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Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

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Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#71

Post by moskie »

buckbova wrote: post #4

> "When I tried a mini burger slathered in vegan mayo, mashed avocado, caramelized onions and Dijon prepared by San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardin at the company's headquarters in Redwood City, I was floored." Honestly a good chef can make cardboard taste good. But as a daily meat eater I'd love a good ground beef alternative.

Depending on the context, texture vegetable protein (TVP for short) is an option for things like pasta sauce that you want to add a ground beef alternative too. I'm sure there's many other ways to use it, but that's one we regularly use in our house.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg-protein.html

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#72

Post by chris_7 »

ergothus wrote: post #26

I've been a vegetarian for the last decade and change, and I simultaneously think that finding a cheaper, appealing alternative to meat is both a fantastic opportunity for the world and a really difficult thing. I used to love meat when I was a meat-eater, and I'm a fairly picky eater that dislikes many vegetable options. (Green peppers are nasty and food-destroying in my opinion, which immediately removes over half…

As a pescetarian, I find meat alternatives weird. Tofu is good. Seitan is good. Eggs are good, etc. etc. etc.

I've never wanted a "something that approximates meat", I want good plant-based food, not a processed frozen puck in a box.

Similarly, I eat fish, but I'd never want to eat a "fish stick" - ick. That's where I categorize these meat alternatives.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#73

Post by ethanbond »

cbd1984 wrote: post #67
ethanbond wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carbohydrates in excessive amounts, yes. Meats and cheeses are basically the last bastions of non carb-laden foods. Pretty much everything that's not "diet" or meat/cheese is jam packed with carbs for flavor/cost cutting/fat reduction. And there's plenty of evidence that this is a bad thing.

> Carbohydrates in excessive amounts, yes. That's the definition of 'excessive', yes.

Right, and that's why someone might be interested in not shifting to fake meats that have carbohydrates.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#74

Post by mindslight »

ergothus wrote: post #26

I've been a vegetarian for the last decade and change, and I simultaneously think that finding a cheaper, appealing alternative to meat is both a fantastic opportunity for the world and a really difficult thing. I used to love meat when I was a meat-eater, and I'm a fairly picky eater that dislikes many vegetable options. (Green peppers are nasty and food-destroying in my opinion, which immediately removes over half…

The way I see it, selling anything to meat eaters as a "meat equivalent" is setting it up for rejection. I'd bet that if you took even real meat and told people it was "fake", a good portion of them would reject it as somehow weird.

The "burger" is just a convenient form factor. Each kind is really its own thing, with its own taste and mouthfeel. It needs to be tried and appreciated as such, or disappointment is inevitable.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#75

Post by FuturePromise »

kafkaesq wrote: post #65
buckbova wrote: post #4

> "When I tried a mini burger slathered in vegan mayo, mashed avocado, caramelized onions and Dijon prepared by San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardin at the company's headquarters in Redwood City, I was floored." Honestly a good chef can make cardboard taste good. But as a daily meat eater I'd love a good ground beef alternative.

Honestly a good chef can make cardboard taste good. Which is exactly the core operating principle upon which the fast food industry (including much of what is put on the shelves in larger grocery chains) basically works these days: low-quality base ingredients + sugar, spices, MSG + gratuitous fats/oils + marketing == profit

I don't know. A lot of fast food tastes good. Like a fresh McDonald's plain hamburger which doesn't have any MSG or gratuitous fats or oil.

And it's "principle."

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#76

Post by sethbannon »

This is a noble effort. Animal agriculture is pretty terrible. It's massively wasteful in terms of land use and water use. It's incredibly inefficient when it comes to energy use (beef cattle production requires an energy input to protein output ratio of 54:1 [1]). And, of course, there are the animal welfare concerns.

Even given all the problems, I'm convinced that people won't stop eating meat unless there is a market alternative that's at least equivalent in terms of price, taste, smell, texture, and nutrition. While the plant-based alternatives are getting better and better and I'm a big fan, I'm much more excited about the cultured meat alternatives.

Basically, you can think of a cow as a biological machine inside which certain processes occur which lead to things humans like to eat (milk, meat). If you can replicate those process in the lab instead of in the cow, you can get real meat without the negative side effects mentioned above.

Until very recently, this field had been relegated to academia, but there are now several companies working on commercializing it, like Memphis Meats, Mosa Meats, and Modern Meadow. In my mind, this is the only solution: give people real meat, made without the animals.

[1] http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1997/08/us-could-feed-80... [2] disclaimer: I'm an investor in Memphis Meats (http://www.memphismeats.com/)

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#77

Post by broAhmed »

Family member made me watch Cowspiracy on Netflix, a documentary on the effects/unsustainability of large-scale animal agriculture. I'm sure someone on HN can prove the movie wrong, but it did scare me into wanting to reduce my meat consumption. If these faux meats can be produced large-scale sustainably and with significantly less negative impact than raising the real meats, I'd say that's a win.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#78

Post by chris_7 »

collyw wrote: post #18
alrs wrote: post #7

If they can do it close to zero carbohydrates per serving, I'm in. If they can't, it's just another over-processed frankenfood greasing the slicks to a diabetic future.

Is there any proper (peer reviewed) evidence that carbohydrates are bad?

Even if carbohydrates aren't bad, I prefer foods that are low in them when possible because other foods have disproportionate amounts. Eating a low-carb protein allows you to eat a cookie later and still hit your macro targets.

Re: Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

#80

Post by mjevans »

saynsedit wrote: post #58
sevenless wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One potential problem: the heme that they're claiming gives it flavor comes from a genetically modified yeast. It's a GMO, and people who're vegan on principle often don't like that.

What does being "vegan on principle" mean here? What specific principles are you talking about? Some vegans do it because killing animals is morally bankrupt. Some vegans do it because raising livestock is unsustainable. There is not enough land on earth for everyone to have a meat diet. Some vegans do it because it's healthier. In general you can expect to ingest less toxins by eating lower on the food chain. I'm no…

I prefer (and am so far practicing my self) population control to bring the number of humans inhabiting Earth towards a /sustainable/ level with all living humans having the quality of life we'd like to see.
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