Can Food Save Planet Earth?:
In this video, Eater’s Kat Odell and Nick Solares introduce us to another salvo in the war to make a better burger with its inventor, Dr. Pat Brown.
This particular version has taken over 5 years to research and launch.
And thanks to some increasingly-fancy food chemistry, Impossible Foods might be getting us a step closer to a more earth-friendly, healthier future.
And while people should have the luxury to eat what they want, and a burger won’t save the planet, every little bit helps.
Forget Hippos, Cows Are The Hungry Ones:
You see some of the problems with traditional livestock come from it being resource-intensive.
It uses 30% of all arable land, 25% of all clean water, and creates as much greenhouse gas as all the world’s cars & trucks combined.
And the idea was not only to appeal to vegetarians, but to create something that could help that before all cars go electric and all power comes from wind, solar, & renewables.
I know, it all sounds very uptight post-hippie, no-fun, self-righteous judgy-pants.
What’s It Made From?:
-But how about the really important part: What’s It Made Of? & How Does It Taste?
According to Impossible, it’s made of Wheat & Potato protein, our fad-food-fave Coconut Oil, and a special protein (found in blood), called Heme. -No, Impossible Foods hasn’t hired a battalion of vampires, they just make it in a lab.
So for Taste: That’s apparently the secret ingredient. Because not only does Heme help it Look a bit more like a real, burger; -but it also makes it Taste A Lot more like one, too.
How Does It Taste?:
And many of the initial reviews reflect that leap of success in their positive ratings.
But that’s not to say the experts are fooled just yet. They’re not. According to them, there is still a quantity and mouth-feel of fat that still needs to be improved, and the texture is not exactly spot-on.
But this stuff is a still Long way from your hippie aunt’s Boca Burger.
And even though it’s not perfect, it does caramelize like a burger, appears to have a medium-rare center, communicates the meaty-taste of a real burger well, and so far it’s the closest anyone’s come to a viable substitute.
What About Nutrition?:
The other questions that have yet to be answered are the same ones for most substitute-products: Nutrition.
What does this thing do to your Cholesterol? -Or your Blood-Sugar? -Both unknowns.
And we all know that just because a substitute protein can be put in your food, that doesn’t necessarily make it good for you.
What About Protein?:
Just take Soy.
-Even a small amount can be unhealthy for men in several ways, because of all the pseudo-estrogens in it.
I know personally, that if you try to have as much soy protein as egg or whey, it will absolutely SHRED your kidneys; -and yes, it Does hurt.
-So does that mean you have to cut back on Impossible Burgers the way you would with Soy? -Unknown.
What About All The Other Good Stuff In Different Proteins?:
Also, is it getting you the same amount & quality of nutrients like brain-booster Creatine?
Is it actually as-good, or better than burger-protein? -Unknown until this goes into mass-production & people start testing it. -But unlikely.
Especially since the specific proteins have not yet been named by Impossible or CEO Brown.
As many vegetarians or food-substituters know: Just because they can -mimic- something doesn’t necessarily mean they will get all the health-benefits right, similar, or even as-good.
Just ask Dr. Joel Fuhrman about all the hundreds of micronutrients you can get from a salad.
Where Can You Try Them?:
As far as Availability, It’s very limited at the moment.
Right now, Impossible Foods is testing out their burger with the public at David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi at 232 8th Ave. in New York for $12/each, with a San Francisco location, and others elsewhere to follow.
What we still have to get to is that magical throw-up-your-hands, “I can’t tell the difference”-moment yet, but Impossible is getting closer than anyone thought previous.
Check out the details at the Links:
Photo/Video Credits:
Video by Eater
Photo, “IF Half Burger” by Impossible Foods
Links:
• Source: Impossible Foods’ Burger
• via: Eater-Impossible Burger
• More Coverage: Pacific Standard | Momofuku’s Nishi Restaurant
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