Veggie burgers with zip,

SOL Cuisine is a Canadian company that has made its name for 30 years making vegan products from organic soy. So, whether you’re talking about its original burgers and veggie dogs or more exotic sounding dishes such as spicy black bean burgers or tofu ribs (really!), soy has been one of the main, if not the main, ingredient.

This summer, though, SOL, which stands for Sustainable Organic Local, has moved into the market with two new soy-free lines: Indian Masala Burgers and Sprouted Quinoa Chia burgers, which come in slider (small) or regular burger sizes.

What gives? “Studies have shown that soy allergies have increased 50 per cent since 1996,” says Jess Abramson, SOL’s vice-president of sales and marketing. “We thought long and hard before launching these soy-free items, but we wanted to provide options for this growing customer segment.”

While these burgers will never satisfy someone with a craving for a juicy, charred beef burger, it’s possible that these new lines will appeal to those who sneer at products such as “tofurkey” since the new burgers are made with ingredients that offer much more than just a substitute for meat.

The Indian Masala burgers are made with many of the same ingredients you might find in the popular North Indian street food Aloo Tikki: potatoes, peas and a masala blend of spices.

The Sprouted Quinoa Chia burgers boast this year’s nutritional darling, quinoa, which is a vegetarian source of complete protein; black chia, which is rich in omega3 and antioxidants; and sweet potato, a great source of vitamin A and fibre.

So how do they taste? The Masala burgers offer a pleasant enough blend of potato, pea and carrot flavours, made slightly spicy with turmeric and jalapeno. The quinoa burgers taste slightly nutty and have added depth from onions, garlic and parsley, while the chia seeds give them an agreeable crunch.

I wasn’t entranced by the texture of either one, however: they’re fairly firm little moulded pucks, with the potato coming in dehydrated form and modified cellulose in both flavours. Juicy they’re not.

Still, if I were serving a vegan guest with a problem with soy, these could quite easily be made into a delicious and nutritious meal. The Indian Masala Burgers were quite tasty on a toasted bun and slathered with mango chutney and tomato salsa. The website ( sol cuisine.com) offers a recipe for making veggie stacks from the Quinoa Sliders, with layers of roasted eggplant, Portobello mushroom caps and red pepper.

And you can’t argue with the ease of preparation: from frozen, these burgers take just three minutes per side on the barbecue or in a frying pan, making them a great food to have on hand for anyone who needs a meal in a hurry.

Cost: $5.59 for a box of six Sprouted Quinoa Chia Sliders; $6.59 for a box of four Indian Masala Burgers at Natural Food Pantry stores on Richmond Road in Westboro or at Billings Bridge mall.