د . إAEDSRر . س

We Tried The Beyond Burger, Malta’s First Proper Fake-Meat Burger, In The Name Of Science

Article Featured Image

Whether you like it or not, veganism is on the rise in the western world.

However, unlike the over 20 per cent of Indians, five per cent of Chinese, and seven per cent of Brazilians who consider themselves vegan for cultural or religious reasons, Westerners have only recently really begun to adopt the vegan lifestyle in an effort to stem the sheer brutality of the modern meat industry, as well as attempt to minimise climate change, in as tasty a way as possible.

For many meat eaters, including myself, deciding to forego meat and personally sacrifice taking regular rides to Flavourtown in the name of saving the world and helping one’s fellow creatures just isn’t that easy

So, now that a few local restaurants have taken the plunge and put the Beyond Burger – one of the world’s leading plant-based meat substitute burgers – on their menus, we just had to try it out and see if it does what it promises to: be a proper good burger, all without harming any animals.

The Beyond Burger uses plant material to replicate the aroma and taste of meat

51B8Kc1 El

Lovin Malta went to U&CO in St Julian’s to try out the Beyond Burger for the first time

35331981 200778860559188 136192352099237888 N

Served on a brown roll with vegan cheese, a singular onion ring, and sweet potato fries, you also get vegan mayonnaise and in-house made ketchup on the side

62365139 2315619945431594 2591850928768286720 N

The Verdict

Well, when you really focus, you can tell the Beyond Burger definitely isn’t meat – but it’s the closest thing ever created, that’s for sure, and if someone handed it to us at a beach party, we probably wouldn’t have told the difference.

Anyone familiar with other popular meat-substitute brands, such as Quorn, will know roughly what to expect from the Beyond Burger – though, to be honest, the Beyond Burger definitely resembles beef more than any Quorn patty did.

The bite is just a tad softer and more tender than normal beef, but the squeeze and resistance when pushed is pretty much the same as beef. The meat doesn’t exactly bleed, but it is juicy as hell, and packs some good flavour.

You can also rip some off the patty off, and to all intents and purposes, it looks like you are holding a chunk of cooked beef in your hand.

When it comes to taste, maybe our patty just wasn’t seasoned enough, but the burger doesn’t quite pack the same nice rich kick that a real beef burger gives you – but it’s nearly there, and with some smart cooking techniques and the right flavouring, this patty could very well taste like a ‘normal’ beef burger in the near future.

Here’s what some other people had to say about the Beyond Burger

If you are interested in trying out vegetarianism, or veganism, but really love the taste of meat, you should probably try the Beyond Burger

Multiple scientists have spent years trying to make this work, and while it isn’t exactly there yet… it nearly is.

And for anyone who has tried the Beyond Burger or isn’t into beef, we’ve heard good things about U&CO’s in-house made vegan Southern Fried Cornflake ‘Chicken’ Tofu Burger.

Tag someone who needs to try the Beyond Burger!

READ NEXT: This Plant-Based Burger That Tastes Like Beef Is Becoming A Huge Hit In Malta

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

You may also love

View All