Veg burger: taste test

2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20

Ladies and gentlemen, there is little to do: the world belongs to vegans. You understand this from your Facebook message boards, invaded on the eve of every holiday commanded by the images of tender lambs and calves begging you not to eat them, you orcs who are nothing else.

Come on, don't be offended, we're kidding. Just to add a little irony to your diet of legumes and vegetables.

But in the end, there is little to joke about: vegetarian (or vegan) is a food choice that - for ethical or health reasons - is spreading more and more. In 2016, 7% of the Italian population declared themselves vegetarian, 1% vegan.

But everyday life tells us that these data are probably underestimated: restaurants increasingly offer veg-friendly choices, and the offer of large-scale retail products also increases significantly.

Well, we say when we see the shelves full of veg products, the plurality of choice is always positive. But after trying them, will we be equally happy?

there nine veg burgers among the most popular in large-scale distribution, for our weekly Tasting Test.

CONTENDENTS

Vegetable Burgers - Alga Gourmè

Veggie burger - Viva la mamma Beretta

Soy steaks - Italian organic food company

Spinach and tofu burger - Carrefour Bio

Quinoa and zucchini burger - Conbio

Soy burger - Vivi verde Coop

Organic vegetable burger - Granarolo

Soy Burger - Sojasun

Burgers - Quorn

JUDGMENT CRITERIA

Packaging

Ingrediants

Gustatory Analysis

The test was carried out blindly, tasting the burgers after a light cooking in the pan.

# 9 Veggie burger - Long live mom Beretta

- Judgment: it is a slightly different product from the other contenders, because it is accompanied by vegetables. Which are a bit of a consolation prize, given the small size of the hamburger.

- Packaging: the plastic dish pack ready to be heated in the microwave is undoubtedly practical, even if it detracts a little from the product.

- Ingredients: zucchini, vegetable hamburger (restructured and rehydrated soy flour, onion, breadcrumbs, sunflower oil, celery, wheat gluten, carrots, egg white, soy flour, salt, yeast extract, plants aromatic), carrots, potatoes, onion, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, corn starch, parsley, garlic.

- Taste analysis: upon tasting (which took place without the side vegetables), the hamburger seems to be characterized by an excessive sweetness, which covers all other flavors.

- Price: 17, 45 € / kg

- In short: burger hunting among vegetables

VOTE: 4

# 8 Organic vegetable burger - Granarolo

- Judgment: a product that, from the point of view of the ingredients, should be fully promoted. Vegetables from organic farming, a little salt. The taste, however, leaves us a little disappointed. And you know, for us, taste commands everything.

- Packaging: the font used is very modern, we like it.

- Ingredients: soy pulp, broccoli, sorghum, sunflower oil, potato flakes (dehydrated potatoes, rosemary extract), wheat gluten, sea salt, spices, aromatic plants.

- Taste analysis: a flavor that convinces us little, in general we would like a little more character even when we talk about veg foods. The flavor of soy, similar to legumes, stands out clearly. In the mouth the whole is a bit loose, with a consistency of cereals (sorghum) that is felt under the teeth in every bite.

- Price: 18.83 € / kg

- In short: live veg, but with character

VOTE: 4 ½

# 7 Quinoa and zucchini burger - Conbio

- Judgment: among the contenders, it is the one that fell apart the most during cooking, probably due to its very (too) soft consistency. Tofu is probably responsible for a very neutral taste, while we have already said that we look for a little more character in what we taste.

- Packaging: essential.

- Ingredients: tofu, zucchini, potato flake (dehydrated potatoes, rosemary extract), sunflower oil, soy pulp, champignon mushrooms, tomato puree, quinoa, corn starch, eggplant, green olives, sea salt, Origan.

- Taste analysis: compared to other contenders, when tasted it is much less grainy and softer, even if not very compact. In general, it has a pleasant taste, even if we miss a stronger taste.

- Price: 17, 16 €

- In short: Real meat has never been so tender

VOTE: 5

# 6 Sojasun - Soy burger

- Judgment: a burger that during cooking created an interesting browning that enticed us, even if we were not fully convinced by the tasting. Among the contenders it is the one with the consistency most similar to a real hamburger.

- Packaging: a little too advertising, but - like advertising - impactful.

- Ingredients: water, soy juice, onions, tomato paste, sunflower oil, salt, vegetable fibers, sugar, concentrated onion juice, gelling agent: meticellulose.

- Taste analysis: upon tasting we found it too sweet for our tastes, with a prevalence of tomato in taste.

- Price: 14.95 € / kg

- In short: it looks like meat but it is not

VOTE: 5+

# 5 Burgers - Quorn

- Judgment: it was one of the judgments that put us to the test the most. Because he liked it, he liked it, but the ingredients list penalized him compared to that of other contenders.

- Ingredients: microproteins, wheat proteins, rehydrated egg white of eggs from free-range hens, vegetable oils (palm oil, rapeseed oil), onion, natural flavors, fried onion, milk proteins, toasted barley extract.

- Taste analysis: in the mouth it has a consistency very similar to that of a meat burger, and an overall good flavor, even if we do not clearly distinguish the ingredients present.

- Price: € 18.68 / kg

- In short: veg yes, but with fried food and palm oil

VOTE: 5 ½

# 4 Soy Burger - Vivi Verde Coop

- Findings: one of the smaller burgers, with a round shape that makes it more like a meatball. Although the percentages of ingredients partly contradict us, we find the flavor of legumes a little too prevalent.

- Packaging: it was very complicated to remove the burgers from the internal plastic wrapping without breaking them.

- Ingredients: tofu, textured soy, soy pulp, onion, potato flake, double tomato concentrate, extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil, water, carrots, soy sauce, vegetable broth preparation, wheat gluten, thickener: carob seed flour, sea salt, oregano, pepper.

- Taste analysis: when tasted, the legume flavor typical of soy is clearly prevalent. In general, it would need an extra boost of taste, but we would like to promote it with a small educational debt.

- Price: 15 € / kg

- In short: postponed to September

VOTE: 6 -

# 3 Spinach and tofu burger - Carrefour Bio

- Judgment: a burger with a very different color from the others, tending to green due to the presence of spinach among the ingredients. In general, a meatball that we don't mind.

- Packaging: as in the case of the Coop contender, we had a hard time opening the inner plastic package without breaking the burger.

- Ingredients: spinach, tofu, water, potato flakes, (dehydrated potatoes, rosemary extract), soy pulp, spelled, sunflower oil, long white rice, corn starch, onion, vegetable broth preparation, miso, yeast extract, extra virgin olive oil, spices, sea salt, ginger.

- Taste analysis: a good taste overall, even if not yet as decided as we would like. A somewhat disappointing note is given by the fact that we expected a greater flavor of green vegetables, given the color of the meatball. Instead, the flavor and texture of the potato is prevalent, which in any case is pleasant.

- Price: € 14.15 / kg

- In short: the neighbors' burger is certainly less green

VOTE: 6

# 2 Vegetable Burgers - Alga Gourmè

- Judgment: after cooking these mini burgers (really mini!) Have a very inviting appearance which, finally, corresponds to an interesting and convincing taste.

- Packaging: very oriental

- Ingredients: rehydrated textured soy protein, sunflower oil, vegetable fiber, tomato, onion, Wakaname seaweed, yellow squash, seaweed, gelling agent (E466), linseed oil, salt, spices.

- Taste analysis: the prevailing flavor is that of the tomato, without however making the burger too sweet. The use of different spices, on the other hand, gives this product a strong and somewhat exotic character.

- Price: € 16.95 / lt

- In short: next summer, everyone to fish for seaweed.

VOTE: 7

# 1 Soy steaks - Italian organic food company

- Judgment: similar to a meat burger in appearance, it has a compact texture that left it intact during cooking. The taste has really satisfied us, so we turn a blind eye to an ingredient list that could learn how to make more from some of the other contenders.

- Packaging: to be reviewed.

- Ingredients: hydrated textured soy, water, onion, rice flour, natural flavors, oat fiber, wheat gluten, thickener: carrageenan, coconut oil, sunflower oil, thickener: guar gum, salt, extract of yeast, garlic, thickener: xanthan gum, spices.

- Taste analysis: the taste is decidedly pleasant, with a slight hint of onion that gives taste without being intrusive.

- Price: € 22.16 / lt

- In short: veg or non veg, we like it.

VOTE: 7 ½

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

Since we are talking about vegetables, you will grant us the license to say that we are pissed after this taste test. The why is simple. Those who have tried these hambugers are not vegetarians, but they are a careful consumer. A consumer who first of all seeks the taste in what he buys, but also and above all an ingredient list that is as healthy as possible.

Now, this is the point. These veg products contain interesting ingredients, to be produced by large retailers: many organic vegetables, little or no junk, no preservatives, dyes and so on.

Even eggs from free-range hens. I challenge you to find a product for "omnivores" in which this aspect is specified, in the ingredients list.

So we ask ourselves: why? Why is it assumed that the non-veg consumer is less aware and less attentive to what they eat? Probably because it is, it's up to us to change the state of things.

In the meantime, you can eat some of these veg burgers with pleasure.