Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, etc.

[rotuts]

well

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/impossible-foods-lowers-grocery-store-prices-by-20percent.html

 

but

 

consumers will still be paying more than double for the Impossible Burger, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s national beef retail report for the week ending Thursday.

 

and C-19 has little to do with this , Ithnik

 

[AAQuesada]

They were really having a hard time meeting demand. I was buying in bulk through Sysco and my supply was interrupted because they were triaging which customers could receive their product. Personally really prefer impossible to beyond, we were doing 7oz burgers with them. Flavor wise they are meaty but they do have an aftertaste I would describe as peanutbutter-ish. I'm certainly not vegetarian but I would choose to eat one every once in a while, they aren't healthier than a regular burger. As an ingredient it's pretty versatile and i made a pretty good bolognaise with it. 

[rotuts]

@AAQuesada 

 

thank you for your analysis :

 

""   they aren't healthier than a regular burger. ""

 

an interesting point 

 

I agree with you

 

I did have an IB at BurgerKing sooo long ago\

 

in that Previous Era

 

and the after taste to me was :  Dry Green Pea Soup

 

the BM

 

I cooked for my self

 

as mentioned way way back in this tread

 

nothing happened for me

 

that make any:

 

1) taste sense 

 

2) nor any economic sense 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

As I've mentioned previously in this thread, my GF has tweaked her diet to exclude red meats (she's on an anti-inflammatory eating plan, on medical advice), and we have accordingly experimented with a number of these faux-meat products in an attempt at scratching that itch.

 

Our most recent experiment was with the Hooray! brand of faux bacon ("facon," if you will). These things have zero protein, being made up primarily of coconut oil, rice flour and tapioca starch. They look vaguely like bacon, if you kind of squint and half-close your eyes, and smell rather like it when cooking.

 

I opted to pan-fry the first few (I'll do the other half of the package in my oven). They didn't release as much fat as I'd expected, but that was fine: they still didn't stick to the pan, and unlike bacon fat I saw no reason to hoard any leftovers. They're soft and slightly gummy once they start to cook (so if your strip folds over onto itself it will never un-stick) but that's not entirely surprising, given the ingredients. If you prepare them as directed, turning for the first time after 90 seconds and thereafter at 30-second intervals, the strips will indeed brown and crisp consistently across their full width.

 

The texture is crisp, but it isn't quite the right kind of crisp because it lacks that hint of fibrous texture you'd get in the lean part of real bacon (you'd think that would be an easy thing to fake with plant-based materials, but I guess it might make for uneven cooking). I honestly struggle to describe the texture of it when eaten alone, out of hand. The closest I can come is that it's halfway between the texture of a thin, crisp cookie and a crunchy candy, perhaps a Skor bar. To come at it from another direction, you could think of it as the textural equivalent of the "uncanny valley" that makes digitally-generated faces sometimes so jarring.

 

As far as the flavor goes, it was...okay. A bit bland, to be honest. The company draws on salt and maple for the obvious flavor notes, and mushroom extracts for umami, but it needed some more oomph. I'll probably brush the rest of the strips with a bit of liquid smoke stirred into a few drops of oil, and then sprinkle it lightly with extra salt once it's nearly cooked. That should help.

 

With those qualifications out of the way, I have to say it got a passing grade from its target audience. I used it to make my GF the BLT she'd been craving, and she was pleased with it. The textures of the toast and lettuce masked the oddity of its crunch, and masked the relative blandness of the slices. We discussed the tweaks I'd mentioned previously, and she's optimistic that the next one will be better.

Is it a good bacon imitation? Hell, no. It's at least better than the others we've had so far, including turkey bacon, but I've seen reviews of better products (not yet showing up in my local stores, sadly) that apparently come closer in flavor and texture. It would be nice to think that there will eventually be a genuinely good bacon substitute, for the benefit of those who can't or won't eat the real thing, but this isn't it. Heck, I'd be happy to find one that matches up to the mystery-meat "breakfast strips."

For now, we're holding out hope that her new medications will beat the rheumatoid arthritis into submission and let her indulge (cautiously) in the real thing from time to time, without triggering a flare.

[BeeZee]

Whole Foods sells a vegan BLT with a coconut based bacon substitute. It is tasty, but not gonna scratch anyone’s bacon “itch”.

[heidih]

I donlt remember why I did it. Before Pandemic. I had great tomatoes and bread, and favorite mayo but no bacon. I sunk so low as to use a scatter of Baco's Bacon Flavored Bits. A soy product. Some crunch and smoke. I just went into the pantry - must have 86'd them

[Shelby]

So, my Misfits box came with something that I didn't order.  I'm not really into plant based meats but...heck...they were free and I'm up for new things.  

 

 

 

When I opened them up, they didn't smell too bad.  Kind of meat like....but I knew after I touched one and it stayed dented like this

 

 

that we might have a problem.  The texture before cooking was just awful.

 

I began frying them in a skillet...right off the bat something weird happened.  As you can see this plastic like film started coming off 

 

 

So.  I felt stupid.  Was I supposed to remove that before cooking?  There wasn't a way to do that without mushing the "meat" to bits.  After googling I figured it was this:

 

Vegetarian sausage casing is the newest type of sausage skin, and they’re 100% plant-based. They are usually made from water, vegetable glycerin, starches, and sugar.

 

So, I carried on.

 

 

I could hardly even eat that little bite.  It tasted like dirt with a little salt.  Seriously.  Canned dog food has to taste better than this.

 

I had fully intended to notify Misfits that I received this so they could charge me if they wanted.  I now know that they must have chucked one of these in everyones box so they could get rid of the vile things.

 

[Annie_H]

32 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I could hardly even eat that little bite.  It tasted like dirt with a little salt.  Seriously.  Canned dog food has to taste better than this.

 

Yuck. Crap ingredients. They could have at least spiced it up with sage, etc. and maybe apple instead of cane sugar. 

When I get something from Misfits not ordered and mention it, I am never charged. They no longer make substitutions-(this comes from a Misfits employee). If they need to push an item, a freebie, they should send it to those buying vegan. Or at least have a group tasting before taking on such a product. I've only had one notable dud from Misfits. A cracker that I could not swallow. A ball of sawdust. Like the shells on sunflower seeds that need to be spat out. 

 

I have some friends and a nephew going through this with their teenagers announcing going vegan. Seems pretty common. Across the board, "absolutely not'. You need to study the subject and learn how to cook. And when you are out on your own...resist the overpriced packaged crap full of preservatives. And shopping and cooking separate meals is a no-go for busy parents. One friend will buy one of the mince meat replacements but it goes in the same pan for burger or steak night. 

 

Pre-pandemic I used to go to a vegan restaurant with a co-worker. Great soups and salads. 

 

 

[heidih]

@Shelby Brave girl with that "breakfast sausage".  Sounds vile, and certainky looks awful. I men if it even had dcent flavor. I do buy soyrizo which mimics Mexican chorizo without the big puddle of orange grease. But it has a good strong flavor. I spread it on a sheet pan and bake so I end up with crumbles that can be added to eggs, tacos, potatos, Most local grocery stores carry the Cacique brand - inexpensive. I am seeing a lot of new vegan restos specifying which brand they use on the burger styles. Give me a grilled portobello or eggplant with usual fixings  - I'm good.

[gfweb]

If one is against processed food, then these ersatz meats should be a no-go.  How much more manipulated and processed could it be?

[rotuts]

Meat is Meat .

 

Vegetables are Vegetables .

 

leave it at that .  it's been working for a while .

 

@Annie_H :

 

"they should send it to those buying vegan."

 

by sending it to everybody , and as @Shelby noted :

 

""   I now know that they must have chucked one of these in everyones box so they could get rid of the vile things. ""

 

and Misfits gets tax deduction on something no one would ever

 

buy in the first place.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, Shelby said:

So, my Misfits box came with something that I didn't order.  I'm not really into plant based meats but...heck...they were free and I'm up for new things.  

 

 

 

When I opened them up, they didn't smell too bad.  Kind of meat like....but I knew after I touched one and it stayed dented like this

 

 

that we might have a problem.  The texture before cooking was just awful.

 

I began frying them in a skillet...right off the bat something weird happened.  As you can see this plastic like film started coming off 

 

 

So.  I felt stupid.  Was I supposed to remove that before cooking?  There wasn't a way to do that without mushing the "meat" to bits.  After googling I figured it was this:

 

Vegetarian sausage casing is the newest type of sausage skin, and they’re 100% plant-based. They are usually made from water, vegetable glycerin, starches, and sugar.

 

So, I carried on.

 

 

I could hardly even eat that little bite.  It tasted like dirt with a little salt.  Seriously.  Canned dog food has to taste better than this.

 

I had fully intended to notify Misfits that I received this so they could charge me if they wanted.  I now know that they must have chucked one of these in everyones box so they could get rid of the vile things.

 

We buy a lot of faux-meat products because my poor sweetie can't eat red meat anymore for medical reasons. Had I known, I could have saved you the trouble of testing them for yourself. We've had other faux-sausage products that were passable, but these were just vile and disgusting in every respect.

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, chromedome said:

We buy a lot of faux-meat products because my poor sweetie can't eat red meat anymore for medical reasons. Had I known, I could have saved you the trouble of testing them for yourself. We've had other faux-sausage products that were passable, but these were just vile and disgusting in every respect.

It's nice to know it's not just me.

 

Chum and Scout (our dogs) didn't even like them.  And they go out and eat raw potato skins from the compost.  

[Annie_H]

^Oh, I so agree. I don't have any vegan close friends but do have a couple adult family members. My sister is a bit 'Flexi'. She does not call it '90% vegan'. Her husband is Muslim. They don't eat beef, pork, or lamb. Halal chicken, some fish, eggs, but not that much. He is a medical doctor so avoids red meat for health reasons---family history. 

I rarely make a meat replacement, but for certain occasions I will make one for family that has peas, beans, mushrooms, grains, seeds and nuts, roasted beets, tomato powder, corn meal, freeze dried fruits,(powered), dates, apples, herbs, greens, cocoa powder, instant espresso, etc. Falafel was my first inspiration years ago. Simple ingredients and delicious when made well. 

I make a meatball and a veg-ball and a thanksgiving dressing/stuffing the same. Not that much trouble once/twice a year. I've never purchased any of the commercial meat replacements. 

 

A meat replacement lasagna can be excellent but I have issues with vegan cheeses. Vegetarian lasagna no problem. 

 

We have had a few vegan weekend house guests pre-pandemic. Good friends, "is it ok to bring a friend?"...."they are vegan." 🙄

It is hard to accommodate someone I've never met. And vegan. Friday night arrival snack, Saturday breakfast, lunch, dinner, then Sunday morning Brunch....

 

I just ask that they bring a bit of things they eat. I always have plenty of salads, bean/grain, greens....

Just don't expect me to prepare your vegan packaged loot. 

 

 

 

 

[Annie_H]

1 minute ago, Shelby said:

Chum and Scout (our dogs) didn't even like them.  And they go out and eat raw potato skins from the compost.

😂

My pups will dig and eat the most disgusting rotting veg and drink from forest puddles...

We had to add an extra chicken wire fence around our compost and a lid. 

 

I do like that these products exist, especially for medical reasons. Clearly some will be better than others. Vile and disgusting should not be allowed on grocery shelves. Good ingredients is not that hard. 

It is a bit shocking what is on the grocery shelves. Especially the vegan/gluten-free sections at TJ's/WholeFoods. I avoid the selection so not that familiar with ingredient lists. 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

McD dumped the McPlant :

 

 

locations in urban areas like Dallas and San Francisco were selling about 20 McPlants a day, whereas rural and suburban areas were seeing an abysmal demand of 3 to 5 burgers a day. And even 20 burgers a day was far less than the predicted 40 to 60 target the chain was aiming for.

Additionally, the McPlant was made to order, and Saleh suggested it may have been slowing down operations—a huge drawback for a fast-food giant like McDonald's, where speed and efficiency are key.

 

 

of note :  BYND's high was once $ 250 .

Edited July 31, 2022 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

this turned up, and I found it interesting :

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/how-sustainable-are-fake-meats/

 

its a complicated calculation

 

and there there is this :

 

'Of course, all the to-do about alternative meats overlooks another dietary option, one with the lowest environmental footprint of all: Simply eat less meat and more beans, grains, and vegetables. The additional processing involved in plant-based meats means that they generate 4.6 times more greenhouse gas than beans, and seven times more than peas, per unit of protein, according to the Hopkins researchers. Even traditional, minimally processed plant protein such as tofu beats plant-based meats when it comes to greenhouse gas. Moreover, most people in wealthy countries eat far more protein than they need, so they can simply cut back on their protein consumption without seeking out a replacement."

 

and of course , Beef isn't tofu , ever 

 

what's helpful for a Population  may be of little to no interest to many or some individual members 

 

of that population.

[gfweb]

And what food is more "processed" (whatever that actually means) than faux meats?

[heidih]

That has been my friend's rant to her daughter's vegan choices. All this faux stuff! When friend was in Israel all fresh and vegan without processing fake drama.

[rotuts]

at some point 

 

The Sun will burn out .

 

various evolutionary changes 

 

on the 3'd Rock from the Sun 

 

change by their their own  time constant 

 

ie they take the time they take

 

its about , More Now 

 

or with thought 

 

a bit more later .

 

Time for some M.R.

 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

Moreover, most people in wealthy countries eat far more protein than they need, so they can simply cut back on their protein consumption without seeking out a replacement.

I think this is so important to remember. When I compare the recommended daily consumption of protein (which varies according to age, weight, gender, etc.), I am quite astounded by the amount of protein I used to consume in the belief that it was healthy to do so. I did not find Michael Pollan; I aged out. I can no longer consume huge amounts of beef or pork or any other protein. I remain a happy carnivore but I’m happy with much smaller portions and quite repulsed by some of the alternatives.  

[rotuts]

I found Michael Pollan's books

 

some time ago .  when through them all

 

with great interest .

 

Omega-6  , etc .

 

then this book :

 

Food Rules: and Eater's Manual (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Food Rules 

 

1 ) Eat Food

 

2 ) Not too Much 

 

3 ) mostly vegetables 

 

So  what's Food ?

 

the book looks over this 

 

I think white well .

 

Im pleased 

 

@Anna N 

 

reminded me of this author 

 

there seem to be newer books 

 

Ill look into them

 

[liuzhou]

[Bernie]

The one thing that probably set the alarm bell ringing is "Natural Flavor".

This is how the FDA is

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in §§ 182.10, 182.20, 182.40, and 182.50 and part 184 of this chapter, and the substances listed in § 172.510 of this chapter.

(https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.22)

So what does that mean?  If it can be said to have a flavor its a natural flavor🤢 It can be just about anything.

And it is different in the US & Europe. In Europe it must be from a plant, animal or microbiological sources.

In Australia it is worse still, references to natural flavors in packaging was removed so there is no difference between natural & artificial flavors.

 

enjoy that artificial (cloned?, grown? ultra processed?) meat substitute.

 

(wonder what modified Food Starch is? Well as long as it has no flavor I guess its OK 😬 )

[chromedome]

5 hours ago, Bernie said:

(wonder what modified Food Starch is? Well as long as it has no flavor I guess its OK 😬 )

 

It usually just means the starch's molecular structure has been altered so it can be frozen and thawed without getting weird (think "frozen pie fillings" for an example).

 

The graphic provides a nice little talking point for the beef industry, though of course it's disingenuous because "beef" doesn't emerge fully formed like Aphrodite. It contains everything the steer (or cow) ate - herbicides, pesticides and all - plus a raft of antibiotics. Not sure where/whether growth hormones are permitted in the US, and too lazy to look it up at this time of the morning. FWIW they'll have eaten a huge quantity of GMO corn as well. None of those things are especially a hot-button issue for me, but they certainly would be for a significant percentage of consumers targeted by that ad.