[antholeole]

Does anyone who used to be a meat eater and switched to the plant based meat alternatives like impossible burger actually believe that they are similar?

I’m attempting to go vegetarian. Prior to my switch, I used to consume large amounts of meat (partially because I enjoy the taste, and partially because I lift weights often and the protein is easy) but man oh man those plant based alternatives are just nowhere near real meats. So much so that they’re not even worth it: I’d much rather opt for something like tofu or a protein shake because atleast they’re not trying to tell me that they’re meat.

[remuskaos]

I've been a vegetarian for almost twenty years now, so my memory is a bit faded and the vegetarian and vegan products have changed a lot in that time. My experience is that it greatly depends on the type of product.

I've never, ever eaten a vegetarian burger patty, steak or Schnitzel that tasted like what I remember. Many still taste good, but I think for things like steak the texture is as important as the taste, and I don't think there is anything that believably emulates the texture of steak.

Things are different for sausage and thin sausage slices that you can put on bread, like salami. Especially the vegetarian salami tastes and feels exactly like I remember, and there is a large selection of vegetarian or vegan sausage replacements. Those are great, though I don't understand why they're more expensive than the actual meat products.

What I really miss though is gyros. No vegan gyros has even come close, and I've tried a lot. Probably again because texture matters just as much as taste. I'll just have to live without it.

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

It was nearly a decade after I gave up meat that I first ate a Beyond or Impossible burger, but I felt they had the taste and texture of at least a cheap restaurant burger. Beyond has a more distinctive flavor than Impossible, though, which I would say doesn't really remind me of beef in any significant way.