Is It Beef, If It Looks, Feels, And Tastes, Like Beef ?

Discussion in 'Cuisines of India' started by Amulet, Jan 27, 2020.

  1. Amulet

    Amulet IL Hall of Fame

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    In America we have a brand called "Beyond Beef" with many products in the grocery stores.....
    We can make a "hamburger" seeming thingie by grilling a pattie of beyondbeef ground-non-beef, and put it between slices of bun, add the usual lettuce, tomato, mayo etc... and serve a totally vegetarian burger, which tastes like a meat burger.

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    Would vegetarians (most desi-NRI in USA) buy this ? Use this to make burgers for their foreign born children ? My children are already trying this out with ecologically minded friends, and they think it is the new sliced-bread-like innovation.

    Would you buy ? Would you try ?
    In a pinch ? Or is it a cinch ?
     
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  2. livinitup

    livinitup New IL'ite

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    desi-NRI here. :) I recently turned "plant-based" and wouldn't want to try this. For me one of the reasons to avoid/minimize animal products (meat and dairy) is health. This is a "highly processed" food and I wouldn't want to replace animal products I was eating with something whose long-term health benefits/side-effects is unknown. I prefer the black-bean/quinoa burgers being offered as the vegetarian option for the standard beef burger when we eat out.
     
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  3. livinitup

    livinitup New IL'ite

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    In fact it makes me so angry (and sad at the same time) to see these options come up in the market.

    Many people are becoming sensitive to the effects of animal agriculture and the relationship between excessive animal product consumption to chronic diseases - and multinational companies are simply exploiting yet another vulnerability in the people to cash-in.

    Fake Meat vs. Real Meat
     
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  4. MalStrom

    MalStrom IL Hall of Fame

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    I tried one bite of the Impossible Whopper, immediately spat it out and threw the rest of the sandwich in the trash. I don’t see the point of all these fake meats and the list of ingredients is enough to give anyone the heebie-jeebies. It makes me irrationally angry every time I pass by the Impossible display case at the grocery store. If my child wants to have meat I’ll give her a small portion of the real stuff, ethically sourced.
    And if you want to save the planet just switch to plants.
     
  5. Angela123

    Angela123 Gold IL'ite

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    I dont believe in not eating meat and saving the planet movement. Either eat the real meat or don't eat meat, stick to wholesome vegetarian things. I dont understand what people are trying to achieve by eating "meat like" substitutes which are highly processed and which might bring the opposite of what people are trying to achieve by not eating meat.
     
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  6. shravs3

    shravs3 IL Hall of Fame

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    This is the era where most of the animal products are injected with various steroids, hormones etc which causes various health issues.
    So no wonder many non vegetarians are turning vegan / vegetarian.

    Although I’m a vegetarian I’m really not interested to try meatless burgers.
    Most of them are either soy based or it highly processed with other stuff.
    So a big NO from me!

    Once I had ordered a vegetarian burger at office.
    I couldn’t even take a bite because of the smell which was probably due to the previous beef/ meat burger. I was feeling pukish and threw the entire burger.
    From then on I usually don’t order burgers at random places.

    Ofcourse I have few favourite places where I can eat my burger without any fear.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2020
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  7. Roar

    Roar Gold IL'ite

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    What is the point of this 'invention'?. Like you want to eat meat but you don't want to eat meat?. Its a confused meal.

    To stop eating real meat only to move on to meat-looking fake processed food is not sustaining anything more than a bunch of more processing factories.

    I was raised a vegetarian and I chose to stay one for reasons other than just culture. I would not buy it as I never was eager enough to taste meat or meat-like foods.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2020
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  8. SunPa

    SunPa Platinum IL'ite

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    To beef or not to beef , haha.

    I am a vegetarian. Mock meat is common here long long before the the term plant based meat become a buzz. I remember when in the nineties, Ordering food from a vegetarian stall, the hawker shocked me when she asked if I wanted duck, char siew ( pork) . And she had to convince me all of it was made from soy. Later I learnt is has high sodium, is highly processed. But alteasted it tasted good.

    The new version , Is it healthy? Of course not. .Yeap, it is corporations cashing in on the trend, appropriating an old product, jazzing it up and claiming it as revolutionary.

    I had a taste of beyond meat mini burger, the texture was so strange, the sauces felt so what should I say " meatish"?

    That is when it struck me- these are not meant for the vegetarian palate. It is for meat lovers who are torn between their desire to be planet friendly but cannot give up the diet they so love. So yes it has to look like meat, taste like beef, feel like beef, so they can trick their stomach/tongue into believing it is beef.

    I am having another dinner at a steakhouse next month , with Impossible meat being the only vegetarian option, it is more expensive than the real meat, seriously:-( Need to survive this meal but apparently the view from the restaurant is great.
     
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  9. Swetha52003

    Swetha52003 Gold IL'ite

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    If you want to avoid meat and still like to have anything substantial and with same texture,try fermented soy products like tofu,tempeh etc. Another option is seitan,only if you are not gluten intolerant. These options are far better than any commercially available meatless burgers and imitation meat.
    That being said, don't make even fermented soy products a regular meal option. To me, black beans and rajma are other safe options that have a satisfying bite similar to meat. You can even make your own vegan burgers with it! In India,I have seen people using raw jackfruit as a meat alternative. Google Jackfruit biriyani,pulav etc! There are so many healthy options.
     
  10. SGBV

    SGBV IL Hall of Fame

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    What is the point of eating a no-beef thing?

    I don't believe in this planet saving attempts by not eating non-vegs. But I am concerned about the highly processed non-veg food market; hence I avoid eating them as much as I can.
    Nevertheless, I eat non-veg from fresh sellers, and they are mostly organic.

    A vegetarian doesn't need anything that looks like a meat. There are variety of options to substitute the taste and protein in a veg meal.
    A newly turned vegetarian (due to health reasons), may wish to eat something similar to meat, that looks and tastes like meat. But they wouldn't go for any kind of highly processed non-meet stuff. Because they are unhealthy.
    But a newly turned vegetarian (To save the planet), chances are high that they might end up switching to vegan meals, which look and taste like non-veg meals. But they really don't know how on earth a highly processed meal, that could cause cancer and other health issues for humans in a long run could save the planet?

    These are the people who got carried away with these hyped planet saving agenda!!!
     
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