seebee wrote:Prolly have had 6 Impossibles vs 2 Beyonds.

There is something in the cooking method that has to happen for the Impossibles to be REALLY good. I'd say I'm running at about 50% for having REALLY good Impossible Burgers. I haven't quite figured out any theory on what makes them REALLY good vs kinda crumbly, and odd, since I'm not the one cookin em. I think they need to be cooked longer, but that's a rudimentary guess at this point.

Yes, I have noticed the same thing. The Impossible I had at Umami Burger was fantastic. The ones I've had at White Castle I'm running at about 50-50 with some being very good (but not quite as good as what I had at Umami), and others just being so-so. Of course, I don't expect White Castle to have quite the experience or training in cooking these burgers as high-end burger places. That said, my cousin had one at Kuma's, and didn't like it. Then he had one at White Castle and couldn't believe it was the same thing he had at Kuma's -- just absolutely loved it.

So there definitely appears to be a bit of a trick to cooking it properly.

Cathy2 wrote:This is a here today and gone sometime soon. I did like the opportunity to try this for a mere $2.

Yeah, the price is great. I was wondering why in the heck Impossible Burgers would choose White Castle for their first fast food rollout of the burger, but it does make some kind of sense, as it's a low-cost and low-risk (for the consumer) way to try a meatless burger. Just throw it in your sack of sliders for an additional $2, and if you don't like it, well, you're only out two bucks and still have a sack of sliders to chow down on.

And for those who haven't tried it, yes, it's served on the normal White Castle bun, but it's a much more substantial burger. As I said upthread, it clocks in at 300 calories, so two of those has as many calories as a Big Mac (actually, a few more.) I found it surprisingly filling.

This thread is getting The Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger mixed up. The Impossible Burger isn't sold in stores. Googling "Beyond Burger" I see links with the word "impossible" in them. Two completely different products.

Christopher Gordon wrote:This thread is getting The Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger mixed up. The Impossible Burger isn't sold in stores. Googling "Beyond Burger" I see links with the word "impossible" in them. Two completely different products.

I think most of us are aware. (There was only one post I see with some confusion that was immediately corrected.) The thread has many mentions of both and how it you can't buy the Impossible Burger to cook with at home, and also comparing the two products (obviously, one you could only try at restaurants.)

My main takeaway from my one experience is that you need to eat these while they're hot. I normally like to let my burgers rest before eating, but these start tasting fake as they cool down.

Binko wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:This thread is getting The Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger mixed up. The Impossible Burger isn't sold in stores. Googling "Beyond Burger" I see links with the word "impossible" in them. Two completely different products.

I think most of us are aware. (There was only one post I see with some confusion that was immediately corrected.) The thread has many mentions of both and how it you can't buy the Impossible Burger to cook with at home, and also comparing the two products (obviously, one you could only try at restaurants.)

I misread an article on White Castle understanding they were using Beyond Burger. When, in fact, they are using Impossible Foods iteration of a similar concept. I like White Castle, and would happily try the Impossible White Castle. Sorry, about the mix-up.

scottsol wrote:I normally like to let my burgers rest before eating...

Me too! I don't know why, they just taste better after sitting for a bit.

G Wiv wrote:

WCImpossibleBurger1.jpg

I had quite the opposite impression. It's a pretty decent product for those who avoid meat.

spinynorman99 wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

WCImpossibleBurger1.jpg

I had quite the opposite impression. It's a pretty decent product for those who avoid meat.

I have no problem with the Impossible Burger or the Beyond Burger. One of my pet peeves however is the need for those who don't eat meat to want to make things taste like meat. I have no issue with it from the restaurants perspective, as it offers menu items for those who would normally not eat there and are joining those that do.

I know there are some who cannot eat meat, or have stopped for medical or health reasons but still crave the taste of meat. I hope this helps scratch the itch.

thetrob wrote:One of my pet peeves however is the need for those who don't eat meat to want to make things taste like meat.

I don't know that it's even an issue of simulating meat per se, it simply opens up different flavor profiles and allows non-meat eaters to prepare dishes that make use of meat products.

I abstain from eating pork and have never had bacon, but I'm familiar with the smoky flavor profile and have enjoyed its contribution to egg dishes and salads (mostly seitan products). I can take an existing recipe and just make the ingredient substitution. Whole lot easier than a "what can I add that will do the same thing" substitution.

My wife objects to participating in the factory farming machine. She will eat venison that's been hunted and chicken raised humanely. I do get her point. It's not that meat is bad but the commercialized practices of raising, slaughtering and shipping meat are problematic.

thetrob wrote: One of my pet peeves however is the need for those who don't eat meat to want to make things taste like meat.

I don't know if it's the case of those who don't eat meat to want to make things taste like meat so much as those who love meat helping the transition over to a plant-based diet.

I used to think exactly the same way. Why the heck would you want to make all these meat analogues for a vegetarian diet when there is so much fantastic food that is already plant-based and not trying to imitate meat? A chickpea patty or a bean-based patty can be great in its own right. Falafel doesn't have to pretend to be meat to be delicious.

But I do think there are a good number of people like me who are on the fence and would like to reduce their intake of animal products. I mean, I love meat, and I don't see myself becoming vegetarian anytime soon, but I do find myself buying things like Morningstar patties, the Beyond Burger, and ordering the Impossible Burger when I'm out, in order to help stave that meat craving as I try to at least reduce the amount of animal products that I eat. It's not a lot, to be honest, but I eat at least 10% fewer animal-based calories now than I did just a few years ago, and things like this help me in that regard.

Thanks Binko for that well reasoned response.

In the past when I have modified my diet to consume less meat, or go vegetarian for a period of time, I have just stayed away from it. Granted that can be difficult with all the triggers that are seemingly thrown in ones path daily. Having a meat analogue just seems to perpetuate the craving as opposed to lessening it. Also, as you stated, there are so many great alternate choices available, and I always figured a GOOD veggie/bean/etc burger is a better option than a bad meat flavored wannabe.

thetrob wrote:I have no problem with the Impossible Burger or the Beyond Burger. One of my pet peeves however is the need for those who don't eat meat to want to make things taste like meat.

It isn't your plate. Why on earth is this a pet peeve? And as someone who has chosen not to eat animals in over 20 years, I don't think any of us think the substitutes taste like meat ( I suspect the Morningstar chik'n nuggets may taste at least as much like the real processed chicken nuggets but I don't know b/c I stopped eating chicken before this was a thing). They can be familiar flavor profiles. They can be quick. They can be easy.

I don't understand why everyone does not love watermelon, peaches, and cherries. As a kid who ate all animals, I could skip eating any of them all summer in exchange for watermelon and peaches.

We like, what we like. And in the words of the Great Jill Scott, "everything, ain't for everybody."-- LLAP

Mission Impossible? Maker of Plant-Based Burger Struggles to Meet Chains’ Demand

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/busi ... emand.html

Yes the impossible burger and beyond burger are two different things. I am waiting to try the impossible burger. I bought some beyond burgers and made them at home and they were hideous in my opinion. Everybody has different tastes as noted before. I could not stand the redness of them it tasted like a fake rare burger. I don't like rare meat. Could not stand the smell of them. I did finish them but never again. Oddly my husband who is a confirmed carnivore liked them. He is not crazy about something like a boca burger which I prefer.

toria wrote:Oddly my husband who is a confirmed carnivore liked them. He is not crazy about something like a boca burger which I prefer.

Yeah, taste is quite subjective. I'm like your husband: I cannot stand Boca Burgers, but the Beyond is pretty close to meat, but not as close as the Impossible. I do happen to like my burgers on the medium rare side, though. Beyond does have an odd smell to them while cooking. Beyond's vegan sausages are quite good, and especially meat-like, IMHO, though pretty expensive when compared to real pork sausages (like 2-3 times the price.)

HI,

White Castle pulled an interesting hat trick with the Impossible Burger:

When they initially offered an Impossible Burger, the roughly formed patty look more like a real burger than their own original slider.

They are now offering a new and improved Impossible Burger, it now looks like a hockey puck. It is smooth, too smooth, to be real. It probably is easier to teach their crew how to cook uniformly. It is not as directly challenging to what 'real' beef looks to imitation.

Yet it remains a cheap introduction to a non-meat pretending to be meat, if one is curious.

I am not yet at the point I wish to buy it 'fresh' to take home to cook myself.

Regards,
Cathy2

I read that although this tastes good, it has more carbs and more fat than actual beef.
So if I want a healthy alternative....
maybe not so healthy for me
Maybe a turkey burger is better.
or a nice tuna steak.
or a grilled portobello if you don't do any meat.
or if you want it to taste like beef it might actually be healthier to eat beef.
Or am I missing the point?
I actually can't remember the last time I ate a beef burger-
If I'm going to bother eating beef it's probably going to be something better than a burger....

pairs4life wrote:We like, what we like. And in the words of the Great Jill Scott, "everything, ain't for everybody."-- LLAP

I LOVE THIS
Thank you

irisarbor wrote:Or am I missing the point?

It allows people who avoid meat for religious, moral or other concerns to enjoy a similar flavor profile. It's not a big mystery and it's not necessarily an issue of "healthier."

I'm soy sensitive so I tried the Beyond burger. First impression was a soft gooey puck of red that was hard to keep together. Smelled really weird and was tough to get it on the grill in one piece. 3 minutes/side as instructed and it actually looked a bit like a burger. the taste was rather flat and a bit vegetal (like a protein shake mix) but texture was pretty true to form.

My biggest issue came about 30 minutes later when I had terrible indigestion from it and a flavor that resembled the off putting smell (that still remained on my hands through repeated washings) haunted me the rest of the evening.

I'll take a nice black bean/brown rice burger any day.

spinynorman99 wrote:

irisarbor wrote:Or am I missing the point?

It allows people who avoid meat for religious, moral or other concerns to enjoy a similar flavor profile. It's not a big mystery and it's not necessarily an issue of "healthier."

Yeah, I don't think I know anyone who eats it because they think it's "healthier."

If they avoid meat for those reasons, why would they want that taste profile?

Puckjam wrote:If they avoid meat for those reasons, why would they want that taste profile?

My brother-in-law was a lifelong vegetarian. He had an American roommate, who was a vegetarian, too, but kept buying the meat-like products. Eventually, my brother-in-law began eating meat, which continues to this day. I asked how eating meat changed his life. He indicated he now can wait longer between meals, before he ate many small meals a day.

Regards,
Cathy2

Puckjam wrote:If they avoid meat for those reasons, why would they want that taste profile?

Why wouldn't they? This is, after all, a website that focuses on adventurous eating and seeking quality ingredients and flavors; maybe someone has an allergy or religious restriction or other personal reason to limit intake of certain products.* Who gets to say "you can't have that experience because it simulates something you're otherwise trying to avoid." If someone developed a vegetarian foie gras or created it in a lab I don't doubt that there are fence-sitters who would gladly give up the real thing, it doesn't mean that they're somehow celebrating the act.

*Case in point, surimi, an inadequate substitute for crab which has somehow caved its own niche. I have friends who keep strictly kosher who celebrated the opportunity to at least simulate an experience they otherwise avoided. Where's the harm?

Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper nationwide

In April, when Burger King started running a regional test of the Impossible Whopper, its version of the popular plant-based-but-beefy Impossible Burger, it took only a few weeks before the fast-food chain announced that it planned to expand the offering to all of its 7,200 American restaurants. On August 8, that’s happening: If you want to try an Impossible Whopper, the burgers will be available nationwide.

Like a regular Whopper, the new burger is served with tomatoes, lettuce, and the other standard toppings (including nonvegan mayonnaise) on a toasted sesame-seed bun. And the flame-grilled patty itself may taste convincing enough that some diners could mistake it for beef. The company’s chief marketing officer has claimed that even Burger King’s corporate staff find it indistinguishable, telling the New York Times, “People on my team who know the Whopper inside and out, they try it and they struggle to differentiate which one is which.” The same day, customers using DoorDash and the Burger King app can order the “Impossible Taste Test,” a $7 meal with both the original Whopper and an Impossible Whopper.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper nationwide

In April, when Burger King started running a regional test of the Impossible Whopper, its version of the popular plant-based-but-beefy Impossible Burger, it took only a few weeks before the fast-food chain announced that it planned to expand the offering to all of its 7,200 American restaurants. On August 8, that’s happening: If you want to try an Impossible Whopper, the burgers will be available nationwide.

Like a regular Whopper, the new burger is served with tomatoes, lettuce, and the other standard toppings (including nonvegan mayonnaise) on a toasted sesame-seed bun. And the flame-grilled patty itself may taste convincing enough that some diners could mistake it for beef. The company’s chief marketing officer has claimed that even Burger King’s corporate staff find it indistinguishable, telling the New York Times, “People on my team who know the Whopper inside and out, they try it and they struggle to differentiate which one is which.” The same day, customers using DoorDash and the Burger King app can order the “Impossible Taste Test,” a $7 meal with both the original Whopper and an Impossible Whopper.

=R=

Finally.
The morningstar patty they have on offer usually gets eaten by me, on the road, once a year. This is huge and exciting.

Maybe I will do BK 4 times a year. I have probably done White Castle 4-6 times since they added the Impossible Burger slider. I never ate there before.

A meat eater joined me in ordering at an al fresco bar in Printer's Row last spring. They didn't care if you brought in outside food so we ordered delivery of White Castle both Possible and Impossible sliders.
I do think they have the best FF (large chain) vanilla shake.

Impossible Foods has tapped an Aurora meat processor to make its plant-based burgers

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

Jake Melnick's is serving the impossible burger in slider form. Do they taste like beef? Kinda. The flavor and texture reminds me of elementary school cafeteria hamburger patties. Not terrible but nothing to go out of your way for either.