Burger King has just released its first vegan burger. It’s a new version of their signature burger, made with a plant-based patty from “Impossible Foods”. But does it taste as good as the real thing? Maria Azzurra Volpe investigates
The Impossible Whopper, which at the moment is only available in St Louis, Missouri, is set to arrive to London by the end of May. It’s meant to taste exactly like meat, and it’s presented as a healthier option to the beef Whopper.
According to the impossible foods website the burger is made of: water, soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower,salt, yeast, potato protein and a bunch of scary-sounding chemicals. But despite the intimidating names of some ingredients, this burger is the food revolution every vegan has been waiting for. According to The Vegan Society, the demand for meet-free food in the UK increased by 987% in 2017, and the number of vegans in the country raised from 150,000 in 2014 to 600,000 in 2018, representing 1,16% of the British population.
I decided to go out around London’s most trendy vegan cafes and try the competition. Being a meat lover, I was very sceptical about eating vegan burgers but once I tried them, I changed my mind.
Here are the results of my week-long meatless journey:
Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Westfield, Stratford
This chain’s “Jack-in-a-bun” has a massive bun with all the kinds of fancy vegan toppings you could possibly imagine. The patty is made of butternut squash and quinoa, (very innovative!) and to complete the bundle there is a healthy dollop of beetroot mayo, Korean pulled jackfruit, pickled onions and rocket salad. (£9,20)
My first bite left me very disappointed; I was not expecting the sweetness of the beetroot or the jackfruit. It was a totally new flavour that completely blew my mind, in a really bad way.
But after a couple of bites, I got used to the flavours and once I picked out the jackfruit, it started tasting quite good.
Sadly, I was still not really satisfied by my meal as I really missed my meat. That same day I went back to the burger brand ordered their best-seller vegan delight: the “Californian”.(£9,45) It’s made of a pan-fried beans patty topped with vegan cheddar, paprika onions, harissa mayo, relish, salad and smashed avocado.
When the waiter brought it to my table it looked so good my mouth was literally watering.
I took a sip of my strawberry elderflower and gin cocktail, which by the way goes really well with the burger, and started digging in.
This burger was totally different from the first one, its taste was very strong, and the flavours really mixed well all together. I devoured it in less than five minutes, and it left me full and satisfied.
“Our best seller vegan is the Californian; people order it even if they’re not vegan just because it tastes very good,” said Rudolph Locmelis, Assistant Manager.
“The Californian is definitely more filling than the jack-in-a-bun. The jack-in-a-bun is very particular, is the only one that has this butternut squash quinoa patty, it’s very light, it was meant to be light, in fact if you look at all the other ingredients on it, they are all lighter versions of other foods, while the Californian is way more filling with the beans patty and the guacamole, it’s just amazing!”
The burger bar has a special allergens menu where vegan can verify if the food they’re going to order is actually suitable for them: “All the ingredients of our burgers are written on the menu” said Mr Locmelis, “and also we have a separate allergens menu where people can check if something is suitable for vegans.”
With all their fancy flavours and extravagant toppings, vegan burgers at Gourmet Burger Kitchen are fierce competitors, but they do not taste like meat, nor promise to.
Veggie Burger, The Angel Pub, Islington
I tried the veggie burger from my local pub in Islington. It features a patty made from all kind of veggies squished together, salad and mayonnaise.
It’s a very healthy burger, light and fresh, I see it as some kind of summer lunch.
But since it was a cold rainy day, I did not have it on its own! I had a side of French fries topped with lots of ketchup and mayonnaise, which I have to say, really improved the quality of my lunch!
It was a very tasty burger, just not the kind of taste I like. The taste of the veggies was very clear, I could actually distinguish the carrots. But it was a good deal, I paid £7.99 for a medium meal deal with gin and tonic as a drink.
I would definitely recommend it to those who love veggies, you must get it with fries though, otherwise you’re going to need another one right after!
Honest Burger, North Greenwich
The one burger that vaguely resembled meat taste was the “plant” burger from Honest Burger.
It was another extra-large bun with a vegan patty from Beyond Meat, topped with chipotle mayo, mustard, red onions, smoked vegan Gouda cheese, pickles and lettuce. The toppings had a very pleasant taste, but the patty felt quite fake.
It was the most expensive burger on their menu (£13.50) and did not taste the way it was supposed to.
But the meat-tasty promise seems to be more a strategy market to appeal to meat eaters rather than vegans, according to Urzsula Stawik, community team leader at Skills Matters (company that develops technology events)who’s been vegan four years: “This may help to binge the gap and help convert more people into veganism, or at least they will be more flexible. I don’t miss the taste or texture of meat at all, I love my veggies.”
It’s usually subjective but many vegan people don’t really like to eat meat tasting dishes, since they either hate meat or they just don’t miss it at all.
Germina Tosici, recruitment manager, who’s been vegan for nearly three years says she would not enjoy a vegan burger that tastes like meat. “I’ve had the one from Honest Burgers, the Beyond Meat one, which tastes like meat. But the association was too much for me, so I was very uncomfortable eating it, because the idea of eating meat makes me sick now!
“But I’m very happy to hear that Burger King is doing that too, I can’t wait for the vegan diet to be the only option as opposed to “an option”.
Both Ms Stawik and Ms Tosici say that being vegan is important to help preserve the environment, but is it healthy?
Vegan diet vs Omnivore diet:
A vegan diet excludes from its food chain all meat and dairy products as well as eggs. Vegan foods are all the aliments that come from plants, like vegetables, nuts, fruit and oils and all kinds of other plant-based products. The omnivore diet, on the other hand, embraces all kind of comestible foods, including meat dairy products and eggs.
I spoke to Dale Rees, Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences (Dietetics and Nutrition), who thinks that vegan diets can be as healthy as dangerous.
“The danger is when changing to a vegan diet you may cut out foods that previously provided certain nutrients that are less bio-available in plant-based foods. For example, iron, iron form animal sources are easily digested and absorbed - that is highly bio-available.
“Plant based iron is less bio-available and also plant based foods tend to have things in them that stop you from digesting/absorbing the iron. This means that even though the same amount of iron is eaten, less is taken in and this could also lead to a deficiency in the long term. The other major nutrient of concern is vitamin B12, which is mainly found in animal products.”
Although some plants may be able to recreate the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet, those are not absorbed by our body the same way as the nutrients coming from meat. This according to Mr Rees, can cause serious deficiencies on the long run.
But even though cutting out meat may not be the healthiest choice, Mr Rees thinks that a vegan burger could actually be beneficial for some.
“Red and processed meats are associated with cancer development, and thus individuals are recommended to eat less, so substituting with a vegan burger may work in a beneficial way.”
I spent few days eating vegan burgers and I really felt the absence of meat in my bun! It was a tough experience for a meat lover, but I was brave enough to get over it all in one piece!
Is vegan food tasty? It can be, but would I ever replace my meat? I don’t really think so, at least not anytime soon!