It’s a burger, but not as we know it
For a massive corporation built on beef patties, the concept of a vegan McDonald’s burger must be one of the last frontiers of fast-food retailing – one which Kiwis may not encounter soon, but which a Kiwi take on has been delivered all the way from Finland.
The Finnish (and Swedish) McDonald’s chains added a vegan option to their menus on December 28, after an earlier (presumably successful) trial.
And among those who have lined up to try the meatless offering is New Zealander Angus Adams who, with girlfriend Anniina Aarnio, sampled the burgers in Helsinki a couple of days after the permanent release.
Adams reported that the €3 (NZ$5) meat-free burgers were served on a vegan bun with sliced tomato, gherkin, mustard, an ‘‘eggless sandwich sauce’’ and lettuce.
He said the soy protein patty would have fooled him if he hadn’t known it was vegan.
‘‘The patty was pretty good. It was quite robust and had a bit of an orange look to it,’’ he said.
If he hadn’t known better, ‘‘I would have just thought it was a bit of a weird chicken burger’’.
Aarnio, who lives in Helsinki, said it was much better than the Finnish McDonald’s earlier attempts at vegetarian burgers.
She found the patty had good texture too, with different-sized pieces in the patty, which she said was reminiscent of a cheeseburger in size.
Business Insider’s Oliver Pechter described the burger’s flavour as ‘‘quite neutral’’ after he tried it while he was in Sweden.
New Zealand McDonald’s previously said it had no plans to roll out its own version.
So for those hankering for a Maccas-styled vegan burger of their own – and given that we’re something like 16,000 kilometres from the nearest place to find a McVegan burger – we’ve done a little research and experimentation into how the burger might be made.
Considering what we’ve been told and what’s available on the Finnish McDonald’s website, this is our best guess as to how you can make your own.
Make your own McVegan burger
For the patty:
❚ 1 brick firm tofu, patted dry
❚ 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
❚ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
❚ 1 teaspoon onion powder
❚ Salt and pepper
❚ Rapeseed oil, or vegetable oil
❚ Flour
Finely chop or roughly mash the brick of tofu, then add turmeric, garlic and onion powders and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Add a tablespoon of oil and mix further until everything is coated.
Continue to mix while slowly adding flour a teaspoon at a time, until the mixture is dry enough to form into patties.
Spoon mixture onto floured surface, dust further with flour, and press into patty shape.
Fry in about 1cm of oil until golden brown on each side.
For the assembly:
❚ 1 tomato, sliced
❚ Iceberg lettuce, shredded finely
❚ 1 small onion, preferably white, sliced
❚ Pickles, or gherkin slices
❚ Aquafaba mayonnaise (made with the liquid from canned chickpeas in place of eggs)
❚ Vegan mustard (available at most supermarkets)
❚ Vegan-friendly buns (available at most supermarkets)
❚ Tomato sauce (most mainstream brands are vegan-friendly)
Assemble the burger, starting with the patty on the bottom bun, then tomato, mayo, shredded lettuce, pickles and onion, before smearing the top bun with tomato sauce and mustard.