict that they're going to replace beef or anything, but it won't be weird to get a meat substitute burger from Wendy's or the like.
  - jandrese 7y ago
    You can already get them from places like White Castle, so I'd say you're right. What I'd really like to see is for the price to drop to a bit below that of the beef patty to help entice people to switch.
  - somberi 7y ago
    Burger King (limited trials) and White Castle (370 outlets), already carry Impossible Burger patties. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/02/burger-king-vegan-whopper-meat-free-impossible-launch https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/02/burger-king...
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      White Castle Impossible patties are delicious. I don't order traditional meat there anymore because of it.
Slippery_John 7y ago
I've had overdone Beyond meat that just has the texture of rubber before, so can confirm it has a narrower window. I imagine that's why the Impossible Burger is only available in restaurants: it's easier to control the experience.
ip26 7y ago
With real meat, it's pretty hard to mess up a burger; if it's anywhere from medium rare to medium well, it's still going to be a pretty tasty burger I must have high burger standards. One of the reasons I don't cook them often is all the work it takes to make sure they turn out well. Right thickness, right meat, narrow temperature range, cast iron... most home made burgers, including backyard grilled, are so dry & bland you can't eat them without lots of ketchup/mustard/BBQ.
- CompelTechnic 7y ago
  Sounds to me like you are using meat that is too lean. Try 80% lean 20% fat beef, hard to screw up.
tracker1 7y ago
I am happy to see a bit more options out there. I do wish the pricing were better. It seems a bit silly to me that meat replacements actually cost MORE than the meat they are replacing. I don't know how efficient the process of extracting protein from soy or peas is, but it should be better than actually raising, butchering and distributing meat if we're to use it as a replacement. I'm allergic to legumes though, so will continue to consume fish, eggs and meat.

by daeken 7y ago

jordanpg 7y ago

Good points about ease of cooking and error. So much of short-term adoption of these is tied to marketing and time, but their long-term success strikes me as a foregone conclusion. In marketing, they will need to get past a latent psychological hurdle and in time, waiting for the crotchety older folks who insist, no matter what, on a "real burger." Both things are related to the living generations who have grown up with "real burgers."

daeken 7y ago
I genuinely can't imagine an outcome where these don't become commonplace. Not going to predict that they're going to replace beef or anything, but it won't be weird to get a meat substitute burger from Wendy's or the like.
- jandrese 7y ago
  You can already get them from places like White Castle, so I'd say you're right. What I'd really like to see is for the price to drop to a bit below that of the beef patty to help entice people to switch.
- somberi 7y ago
  Burger King (limited trials) and White Castle (370 outlets), already carry Impossible Burger patties. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/02/burger-king-vegan-whopper-meat-free-impossible-launch https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/02/burger-king...
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    White Castle Impossible patties are delicious. I don't order traditional meat there anymore because of it.

Slippery_John 7y ago

I've had overdone Beyond meat that just has the texture of rubber before, so can confirm it has a narrower window. I imagine that's why the Impossible Burger is only available in restaurants: it's easier to control the experience.

ip26 7y ago

With real meat, it's pretty hard to mess up a burger; if it's anywhere from medium rare to medium well, it's still going to be a pretty tasty burger I must have high burger standards. One of the reasons I don't cook them often is all the work it takes to make sure they turn out well. Right thickness, right meat, narrow temperature range, cast iron... most home made burgers, including backyard grilled, are so dry & bland you can't eat them without lots of ketchup/mustard/BBQ.

CompelTechnic 7y ago
Sounds to me like you are using meat that is too lean. Try 80% lean 20% fat beef, hard to screw up.

tracker1 7y ago

I am happy to see a bit more options out there. I do wish the pricing were better. It seems a bit silly to me that meat replacements actually cost MORE than the meat they are replacing. I don't know how efficient the process of extracting protein from soy or peas is, but it should be better than actually raising, butchering and distributing meat if we're to use it as a replacement. I'm allergic to legumes though, so will continue to consume fish, eggs and meat.