Impossible burger and other alternative plant based "meats"

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blackjack17

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#295454 30-Mar-2022 11:35

I see impossible burger has finally made it to the supermarkets.

I am running an internal with my year 12s looking at alternative plant based meats, the science behind it and the potential impact of the technology and it was interesting to try it for the first time. In past years we have tried the beyond burger, BK's rebel burger and some of the other competitors and other than the rebel chicken burger (which is actually pretty good) have found all of them quite lacking.

The impossible burger now is a different story, if you hadn't told me it wasn't meat I wouldn't have noticed. It felt, looked and tasted like meat. We taste tested the impossible/beyond/Plan*t/First light wagyu/countdown prime beef patties and while the real meat came out ahead it was damn close to the impossible patties.

If they can get the price down and release it as plain "mince" then I can see it becoming part of a regular weekly shop.

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#2894152 30-Mar-2022 11:49

Done. I hope they learn lots from it.

I'm really hoping the pricing of some of these products plummets and they become just another option at the supermarket, instead of the curiosity they are now.

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Dynamic

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#2894167 30-Mar-2022 12:01

While I'm a bit of a carnivore, we are now eating vegetarian two evenings a week and are likely to expand this to more nights three or four. I've had a cauliflower-based hamburger patty in the past and really liked it, to the point where the idea of trying to make one at home was appealing.

A mate's old man went to prison for a year (2016, IIRC) and ended up declaring himself a vegetarian while inside, as the vegetarian meals were apparently a lot tastier.

Surveys done. :)

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blackjack17

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#2894173 30-Mar-2022 12:09

Dynamic:

While I'm a bit of a carnivore, we are now eating vegetarian two evenings a week and are likely to expand this to more nights three or four. I've had a cauliflower-based hamburger patty in the past and really liked it, to the point where the idea of trying to make one at home was appealing.

A mate's old man went to prison for a year (2016, IIRC) and ended up declaring himself a vegetarian while inside, as the vegetarian meals were apparently a lot tastier.

Surveys done. :)

I have made some nice bean based patties in the past.

Two cans of beans (red/black/4 bean/chick pea/cannellini/whatever)
egg
tomato paste/sauce
herbs, onions, garlic to taste
Breadcrumbs

Mash it all together with a potato masher/fork (don't use a blender or it becomes a paste)

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lchiu7

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#2894195 30-Mar-2022 12:49

I had Impossible Burger about 6 years ago in San Francisco. I made a specific trip to try it out. Even then (the recipe might have improved significantly since then) I was hard pressed to tel the difference between real and faux meat. The texture, flavour and colour were so much like meat.

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jonathan18

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#2894218 30-Mar-2022 13:10

Oh god, that's just too realistic for me!

I've been vegetarian for over 25 years, and while I do eat some 'fake meats', the closer they are to the real thing in either taste or looks the less appealing they are to me. But I totally understand I'm not the target market, and TBH anything that increases the numbers of flexitarians is generally a good thing.

I recall listening to an interview with the founder of Beyond Meats (or perhaps Impossible Burger?); his argument was he could do so much more to reduce meat consumption through encouraging a high proportion of the population to go meatless for 2-3 days a week compared to trying to convert what would inevitably be a tiny proportion to go completely meatless.

Done all three surveys; interesting to see the different approaches taken in the questions!

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#2894219 30-Mar-2022 13:12

Done - hopefully my responses help.

So my partner is Pescatarian and as a whole we eat a whole lot of plant based meat alternatives. Last night for example made chicken burgers using english muffins and the Plan*t "Chrispy Chick*n" burger patties which are actually bloody good. When I first tried Impossible meat I was shocked as I seriously thought my partner made me a meat based burger. I often prefer to cook vegetarian alternatives over meat these days however I am still a meat eater myself.

Vegetarian diets have come a long, long way. I could survive quite happily actually going Pescatarian (I do love Seafood) and it is becoming easier to avoid meat.

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elpenguino

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#2894241 30-Mar-2022 13:49

Done x 3.

My partner doesn't eat meat so I've tried pretty much every product on the market - apart from the impossible burger. I'm not sure my partner would like such a close facsimile to meat since she hasn't eaten it for 30 years. She might find it a bit traumatic tbh.

The upside to a low meat diet, in addition to having stellar health figures last time I saw a doctor, is I don't have to worry about buying an EV to 'do something' about climate change.

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irpegg

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#2894261 30-Mar-2022 14:19

Done all 3. Hope they enjoy the internal!

Senecio

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#2894266 30-Mar-2022 14:26

Dynamic:

A mate's old man went to prison for a year (2016, IIRC) and ended up declaring himself a vegetarian while inside, as the vegetarian meals were apparently a lot tastier.

Not nearly as extreme as getting locked up but I always tick the vegetarian option for meals on long haul flights. Because they are produced in smaller quantities they seem fresher, less mass produced and ultimately tastier.

We're meat eaters in our house but like many we have drastically reduce the amount of meat we eat in recent years. We would enjoy a vegetarian meal 2-3 nights a week and I like to order vegetarian meals when we eat out as it teaches me new ways to enjoy tasty vegetarian meals.

I'm not yet sold on the "meat alternatives" yet. I mean, if I want meat, I want real meat. And if I want vegetables then I want them to look and taste like vegetables. But if the meat alternatives cause even one person to replace a meat meal every week then they have a place on the supermarket shelf.

blackjack17

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#2894309 30-Mar-2022 16:10

jonathan18:

I've been vegetarian for over 25 years, and while I do eat some 'fake meats', the closer they are to the real thing in either taste or looks the less appealing they are to me. But I totally understand I'm not the target market, and TBH anything that increases the numbers of flexitarians is generally a good thing.

If you watch/read the interviews then you are right they aren't making this to convert the vegetarians, most are happy with what they are eating. It is to get the meat eaters to sub in some plant based meals. In a spag bog would you be able to tell the difference? you can barely if at all tell the difference between a beef and impossible patty so in a mince based meal i would guess most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. This is also why they are sold in the meat section rather than the vege section, they are aiming it at meat eaters (it is also a bigger market than vegetarians).

It all comes down to the environmental impact From a spinoff article. Impossible products use 96% less land, 87% less water and emit 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef. While these are probably US stats our ones probably wouldn't be too far off.

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reven

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#2894815 31-Mar-2022 14:53

whoa... $6 a pattie... errr... thats um a little outrageous.

I'd be more than willing to switch from a beef patty to plant-based one, but I'm not willing to spend 3 times as much to do so.

I'll definitely keep an eye out on this stuff and when they come down to a reasonable price, they sure I'll switch.

shk292

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#2894824 31-Mar-2022 15:27

reven:

whoa... $6 a pattie... errr... thats um a little outrageous.

I'd be more than willing to switch from a beef patty to plant-based one, but I'm not willing to spend 3 times as much to do so.

I'll definitely keep an eye out on this stuff and when they come down to a reasonable price, they sure I'll switch.

I was getting quite enthusiastic until this post. Will stick with eye fillet for now and save some money. I really like the idea of subbing in veg for meat one or two times per week

blackjack17

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#2894826 31-Mar-2022 15:31

reven:

whoa... $6 a pattie... errr... thats um a little outrageous.

I'd be more than willing to switch from a beef patty to plant-based one, but I'm not willing to spend 3 times as much to do so.

I'll definitely keep an eye out on this stuff and when they come down to a reasonable price, they sure I'll switch.

They were $9 for a two pack on Tuesday which was equivalent with the first light patties.

They do need to bring the price down but I guess they need to start some where. The technology behind it is pretty cool and is scalable so the next 5 or so years will be interesting.

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KrazyKid

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#2894836 31-Mar-2022 15:47

All Surveys Done.

Interestingly one asked about religion - I guess the eastern religions would be most likely to be vegetarian, but can't recall if they were options :)

Haven't had a chance to watch the Video but recall this freakanomics podcast was interesting (2019 podcast)

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-future-of-meat/

PolicyGuy

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#2894852 31-Mar-2022 16:57

blackjack17:

They were $9 for a two pack on Tuesday which was equivalent with the first light patties.

They do need to bring the price down but I guess they need to start some where. The technology behind it is pretty cool and is scalable so the next 5 or so years will be interesting.

~$40/kg - a bargain ... not

If all these clever vegetable products use so much less of everything as inputs, how come they're between 50% and 100% more expensive than up-market real-meat equivalents?
Looking on Countdown's web-site, you could spend as much as $30/kg for venison patties or $35/kg for Wagu beef patties, but around $20/kg will get you Angus beef patties.
"Cheap" (by Countdown standards) BBQ patties are around $11.50/kg

So, being good for the planet and good for your diet is fine for rich folks but out of reach for poor folks, then.
And we wonder why we have big health disparities.
Sigh

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