Plant-based meats are becoming increasingly popular, offering a meaty texture and flavor without the environmental and ethical concerns of animal products. One of the most well-known brands is Impossible Foods, creator of the Impossible Burger. But what exactly is in these high-tech veggie burgers? Let’s take a closer look at what Impossible Beef is made of.
A Meaty Taste from Plants
The goal of Impossible Foods is to perfectly recreate the sensory experience of meat using only plant-based ingredients. To achieve the juicy savory flavor of beef they use a key ingredient called heme.
Heme is an iron-containing molecule that occurs naturally in blood and muscle tissues. It’s what gives meat its characteristic color and flavor The Impossible Burger gets its heme from genetically engineered yeast, which produces a heme protein called soy leghemoglobin. This adds a meaty, bloody taste to the veggie patty
Main Ingredients in Impossible Beef
While the heme gives Impossible Beef its uniquely meaty flavor, there are several other key ingredients that give it the texture and nutritional profile of ground beef:
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Soy protein concentrate – This purified soy protein provides the bulk and protein content of the burger. It has a similar protein level to ground beef.
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Coconut oil – Adds juiciness and gives Impossible Beef its fatty mouthfeel. It replaces the fat found in animal meat.
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Sunflower oil – Another plant-based fat source to improve moisture and texture.
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Potato protein – Adds binding to hold the burger together with a meaty chew.
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Methylcellulose – This plant-derived binder helps retain moisture and fat. It improves texture.
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Yeast extract – Boosts savory umami flavor, similar to MSG.
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Modified food starch – Thickens the burger mixture for a dense, meat-like texture.
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Rice protein – Contributes to the protein content. Helps firm up the burger bite.
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Natural flavors – Imparts beefy, meaty notes. Likely contains animal-derived flavor compounds.
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Soy leghemoglobin (heme) – Gives the burger its beef-like aroma, sizzle and taste. From genetically engineered yeast.
Vitamins and Minerals
To match the nutritional profile of beef, Impossible Beef is fortified with:
- Vitamin B12
- Zinc
- Thiamine (vitamin B1)
- Niacin (vitamin B3)
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- Iron
This helps it provide a similar nutrient makeup to an all-beef patty.
How is Impossible Beef Made?
The ingredients are combined and processed to form a rough ground beef analogue. Here’s an overview of how it’s produced:
- Soy and other proteins are hydrated and concentrated into a slurry
- Oils, flavorings, vitamins, and heme are mixed in
- The mixture is heated and processed to align the proteins into meaty fibers
- Binding agents are added to firm up the texture
- The product is chilled, pelletized, then formed into patties
The processing helps Impossible Beef achieve a texture nearly identical to beef, even able to mimic the savory juices. The ingredients may be plant-based, but the end result looks, cooks, and tastes impressively like real ground beef.
Improving Sustainability with Plant-Based Beef
Impossible Foods’ goal was to perfectly recreate the beef eating experience in an environmentally sustainable way. Here are some of the sustainability benefits of Impossible Beef compared to animal-based beef:
- 96% less land used – Only requires 1/20th of the land to produce the same amount of Impossible Beef versus feedlot beef
- 89% less water consumed – Grows with a fraction of the water needed to raise cattle
- 87% less greenhouse gas emissions – Major reduction in methane and other climate change gases
- 99% less aquatic pollutants – No manure or agricultural runoff that pollutes oceans and waterways
- 85-87% less fossil fuel consumption – Dramatically reduces the oil needed for feed, fertilizer, transport, etc.
By replacing resource-hungry beef cattle with sustainable plant crops, Impossible Foods aims to provide meat with a fraction of the environmental impact.
Potential Drawbacks of Impossible Beef
While plant-based meats like Impossible Beef have some health and sustainability advantages over beef, there are also some drawbacks:
- Highly processed – Ingredients are extracted, refined, chemically altered and recombined. Not a whole food.
- Nutritionally inferior to beef – Lower in certain vitamins/minerals. Contains less bioavailable protein.
- Contains GMOs – Genetically engineered yeast produces the heme protein. May be concerning for some consumers.
- Allergies – Contains soy and coconut, common food allergens. Not suitable for soy-free or nut-free diets.
- Fat and sodium content – Similar to beef in saturated fat and sodium levels, which are tied to health risks.
- Adds food additives – Includes stabilizers, thickeners, and artificial flavors. Increases ingredient list.
- Higher price – Costs 1.5 to 3 times more than conventional ground beef per pound.
While a shift towards plant-based meats can bring environmental gains, these fake meat products are still highly processed with tradeoffs versus whole food options. Moderation may be prudent.
The Bottom Line on Impossible Beef
Impossible Beef manages to achieve an impressively meat-like product using only plant sources. By fermenting soy leghemoglobin from genetically engineered yeast, they are able to mimic the flavor, aroma, and cooking qualities of ground beef.
Combining textured soy concentrates, binding agents, fats, and natural flavors, they have engineered a convincing plant-based alternative to traditional beef. While it offers environmental benefits over animal agriculture, consumers would be wise to enjoy Impossible Foods’ innovative fake meat in moderation as part of an overall healthy and balanced diet.
What is the Impossible Burger?
The Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat and other meat alternatives are processed plant-based foods designed to taste like meat. The reasoning behind meat-imitating food was to provide a familiar taste for people who:
- are vegetarians or vegans
- want a more ecologically sustainable option
- view plant alternatives as healthier to meat-based food (compared to cattle, plant-based meats emit much less CO2 and other greenhouse gases, use less water and use less land)
- want more variety and options in their diet.
Prior to the Impossible Burger, most vegan “burgers” were made from black beans, soy, mushrooms or grains. The Impossible Burger is made from soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, potato protein, methylcellulose, yeast extract, salt, gums, and water and additives, including vitamin B12, zinc, vitamin B6, thiamin (B1) and niacin.
The ingredient that gives an Impossible Burger the taste of meat is heme. Heme is an iron-containing compound that, in meat, comes from animal muscle or tissue. In the Impossible Burger the heme is soy based and comes from yeast fermentation.
But is the Impossible Burger healthy?
The Impossible Burger is a tasty alternative to beef for those who crave the taste of meat, but it is not really an improvement. The impossible Burger is an ultra-processed food with many added ingredients . Also, the Impossible burger adds GMO (genetically modified organisms) in the soy and yeast to produce the heme. If you are allergic or sensitive to soy then the Impossible Burger is not an option.
While an Impossible Burger is a good source of fiber, calcium and potassium, and they have zero cholesterol, they are high in saturated fats and sodium, both of which are linked to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure.
If your goal is to eat less meat, then the Impossible Burger is a good option, but in moderation. If your goal is to improve your health, skip the beef and the Impossible Burger and try a plant-based patty made from bean, whole grains, mushrooms or vegetables instead. If you make a plant-based burger at home, be sure to add a source of vitamin C which is a carrier for the non-heme iron in plants. WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Personal nutrition counseling Find a location
How Impossible Foods Created the Perfect Meatless Burger— Cult Following
FAQ
Is the impossible beef healthy?
This healthier, leaner beef from plants packs 21 grams protein, is low in saturated fat, and is a good source of fiber, iron, B vitamins, zinc, and potassium. It’s also a better choice than lean animal beef with 75% less saturated fat,² 45% less total fat³ and zero cholesterol.
Is Impossible meat very processed?
Plant-based meat is usually considered ultra-processed, but unlike many other foods in the category such as processed meat and sugary drinks, research tends to find it can reduce health risks relative to the conventional meat it replaces.
What is the white stuff in Impossible beef?
The white specks are made from coconut oil and cocoa butter. These plant-based fats provide melty, mouthwatering marbling to Beyond Beef, creating a juicy texture that’s closer to ground beef than ever before.
What is Impossible Burger made of?
Impossible Burger is meat made from plants that tastes and cooks like ground beef, for people who love meat. It’s an extremely delicious and versatile ingredient that is a 1:1 substitute for meat, but is way better for the planet.
What is impossible meat?
Impossible Meat is celebrated for its remarkable ability to replicate the flavors and textures of beef without using any animal-derived ingredients. This revolutionary product is made primarily from simple plant-based components, yet it comes with a sophisticated engineering process that elevates it to the status of meat alternative.
What are the ingredients in impossible meat?
1. Soy Leghemoglobin One of the most notable ingredients in Impossible Meat is soy leghemoglobin, a protein extracted from the roots of soybean plants. This heme protein is responsible for giving the meat its meaty flavor and juiciness. Flavor Enhancer: Soy leghemoglobin contributes to the beefy taste that consumers expect from traditional meat.
What is plant-based impossible beef?
Our plant-based Impossible Beef combines carefully selected ingredients that recreate the delicious beefy taste you know and love. The key difference from your average beef from animals? Our ingredients are derived from plants. Here’s an overview: Want the details? Here’s the ingredient list:
Where does impossible beef come from?
As we might have mentioned a thousand times, our ground beef is made from plants. Our ingredients come from lovely plants like soybeans, sunflowers, and coconuts—farm-grown in the warm sun. You know…plants. Everyone’s a fan. So feel free to feel good about every meaty, delicious bite. Compared to animal beef, Impossible Beef uses approximately⁴
Does impossible® meat from plants contain gluten?
Impossible® Chicken Nuggets Meat From Plants, Patties, Tenders, as well as Impossible® Beef Hot Dogs Meat From Plants do contain gluten. We encourage you to review our ingredient labels regularly, as we are continually working to improve the taste and nutrition of Impossible® products, including through periodic recipe updates.