Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bloody Plant Burger Smells, Tastes and Sizzles Like Meat

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 464 posts

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

#241

Post by douche »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #138
pappyo wrote: post #87

Meat enthusiast here. There is no one who wants a viable meat alternative for meat eaters than me. The bleeding heart (pun intended) in me cares about the sustainability of meat and the sheer cost of ethical farming. Fact of the matter is though, I won't give up eating meat. I love it, so so much. And I have a leery eye towards meat substitutes. This product for example: - How well does this product replicate the Mai…

>Why are they (presumably) trying to recreate chuck? Ground chuck is a terrible thing to replicate. It's like burger meat designed by committee[1]. Probably because it's common as hell and if you could widely replace both burger patties and sausage filling with this meat substitute, you might be able to knock 5% off the worlds meat consumption with one product.

I wish they'd pick some other cut to grind up. I have to look really hard to find chuck steak. In my opinion it's the best taste/value combination - sure, a rib-eye tastes better, but you can buy five chuck steaks for one rib-eye, and chuck steak is usually cheaper, and tastier than trash like T-bones, top round, or London Broil.

I've broken down and bought the roasts and sliced them myself when I can't find proper chuck steaks.

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

#242

Post by lotharbot »

ergothus wrote: post #208
zanny wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> won't even try any of these, sight unseen I don't get this sentiment. I'm not close to vegetarian, but I go out of my way to try to eat less meat and when I'm not at the discretion of others (eating out, eating over at a friends house, etc) I prioritize my favorite meat-free foods, but nobody should be saying "its not meat? No way, never gonna try it, I am a blood thirsty carnivore". Even if you're like me and don'…

I've noticed people tend to react defensively on certain issues: * Mention you are dieting, and someone will declare how good their triple chocolate fudge cake is. * Mention you're a vegetarian and they'll talk about how tasty meat is. * Say you can't eat a particular thing (lactose, gluten, sugar, etc) and they'll loudly declare how they don't share your restriction. I've even noticed the same tendencies in myself,…

I think this is partially a defense mechanism. Ask yourself -- how have people been hurt in the past that might make them want to react aggressively to these sorts of mentions? I think most people have, at some point in their lives, had someone treat them as morally inferior for their weight or their eating habits. So loudly extolling a positive perception of their experience is a way of creating a wall to preempt an attack on their character from a "superior" dieter/vegetarian/religiously-kosher/whatever type of person.

Of course, this creates a vicious cycle. Just yesterday, someone offered to buy lunch for a friend of mine. He said it would have to be vegan, and the guy lost his temper. Like "how DARE you be one of those pushy types!" When the guy only said something because he was being offered food for himself to eat. Which perpetuates the cycle of distrust and mockery.

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

#243

Post by douche »

moron4hire wrote: post #159
eric_the_read wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way too dry.

That would be why I add bacon fat whenever a certain someone brings over ground turkey when I asked for ground beef.

I do the same thing when somebody decides to buy the ultra-lean 95-93% ground beef. You've got to do something, or else burgers fall all apart and taste like shoe leather - the easiest is to just buy the cheaper, tastier, better, 75-80% hamburger...

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

#244

Post by douche »

timdellinger wrote: post #17

Adding heme is a brilliant idea - and I think high amounts of iron would make it a great product. There are a few things that are important to watch to make sure you get enough of when you're a vegetarian, and iron is one of them. (Women who donate blood have their blood tested for iron, and are sometimes surprised the learn that they're low in iron.)

Using cast-iron cookware is kind of a sneaky way to increase the amount of iron in your diet.

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

#245

Post by wcummings »

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…

>And in america, at least, where meat-eating is tied to masculinity and bacon is worshipped, that's a tough stigma to shake.

Being a picky eater is a childish trait, not sure how it became synonymous with "masculinity."

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

#246

Post by knappe »

munificent wrote: post #140
bradbeattie wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in the same camp as you. Vegetarian since 1989, vegan since 1999. I can certainly say that the quality of fake meats has drastically improved in the past 10 years (see https://gardein.com/ , http://fieldroast.com/ , and http://beyondmeat.com/ as examples), but the stigma surrounding them persists. Short anecdote: There's a donut shop in my town that sold vegan and regular donuts in adjacent but separate displays.…

I think the problem here is that "vegan" is used to describe two different things: 1. A product that has been changed to not use any animal products. 2. A product that already fits within those constraints. Products in the former group have a history of being noticeably worse than their non-vegan counterpart, so "vegan" carries the stigma of "tastes worse than it looks". That stigma then wafts over to products in the…

Labeling products with "natural" has resulted in 40 billion in food sales for times with that have the label. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/24/the-w...

It is purely marketing.

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

#248

Post by [deleted] »

saynsedit wrote: post #46
aninhumer wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be done in a way that isn't cruel. Just take a little at a time, like we do with humans. It might not even be less efficient if the rate of blood production is fairly constant. (I don't know enough biology to speculate.)

It's cruel to take a human's blood without their consent, even if done painlessly.

[deleted]

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

#249

Post by douche »

tkyjonathan wrote: post #44
readams wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Judging by the number of salmonella outbreaks from fresh produce recently, I don't think you'll get much food safely benefit.

You only way to get salmonella or E.coli on vegetables is if it has been exposed to animals or animal extraments.

Or human excrement, say from the underpaid, most likely illegal farm-hand that is picking them.

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

#250

Post by chetanahuja »

wil421 wrote: post #92
wavefunction wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I visit India and eat vegetarian food properly prepared by a culture that has refined vegetarian cuisine beyond "fake meat", I don't miss meat at all. Much of Western food is only expected to be an accompaniment to a meat dish, which is why you can't just cut meat out and eat the vegetable dishes you're used to when you're eating meat as well, imnsho.

Not a vegetarian but I do go out with many Indian colleagues who are vegetarian and have family members or friends who dont eat meat. I do agree with the assumption that western vegetarians tend to want meat replacements. The biggest difference for me was seeing how a lot of Indian cuisine is actually unhealthy. Most everything is fried in oil or has so much clarified butter its unhealthy. The Indian diet (at least t…

As an Indian and a vegetarian, I agree with both those assertions. Indian cuisine(s.. there are many regional cuisines) is full of naturally delicious vegetarian (and even vegan) dishes. But that also includes a lot of starchy and fried foods. But there's such an abundant diversity available that you can prepare lots of healthy, delicious menus with different set of constraints (high protein, low carb, low fat, high fat/protein etc.)
Post reply on HN