Building a Better Veggie Burger, by Meredith Jacques
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Photo credit: https://medium.com/trendwatching-pulse/why-impossible-burgers-tesla-strategy-shows-how-to-spot-the-trends-of-tomorrow-94531f506632
A company called Impossible Foods has been working on a veggie burger that looks, smells, feels, and tastes like real meat. When it cooks, it looks like ground beef--sizzles and browns, and it even oozes "blood." How did this impossible food become possible?
The burger is a blend of plant-based proteins and fat and the blood effect is from the molecule heme. Heme is a component of the large molecule hemoglobin in human blood that carries oxygen and makes blood red. It is produced by plants in small quantities. The scientists at Impossible Foods engineered yeast to produce the heme molecule, and it is that heme product that is added to their veggie burgers to give them the realistic look and taste. Flecks of coconut oil are added, which melt during the cooking process causing the burger to ooze fat like a beef burger.
Even meat eaters who tasted the burger said they probably couldn't tell the difference if they didn't know it was a veggie burger!
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/21/482322571/silicon-valley-s-bloody-plant-burger-smells-tastes-and-sizzles-like-meat
supplemental resource: http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/hemoglobin.htm
Why is this type of research important?
How could this new type of "meat" this benefit vegetarians?
Hot topic demo
Photo credit: https://medium.com/trendwatching-pulse/why-impossible-burgers-tesla-strategy-shows-how-to-spot-the-trends-of-tomorrow-94531f506632
A company called Impossible Foods has been working on a veggie burger that looks, smells, feels, and tastes like real meat. When it cooks, it looks like ground beef--sizzles and browns, and it even oozes "blood." How did this impossible food become possible?
The burger is a blend of plant-based proteins and fat and the blood effect is from the molecule heme. Heme is a component of the large molecule hemoglobin in human blood that carries oxygen and makes blood red. It is produced by plants in small quantities. The scientists at Impossible Foods engineered yeast to produce the heme molecule, and it is that heme product that is added to their veggie burgers to give them the realistic look and taste. Flecks of coconut oil are added, which melt during the cooking process causing the burger to ooze fat like a beef burger.
Even meat eaters who tasted the burger said they probably couldn't tell the difference if they didn't know it was a veggie burger!
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/21/482322571/silicon-valley-s-bloody-plant-burger-smells-tastes-and-sizzles-like-meat
supplemental resource: http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/hemoglobin.htm
Why is this type of research important?
How could this new type of "meat" this benefit vegetarians?
Would you eat one of these veggie burgers?
When you see the Impossible burger on menus at various restaurants, add to the list here:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/11YbUWemW8Cv7SIxMNs7PeMZ-hwVL4hs3KlDwcg5PePI/edit?usp=sharing
This is important because we could become scares on food. This could help benefit vegetarians because if there is someone who has to be vegetarian but likes meat this makes it easier on them and just nutrition in general. I would eat this burger because im curious how the burger tastes and if there is no food left ill have to eat it.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Fuller
The Impossible Burger is a cool idea of combing food science and innovation to make a delicious and nutritious burger. I think it's pretty crazy that scientists were able to engineer plants to resemble the same taste and look as meat. I am eager to try this burger because it looks tasty and see the comparisons with a real burger.
ReplyDeleteNaba Yasir- Being able to manipulate an organism to produce a result that we want is a huge step to furthering our advancements in genetic modification. Despite the fact that this can give vegetarians the experience of eating meat, this can be very beneficial in today's world where animal extinction rates are growing. If one can get the proteins and benefits of eating meats while it tasting like one too, if there is scarcity in animals or a conservation effort, it will be possible. However, just like any other scientific advancements the ethical question behind whether we should be given the right to manipulate nature is still present.
ReplyDelete