As someone who oscillates between veganism, vegetarianism and a plant-based diet as frequently as Chrissy Teigen zings John Legend, I can confidently say I’m well-versed in meat-free burger options. The problem? None them taste like the real thing.
So when I heard about the Impossible Burger, a plant-based patty that purportedly looks and tastes more like actual meat than any of its predecessors, my interest was very much piqued.
This vegan miracle food was developed by a team of scientists from the Silicon Valley-based start-up Impossible Foods (whoa, high-tech). The burger aficionados spent five years researching meat in an effort to replicate the sizzle, taste and texture. They discovered that a little ingredient called heme, an iron-containing molecule that occurs naturally in every plant and animal, is what makes meat taste so darn delicious. So they mixed it with natural, organic ingredients like coconut oil, wheat and potatoes to make the best burger you’ll ever try…even if you’re a carnivore.
So I visited Mama Los Angeles to try it out for myself. When I first bit into it, I instantly understood why the internet has been calling this thing “the Bleeding Burger.” The texture was totally burger-esque, and since I asked for it medium rare, it had a pink center and was oozing red juice. (Thanks to our new friend, heme!) The patty tasted so close to the real thing, I stopped chewing to inspect it and had to ask my colleague to make sure I wasn’t eating her real burger. Bye, lame frozen black-bean patties. I’ve officially converted to the Impossible Burger.
