Enlarge image
Photo: French Anderson Ltd / Stocksy United
Oatmeal, jackfruit, soy bran, chickpeas, seitan, pea protein, skimmed milk, wheat protein, cashew nuts, breadcrumbs: the list of ingredients that should replace the meat in vegetarian burger patties is long.
But can wheat protein mimic the taste of beef?
Skimmed its appearance?
Breadcrumbs the protein content?
After examining 18 veggie burger patties, Stiftung Warentest has answers to these questions.
The summary can already be revealed here: It depends.
At least half of the patties tested were given the grade “good” by the examiners.
The test winner was the “Beyond Burger” from Beyond Meat with a grade of 1.8.
What the testers particularly liked about the product was that it was "particularly aromatic", and that the appearance, smell and taste were very similar to beef.
The patty has a "strong roasted note" and is firm and juicy.
The price alone was at 1.70 euros per 100 grams in the upper field, with seven other products being even more expensive.
Beyond Meat has developed rapidly in recent years, the company has long since worked its way out of the eco-niche and can hardly keep up with the delivery due to the high demand.
In second place came the “No Meat Just Burger” from Edeka and the “Vegetarian Hack-selig Burger” from The Vegetarian Butcher, both with an overall rating of 2.1. While the Edeka patties scored with their strong taste, lots of omega-3 fatty acids and a low price (0.87 euros per 100 grams), the testers liked the crispy crust and the aromatic roasted note of the burger from The Vegetarian Butcher. The price of the latter was, however, 1.83 euros per 100 grams, even higher than the “Beyond Burger”.
Iglo's “Green Cuisine Vegetarian Burgers” performed worst in the study.
The testers found four pollutants in critical quantities, including mineral oil residues and the probably carcinogenic glycidol.
The product was therefore only rated “unsatisfactory” (grade 5.5).
According to its own information, the company has already reacted to the results and changed the recipe, writes Stiftung Warentest in its report.
Even if avoiding beef can not only help the environment but also your own health, vegetarian patties are not necessarily healthy on the other hand.
In addition to pollutants, a lot of fatty acids end up in some products, of which especially the saturated ones increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
The “Beyond Burger” contained 21.5 grams of fat per 100 grams, the highest value of all the products tested. However, the proportion of unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, which have a positive effect on the heart and circulation, was relatively high. The product with the lowest percentage of fatty acids (2.3 grams per 100 grams) was the "Jackfruit Burger" from Lotao, which received an overall rating of 2.4. According to the testers, this tasted strongly of legumes and contained very few calories, but was the second most expensive product at 2.08 euros per 100 grams.
How good the overall environmental balance of a veggie burger is compared to a beef pattie, however, also depends on how the substitute ingredients are grown - and where.
The jackfruit used in three products came from India, the soy protein partly from the USA.
The ingredients have already had a long journey behind them, which is not beneficial for the climate balance.
At the weekend you can read more information about the tested veggie burgers in an interview here at SPIEGEL.de.
hey
