Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers • Hacker News Board

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#221

Post by jlebrech » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 12:41 PM UTC

graphitezepp wrote: post #219

jlebrech wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wrong, this is what they used to synthesise MSG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile I believe some MSG is still made with this and causes migraines and other heart issues, it's mostly phased out though, and can cause mixed reactions as the type of MSG isn't labelled, let alone MSG.

Your link has no mention of the subject being directly used to manufacture MSG, and only mention a link to glutamic acid being used for syntheses of it. This is not adequate evidence that Acrylonitrile was ever present in commercial MSG.

there are two known methods, acrylonitrile and bacteria as per this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Productio...

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#222

Post by schitzapplebits » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:16 PM UTC

infinite8s wrote: post #218

schitzapplebits wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freezing isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for burger patties with a good amount of fat. I'd rather have that than something that's been sitting around in the fridge for too long. As long as it's frozen very quickly and defrosted properly, freezing is fine. In-N-Out meat is pretty good; it's just super thin. McDonald's is not good, but believe me, if McDonald's had a good burger patty, and if they wanted to f…

The critical thing about great fries is that they are fried twice, once to cook the potato and the second time for the crispy shell. The freeze step in the middle is likely just for transportation logistics.

While the double frying is critical, the freezing step in the middle is not just for logistics. The fries are better when they're frozen post-initial fry. I make fries all the time from scratch, and I always throw them in the freezer before the second fry. The final product is better than when I don't freeze between fries. Freezing helps add irregularity to the surface and aids in crisp them up post second fry.

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#223

Post by simplify » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:31 PM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #174

jjeaff wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That really depends on the type of burger. Occasionally, I enjoy a good In n Out Burger. I don't expect their meat quality is particularly good. "Patty melt" style burgers are generally less reliant on meat quality as long as you can get a good, crunchy, umami seat on the thin mean patty or patties. I suspect the thicker higher end style burgers would be more reliant on the quality of the beef. However, for economic…

In-n-Out burger patties are never frozen and the chain has a number of high-profile chefs as fans. Their beef may be ground and it's fast food, but McDonalds it ain't.

Freezing has nothing to do with meat quality. It's the source of beef that matters.

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#224

Post by simplify » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:35 PM UTC

paulcole wrote: post #96

HillaryBriss wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how did the cost compare to meat?

Environmental, ethical, or dollar cost?

I'm curious about the environmental cost myself.

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#225

Post by simplify » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:38 PM UTC

sneak wrote: post #197

spraak wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard for me to understand the excitement for lab meat. Can you explain your interest?

It is less resource intensive to produce. Hand-tuned assembly code burger vs transpiled javascript for the hot path (I eat cheeseburgers very often, as do many, many others in the countries I frequent). You can feed more people with the same amount of resources. 80,000 humans a day die from lack of food. Everything we can do to meaningfully improve food production efficiency is a big win for the species.

I thought we technically make enough food for everyone on earth? It's the distribution that's the hard part.

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#226

Post by kevinmchugh » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:41 PM UTC

schitzapplebits wrote: post #193

fragmede wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In-n-Out burger patties are never frozen and the chain has a number of high-profile chefs as fans. Their beef may be ground and it's fast food, but McDonalds it ain't.

Freezing isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for burger patties with a good amount of fat. I'd rather have that than something that's been sitting around in the fridge for too long. As long as it's frozen very quickly and defrosted properly, freezing is fine. In-N-Out meat is pretty good; it's just super thin. McDonald's is not good, but believe me, if McDonald's had a good burger patty, and if they wanted to f…

Who freezes ground beef before turning it into a world-class hamburger? What's the best frozen hamburger I can buy?

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#227

Post by kevinmchugh » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:43 PM UTC

schitzapplebits wrote: post #222

infinite8s wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The critical thing about great fries is that they are fried twice, once to cook the potato and the second time for the crispy shell. The freeze step in the middle is likely just for transportation logistics.

While the double frying is critical, the freezing step in the middle is not just for logistics. The fries are better when they're frozen post-initial fry. I make fries all the time from scratch, and I always throw them in the freezer before the second fry. The final product is better than when I don't freeze between fries. Freezing helps add irregularity to the surface and aids in crisp them up post second fry.

> Freezing the potatoes causes their moisture to convert to ice, forming sharp, jagged crystals. These crystals damage the cell structure of the potato, making it easier for them to be released once they are heated and convert to steam.

from http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-h...

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#228

Post by simplify » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:44 PM UTC

throwaway2016a wrote: post #56

I am extremely eager to see lab grown meat more so than I am eager to see better meat substitutes become mainstream. However, being a meat eater, since the news of this product came out however many months and years it was, I have been wanting to try it. Which is more than I can say for other meat substitutes.

I'm very skeptical of the benefits of lab-grown meat. It might taste the same, but I don't see how it can have all the same nutrition as an actual animal breaking down good plants with a real digestive system.

We hardly know a thing about what's good for our bodies. I doubt scientists will be able to produce a food that won't hurt us somehow in the long run.

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#229

Post by mtanski » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:50 PM UTC

L_Rahman wrote: post #9

I remember reading the original impressions of the Impossible Foods ground meat and thinking it was just media buzz. I promise you it is not. At Momofuku's Ssam Bar in the East Village of NYC, you can order an off menu item called Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes. It's not really off the menu - the item has simply been around so long and is so well known to regulars that they left it off to make room for new dishes.…

I've felt like vegetarian hot dogs tasted the same (indistinguishable) or better as regular hot dogs for a while now.

I'm a little more skeptical of "pork" substitutes simply because lard makes everything taste better. Split pea soup vs split pea soup with coppa. Regular pie crust vs lard crust. Plain pizza vs with prosciutto. Risotto vs risotto w pork fat (or goose fat). For all of these there's no contest (for me).

Re: Impossible Foods has raised $75M for its plant-based burgers

#230

Post by schitzapplebits » Wed, Aug 02, 2017, 1:50 PM UTC

kevinmchugh wrote: post #226

schitzapplebits wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freezing isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for burger patties with a good amount of fat. I'd rather have that than something that's been sitting around in the fridge for too long. As long as it's frozen very quickly and defrosted properly, freezing is fine. In-N-Out meat is pretty good; it's just super thin. McDonald's is not good, but believe me, if McDonald's had a good burger patty, and if they wanted to f…

Who freezes ground beef before turning it into a world-class hamburger? What's the best frozen hamburger I can buy?

> Who freezes ground beef before turning it into a world-class hamburger? What's the best frozen hamburger I can buy?

I do, because I'm not a restaurant, and I don't buy enough meat for one or two servings of hamburger. If a restaurant's been around long enough and has enough turn over, they won't have my problem, but a place could want to freeze for time reasons, or to help with getting a gnarly crust by cooking it from frozen, etc. If you're freezing with the kind of thing the NYC sushi guys use (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/sushi-fresh-from-...), and defrosting properly, a truly great hamburger could easily be made from a frozen patty.

I've never heard of a good prefrozen hamburger patty unless you're getting something from Snake River Farms or something along those lines (they ship frozen meat). I freeze my own.