What is the Impossible Burger?

What is the Impossible Burger?

No, the waiter didn’t get your order wrong: The Impossible Burger looks, sizzles, feels and even “bleeds” just like a traditional burger, but it’s made with a meatless, entirely plant-based patty.

Impossible Foods, the maker of the burger, says on its website that it spent five years coming up with something that would replicate the taste, texture and aroma of a traditional beef burger, but without any animal products (which seems impossible…hence the name).

Bonus: It’s environmentally friendly. Compared to beef production, Impossible Foods says that the “Impossible Burger uses 95% less land, 74% less water, and produces 87% less greenhouse gas emissions,” though to be fair, the same could be said about most other meatless burgers and foods.

What are the ingredients and nutritional content of the Impossible Burger?

The Impossible Burger is made with plant-based ingredients, but it’s not all veggie: The Impossible Burger’s ingredient list includes soy protein, coconut oil, and potato protein, and it’s gluten-free.

Though it’s plant-based, it’s not particularly nutritional: One 4-ounce serving contains 240 calories, 14 grams of fat (including 8 grams of saturated fat), and 19 grams of protein, says Amy Goodson, R.D., a dietitian and certified sports nutrition specialist.

Here’s the full nutritional breakdown: 4 oz Impossible Burger patty:

• 240 calories
• Fat 14 g (Saturated Fat 8 g)
• Sodium 370mg
• 19 g Protein
• Carbohydrates: 9g
• 3g Fiber
• Less than 1g Sugar

The total calories and fat seem reasonable, but each serving is only 4 ounces. “When I ordered the burger, the minimum size was 1/3 pound, or 5.3 ounces,” says Maxine C. Yen, R.D., a registered dietitian and wellness coach.

They also have a high percentage of saturated fat per serving, likely from coconut oil. Yeung says consuming too much saturated fat is a health concern regardless of the source.

The following is 4 ounces ground beef patty That means 93 percent is red meat.

• 219 calories
• Fat 10.13 g (Saturated Fat 4.2 g)
• Sodium 75mg
• 29.72g Protein
• Carbohydrates 0g
• 0g dietary fiber
• 0g Sugar

Consider what you add to or pair with your Impossible Patty. “Adding mayonnaise and fries can quickly turn this burger into a few hundred calories and a lot of fat,” Goodson says. “Ideally, pair the patty with veggies, a whole-grain bun, and healthy condiments like mustard or mashed avocado.”

Impossible Burger vs. Other Veggie Burgers: Who Will Win?

The Impossible Burger has a higher protein content than other veggie burgers, Goodson said. “If you’re looking to get some protein in, this might be a good choice, but if you’re looking to get some veggies in, a veggie burger might be a better option.”

Here’s the nutritional breakdown: Standard Veggie Patty:

• 124 calories
• Fat 4g (1g saturated fat)
• Sodium 398mg
• 11 g Protein
• Carbohydrates 10g
• 3g Fiber
• Less than 1g Sugar

Compared to a veggie burger, the Impossible Burger also contains significant amounts of vitamin B12, which vegans have a hard time getting enough of in their diet.

The burger is also a good source of heme iron, which is hard to come by in other vegetarian and vegan foods, Yen says. (More on heme iron later.)

How does it compare to the Beyond Burger?

The Impossible Burger’s biggest competitor is the Beyond Burger, another popular plant-based burger. Like the Impossible Burger, this burger looks, cooks and tastes like a juicy beef patty, but without all the environmental or health impacts. It even looks like a medium rare burger, thanks to the red pigmentation of beets.

The ingredients of the Beyond Burger are very similar to the Impossible Burger, except that it is soy-free and non-GMO. The main protein sources are peas, mung beans, and rice. Nutritionally, the protein and fiber content of both burgers is similar. The Beyond Burger has slightly more fat (total and saturated), while the Impossible Burger has a few more grams of carbohydrates.

The nutritional content for a 4 ounce serving of uncooked is: Beyond Burger patty:

• 250 calories
• Fat 18 g (Saturated Fat 6 g)
• Sodium 390mg
• 20g Protein
• 3g Carbohydrates
• 2g Fiber
• 0g Sugar

Is the Impossible Burger healthy?

Some concerns have been raised about the Impossible Burger’s secret sauce: soy leghemoglobin. Soy leghemoglobin is found naturally in the root of the soy plant and contains heme, which gives the burger its beef-like aroma, taste and characteristic “ooze.” In animal-based foods, heme is found in animal muscle.

Instead of growing large amounts of soybeans, Impossible Foods scientists used genetically modified yeast to produce heme, which has raised alarms among people wary of GMOs. The company says it has conducted tests and that the product is generally recognized as safe, and the FDA formally approved the ingredient in July 2018. CNBC.

“The truth is, this is such a new food that we haven’t had time to study it, so we don’t know what the long-term effects are,” Yen says, so it’s hard to say yet whether the GMOs used to create IB’s signature flavor pose any health risks.

Ultimately, nutritionally, Yen says it should be treated the same as red meat. “I would recommend not eating it more than twice a week,” she says. “From a nutritional standpoint, if I had to choose between a lean beef or turkey burger and the Impossible Burger, I’d choose the beef burger. The ingredients are all natural, nothing artificial.”

What does the Impossible Burger taste like?

Well, since this is a matter of opinion, here are some reviews of the Impossible Burger.

“When I tried the burger, I was surprised at how close the texture was to ground beef,” Yen says. But instead of ground beef, it’s a completely plant-based vegan patty. “If you don’t like meat in general, you probably won’t like this burger,” Yen says.

Still, to her, the burger didn’t taste like beef, but rather wheat and soy.

But our friends Men’s Health He called the burger a “very acceptable and tasty alternative to the real thing,” but found it “a bit dry and unadventurous.”

Meanwhile, on Instagram and Twitter, people seem to be loving it.

Where are Impossible Burger locations located?

Unfortunately, you can’t currently buy the Impossible Burger in grocery stores or online. But if you’re interested in giving it a try, you can order the Impossible Burger at thousands of restaurants in the U.S. and Hong Kong. It’s appearing on the menus of more chains, including Wahlburgers, Bareburger, Fatburger, Red Robin, White Castle, Umami Burger, and more. Even Little Caesars and Qdoba have jumped on the alternative burger bandwagon. The Impossible Whopper debuted in select Burger King locations and will be available in all 7,200 U.S. locations by the end of the year.

Conclusion: The Impossible Burger is a fun alternative that’s not all that different nutritionally from its red meat counterpart, but if you’re not a meat eater and miss your cheeseburger, it might be worth a try.

Christine Yu is an award-winning journalist and author of Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes. Her research focuses on the intersection of sports science and female athletes. She has been an athlete her whole life and enjoys running, yoga, surfing and skiing.