Round 1: grilled
I’m a fan of Beyond meat but this doesn’t qualify as food porn. They look ok I guess but definitely not porn level.
Years ago I spent a handful of months in Japan. It was wonderful, as always. But a couple months in I was really jonesing for some tasty Mexican food. I was told of a Mexican restaurant that was close enough. I went and ordered a chicken burrito and something else (I don’t remember). It showed up and looked exactly what I would have gotten from one of the hundreds of Mexican restaurants around where I lived in SoCal. I took a bite and…not a single flavor was right. It looked wonderful, but tasted like a joke.
I agree looks can be deceiving. My go to example is a wedding cake that’s 90% fondant, blech. I stand by my statement though, even if the meal was good, that photo of it is not.
Is it cake??
If the way food LOOKS is the main metric you use to judge it, then I feel bad for your taste buds.
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Had Beyond a few times, it’s really impressive. I’m not a vegetarian (sorry) but rather a meat reducer. Keep making stuff like this available and I and many people like me will have no more excuses.
No prob. Veggie here, we’re all just glad people are open to trying.
If there’s one hard rule I and others believe in, don’t waste your food, especially the meat.
Oh agreed, that’s well ingrained in me and seems quite ingrained in British culture in general (I think it has wartime origins, but more because meat was expensive). I and everyone else I know, if we’re out at a meal and getting full the first thing anyone does is start fishing around for the bits of meat to make sure they don’t go to waste.
I really like fake chicken, but fake beef just isn’t there for me yet.
IMO:
Fake chicken - almost indistinguishable in many cases
MOST fake beef (especially the likes of Quorn which I quite dislike) is nowhere near yet, I agree. Beyond though? I’m really impressed, I can hardly tell.
Fake pork i.e. veggie sausages - long way to go. Oddly enough Richmond seem about the best. Most are way too dense and heavy for my liking.
Every day is progress though
Where’s the beef? I see vegetables.
If there’s one dish where I feel it’s a waste to eat animal meat, it’s hamburgers. Vegetarian alternatives have come a long way and in a burger they’re often the superior option.
There’s a small difference for sure, but the BM patties are far from inferior. And much of the difference is masked by condiments anyway.
At least this is a minority opinion. I rely on the availability of meat products to eat. I cannot process carbs or sugars and they make me incredibly sick even legumes and tubers, whole grains etc. Fruit also. It triggers insane inflammation that I can only hold at bay with benadryl and that’s not safe to use habitually.
It’s meat, low lactose dairy, fish, eggs, greens for me and when I do break my diet to have a delicious slice of my boyfriend’s pepperoni pizza I am disabled for a day or more. I need to be able to work otherwise I wouldn’t care if I were bedridden from including carbs and sugars in my diet. I personally don’t believe there’s anything wrong with eating meat as I was raised along side sheep eating lamb and baby birds. No question about it that any other predator on the planet wouldn’t think twice about eating me ass first. I’m OK being part of the food chain.
I’m genuinely baffled at the idea that beyond meat can be seen as remotely as good as a beef burger. It is VERY different. Albeit an okay replacement in a lot of senses, it just can never be as good as a traditional beef burger. Generally I wish I could be vegetarian but beef burgers would be by far the worst part for me if I had to give up meat…
Beyond burgers suck. Have you tried an impossible burger? Those are pretty fucking close
Yeah I have but it’s been years. I think I’m with you that I prefer impossible over beyond burgers
IMO how things taste varies wildly from person to person. To me Beyond burger has a weird flavor that I dislike that never goes away.
Impossible burgers are a much better meat replacement to my taste buds. They’re still not 100%, there’s always a bite or two at the start were they taste off, but after that they taste pretty much like a cheap hamburger.
I eat meatless burgers at least once a week and I agree that beyond burgers have a lingering taste of cat food. Impossible burgers are far superior.
Yes, that’s because it’s not an Impossible burger. Now that one… comes really close.
While I agree that beef burgers are great and that beyond meat just isn’t the same, I think it’s also important to remember that the second best thing to going vegetarian is eating less meat.
Yeah I agree. I do eat veggie burgers from time to time and enjoy them. I just take issue with the claim that these replacements are " just like meat". It’s not, and that’s ok
I was with you until you mentioned Beyond Meat. BM is just nasty, and bears no taste or texture resemblance to meat at all. That might be ideal for vegans, but it won’t win over any omni or carnivores.
Impossible is a different story. I can make smash burgers with that stuff that are utterly indistinguishable from a real burger. It won’t trick anyone in a meatloaf but for a burger, it’s pretty impressive.
Exactly.
Beyond is just a slightly better evolution of the old Boca burgers. Still meh and you know in one second it’s not beef. If beef like was what you were going for, you’re boned. If not meat and it doesn’t matter, it’s fine
My first impossible burger was in a real burger restaurant (that’s all they cooked) and I had to verify that it wasn’t a regular burger
I mostly agree. The impossible burgers are great, much better than I expected! I wanted to try the Beyond Meat burgers to compare… yeah they aren’t as good. I wouldn’t cal them nasty, but for sure inferior to the Impossible burgers.
Impossible burgers taste better, look better, and could easily be mistaken for real meat. I also really like the at they are meant to be cooked from frozen. Just 4min per side in the skillet and it’s about perfect. I cook it with some Worcestershire sauce and that kicks it up a notch!
The BM burgers say they need to be defrosted before cooking. I’m not about to do that because it’s a lot of time and planning. I cook them from frozen and they kinda turn out a bit mushy.
When is the last time you had a Beyond Burger? For a while they were salty af and pretty gross. Just got more from Costco and I would say they are better than Impossible Burgers.
Makes me wonder why they didn’t start with beyond meat sausage. The seasoning would cover any difference in flavor and the texture would be a lot easier to disguise
The difference is most certainly not small. It’s very noticeable. I also love the veggie options, but your position is kind of like saying:
If there’s one dish where I feel it’s a waste to eat
animal meatfusilli, it’shamburgerspasta.Vegetarian alternativesSpaghetti has come a long way and in aburgerpasta dish, they’re often the superior option.Nothing pisses me off more than seeing “wagyu beef burger” on a menu. What’s the fucking point if you’re gonna grind it up and shape it into a patty
At Costco the ground wagyu is cheaper than the regular ground beef. I use it in cooking rice dishes and the fat does give it a nicer flavor. Also appreciate that wagyu is sold in 1lb packs vs. 1.33 lbs for the Kirkland brand.
They still use the burger parts for burger. They’re not taking a ribeye and grinding it up and selling it at a loss.
Is it a dumb thing for dumb people? Maybe. You would think the extra fat would just cook off and it wouldn’t go very far vs uncooked weight.
I wouldn’t buy one but I wouldn’t want that meat to go to waste either.
The ones I’ve had are usually similar price to the other burgers or a very slight increase and the patty quality was definitely better. If the price difference was like between wagyu steak and normal, I’d never even consider it.
Because there’s other cuts on the cow and it would be shameful for that to go to waste. They aren’t using ribeye to male it.
Still silly to pay more for it. If you’re mincing meat you can just add whatever fat ratio you want to it without having to overpay about 10x for the privilege.
It’s not just the fat content. Wagyu fat renders differently and has a different flavour.
You could keep trimmings from wagyu cuts to mix in with the minced meat, but yeah, it would be lost in a burger. Better off rendering the trimmings down to make tallow.
I personally think like the complete opposite - if there’s anything that’s a waste, it’s a beyond meat burger, because veggie burgers are like, really fucking good. Why on earth would you settle for an inferior pretend product when you can instead have a really good thing that’s not pretending to be something else?
Miss me with that fake meat stuff and bring back actual veggie burgers! I got a real nice sweet potato and refried black bean one I’ve been working on for a while now
because veggie burgers are like, really fucking good.
In what world are veggie burgers good? I don’t want quinoa in my fucking burger.
1000 to 1 you just haven’t had a good one.
What do you consider a good one? Bean patties aren’t burgers.
Not a brand but restaurants or homemade. Lot of different ways to do it but that’s like a master cooking class in itself.
…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a quinoa burger that’s like making a burger out of rice or couscous.
Also man, there’s tons of good veggie burgers.
It just has quinoa in it. There are lots of other ingredients as well.
I would bet money that most people who hate the idea of a “quinoa” patty don’t eat quinoa and likely don’t even know how to pronounce it.
I fucking hate those slabs of vegetables and shit. They’re disgusting. I’ll eat regular burgers but I like these ones a lot too
But mishmashes of veggies on a bun? No
Meh, I don’t like mushrooms and really don’t like the black bean burgers and haven’t liked any other veggie burger I’ve tried, but the Impossible ones I can hardly tell the difference from cow, so … why wouldn’t I choose the impossible when given the opportunity?
So, for me, I guess the answer is that if I want a burger, I want a burger, why would I go for something that doesn’t taste anything like a burger?
Because there’s like a difference between a beef burger and the platonic idea of a burger. Like if I say I want a burger, you’re not going to fault me for buying a chicken burger are you? Even though it doesn’t taste anything like a regular beef burger? Same deal with veggie burgers. Meanwhile if I order a burger that looks like beef with the expectation that it will taste like beef, I’m going to be upset when it doesn’t taste like a nice beef burger but instead a rather shitty one
Also there’s tons of veggie burgers out there, maybe you just gotta try some that aren’t like, the weird “healthy” options that dominate the search results. Stuff like a big ol’ falafel in a bun or deep fried aloo tika.
…also I don’t actually like beef burgers that much
you’re not going to fault me for buying a chicken burger are you?
There are TONS of people who will do that exact thing. what is or is not a sandwich or burger (is a burger a type of sandwich?) for some reason is a stupidly contentious topic that people feel passionate about.
People take labels and their individual expectations of that label pretty emotionally.
It’s def subjective but I’ve never been a fan of the blackened bean burger as a hamburger replacement. I wasn’t that impressed with the bm burgers but the impossible burgers are a fine replacement imho.
This isn’t a hamburger replacement this is a homemade burger where the beans taste like beans and are mainly there because I like homemade refried beans and thought they’d be good as a burger
Also impossible burger beyond meat sale difference. It’s all fake meat that could be better replaced with something that just isn’t pretending to be anything
I tell meat eaters and vegetarians the same thing about this.
“Do not compare this to the best meat hamburger you ever had. Instead pretend its a completely new food that you’ve never tried.”
Treat it like a protein option and stop trying to force it to be just like something else. It is very similar to meat in many ways, but it isn’t meat. I don’t consume much advertising so I don’t know if the companies are selling it and saying that it’s indistinguishable.
It’s not “fake”, it just isn’t “meat”.
Garden burgers are the worst. Portabella is good. Even boca burgers are okay. Impossible is far better than Boca though.
Why not both? :D Cause sometimes I feel like eating this and sometimes I feel like eating that
100% agree. The imitation methods used in all of the vegan “meat” products just are not near good enough. My ex made me try a bunch, they varied from a little off to just plain gross. Even though I approached each one with an open mind, not a single one was enjoyable. It was actually really hard to keep an open mind after a while, having been either disappointed or disgusted 100% of the time in the past.
However, chickpea patties? Delicious. Black bean burgers? They’re usually pretty decent too. There was one veggie burger we tried that had portobello mushrooms as the main ingredient, and it was the most delicious veggie burger I’ve ever had, hands down. It was so savory and juicy, and the texture was excellent.
I just wish these companies would just focus on plant based products with great taste as their main goal rather than trying to imitate meat, because they’re just so astonishingly terrible at it.
Just eat a falafel sandwich. Why do you need or want to call it a burger?
I’ve just realised that most people kinda just add the beans in direct which isn’t what I meant. Whoops - yeah nah I turn them into refried beans and add them in. Directly throwing in black beans never seems to work in my opinion. Also a big fan of just like, making a really big aloo Tika (an Indian potato cake) and using it as a burger. They’re really good and the burger king where I live used to actually sell them as their main veggie option before BM muscled all the decent veggie options out. Falafel burgers are also really good, but alas they’re kinda a lot of work because of all the soaking and deep frying.
My holy grail of veggie burgers is this one spinach burger I had all the time as a kid because they always had leftovers of them at school sausage sizzles and I’d get the extras for free. It was probably some deep freeze bulk thing but goddamnit one day I’ll make a spinach burger that doesn’t taste like some sort of goddawful diet thing.
Also honestly in general fake meat in general just does not do it for me. I’d rather eat a dish that’s veggie and works with that to make something different and good instead of trying to make a subpar copy.
Real veggie burgers never left. Quinoa burgers are amazing. Still love Beyond Burgers but veggie burgers do add a nice variety.
What the!
What kind of Real Meat ™ is that?
The one on the right does look more appealing though…
The patty on the left looks like it was prepared by a vegan.
I’m moderately sure the Beyond patty is the one on the right.
As someone who eats them, I’m 100% sure it’s the one on the right.
I’m pretty sure they meant that the beef one was prepared by someone unfamiliar with cooking beef hamburgers on account of its poor execution. A quip.
That’s the vegan one. Thanks!
Pretty bad picture if you want to compare the protein of the hamburgers. For the next round don’t put a bunch of things over the protein.
I prefer the Impossible beef. I just think it tastes better.
Agreed. I bought Beyond Meat patties at Costco because mine was out of Impossible and I was sorely disappointed. Impossible or bust!
And it’s too bad…
People definitely buy up the impossible and ignore the beyond. They had the 10 pack on sale for $10 because it wasn’t moving. Wish I liked them more
One looks grey, the other red.
If they were cooked for the same amount of time, one of these is seriously “off”.
Did you not read the title or is this an attempt at vegan food bad?
I read the title. It said “vs”, so I logically thought it was a comparison? 😅
Alright, my bad. Calling it “off” sounded like you thought one of them had gone bad or were implying that it had. Both are colors that meat naturally takes when cooking and I think it’s normal for them to change colors at different rates
I understand, but my monkey brain tells me something is not right if meat is red or gray when I’m about to eat it. I guess my point is they’re not even close to replacing real meat.
I’m not vegan, but I’ll eat the hell out of a veggie burger if they finally nail it.
I’m an omnivore but I will smash a spicy bean burger in my face hole from time to time simply because they’re tasty… I don’t know if I like the idea of “meat replacement” - my brain just goes “why? I have meat… So I’ll eat that, why replace it?” I think the only way I’d switch is if it was actually better than a normal burger and priced comparatively.
“Seriously off” is probably an exaggeration - I wouldn’t be surprised if you could observe just as big or even larger differences in colour of the meat just by using different breeds of cattle.
Also: one shrank when cooked, one didn’t 😬
…assuming they started out in the exact same size?
I mean, how else would you compare them unless they were the same size?
I’d take both. Looks good to me
I’m not sure how I am supposed to judge food based on pictures. It could look like dwarf barf, if it tastes and feel good it’s ok.
Why are you on this community
To see nice pic of food. And you?
Wow. Can we please be more sensitive about little people? They are a small group that is usually overlooked. And just so you know, “dwarf barf” as you call it, looks the same as anyone else’s barf. Tastes the same too. A little sweeter, actually, because of all the little cookies they eat.
You had me in the first half, not gonna lie. It also made me notice that outside of rpg-based community what I said can be really out of place. Sorry about that :/
“I think they mean like, fantasy dwarves” -is what I was typing when I read the last sentence of your comment
I can’t even tell which is which. Based on the beef patties I had last night, the right is the meat. But the left could be meat too - but cooked by a heathen on a very very low grill. But as you say, who cares if it tastes great? I don’t even need Beyond meat to taste like meat if it tastes delicious.
Beyond, hands down. I got a distaste for real beef burger patties since I had my first vegan burger.
For me Impossible tastes better than beyond. I’m happy to eat either over beef even though I think beef has the potential to be the tastiest.
I’m a carnivore, and I do like both impossible and beyond better than beef burgers. The mouth feels and flavor are both better than beef burgers.
It’s funny how vegetarians/vegans are so in denial about their love of meat that they will spend endless amounts of money and effort trying to replicate it (and always miss the mark by a huge margin).
I don’t have any problem with meatless meals, I eat them often. But I also eat meat, because humans are omnivores and there is no better delivery system for the nutrients we need than a little meat here and there. Yes, most people eat way too much meat, but the solution isn’t to wipe it out entirely. And people talking about “ethical” and “poor animals”? Watch some nature documentaries. “We’re supposed to be more evolved/better/etc!” We’re animals, Karen, not some “god”-created, ordained, outside-of-evolution, special beings. Grow up, eat a burger, feel better without working yourself to death making some poor substitute for it, and join humanity. Which we are because we ate meat. You want to de-evolve into a lesser species of humanity by destroying actual meat and using a poor, inadequate substitute.
It’s pathetic. But of course, in-denial vegans/vegetarians will downvote this. Every downvote is further proof of your jealousy and hatred of reality.
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The owner would invite me to fuck the cows sometimes. Whenever I finished with him…
The way this is phrased
What a rollercoaster
Wait… What???
Sooo… rape then murder or the other way around?
A cow has to “artificial impregnated” every year so they lactate for
their babysomeones cornflakes and obviously to have a baby for the next burger.
Jesus christ Lemmy
