Fake-meat burgers are Beyond exorbitant
The Beyond Burger is still trending. Actually, harder and heavier than the last time I looked. I’m really surprised. I know that “plantbased” eating is in, but still I’m surprised, and that’s because the blob just doesn’t live up to the hype. Not even slightly.
I’ve tried it from three different burger places, as well as cooking the “raw” discs in my kitchen. Beyond Burger (who makes noises about being in it for the planet and not the money) go on ad infinitum about it being exactly like meat. In fact, they tell us, you actually don’t need animals to make meat. Well, perhaps petri-dish meat can lay claim to that, but this patty really doesn’t convince me. It may contain all the required amino acids, but that doesn’t seem to have worked much alchemy.
I imagined that since my last taste-test, when it landed on our shores, things might have improved, mainly because friends kept telling me what an incredible Beyond Burger they’d just eaten at such and such. And how it really was a lot like meat. But you know what? It really isn’t. It looks like meat, it sort of cuts and bites like mince, but once in the mouth, it is instantly recognisable as belonging to the same family as all the other meat alternatives. Even hiding inside the sauce and fixings; even when surrounded by an excellent sesame-topped bun, as at Kitchen Grill in Rosebank. And it leaves a weird aftertaste for hours. No wonder: the main ingredients are water, pea protein isolate and canola.
I understand nobody’s eating a burger for health reasons, so can’t we at least have junk food that’s delicious? Why wouldn’t you rather have a giant grilled black mushroom, or a browned aubergine slice? Actual food? Burgers are much about the bun, the sauces, the accessories and toppings; the patty’s just one note in the chord.
I fail to see the attraction for the diner, but it’s clear why Beyond Meat and the other plant-based/fake-meat businesses are so keen. The profit margin on these patties is every capitalist’s dream. Apparently their production is far less resource-heavy than a beef alternative. That’s half their argument for producing them. Without a doubt, the ingredients cost far less than meat.
So why, wherever you find them, do they cost more than an average burger? Is the transport, processing and packaging the extra cost? Because in that case I’d guess there must be a whole load of fossil fuel in the picture. Perhaps we’re paying for the marketing? That would be my guess. Leave out the meat if you like. But a move to this centralised, processed crud, which doesn’t even offer a culinary advantage? Someone’s scoring and it’s not the eater.