Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

This veggie burger supposedly actually tastes as good as the real thing

'Plant blood' could be the secret to non-awful vegetarian burgers

Christopher Hooton
Thursday 09 October 2014 08:13 EDT
Comments
(Impossible Burger)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Don't want to eat meat but enjoy the taste of seared carcass? The Impossible Cheeseburger might be the cheeseburger for you, using plants to make "the best meats and cheeses you’ll ever eat."

For too long vegetarians have had to force down corn and soy-based patties masquerading as "burgers", but now a Stanford professor turned food entrepreneur claims to have discovered the secret to replicating the taste of meat: "plant blood".

The sanguine liquid has the same consistency and metallic taste of blood and comes from the same molecule found in haemoglobin, which plays a big part in steak's distinctive taste.

The Impossible Burger is said to also have the same consistency as meat.

"The bites still have the consistency of animal tissue," the Wall Street Journal said after a taste test. "It isn't overly spongy like tofu, instead the meat granules cling together, as one would expect in a burger."

If this new recipe of vegetarian burger tastes as good as claimed, it could be an alternative for meat eaters as well as vegetarians.

"Livestock is an antiquated technology," said their inventor Patrick Brown, a biochemistry scientist working in genetic research.

"The system that we use today to produce meat and cheese is completely unsustainable, it has terribly destructive environmental consequences."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in