Foundation Test - Seven times the grade 'good': Vegetarian alternatives to beef hamburger in test
Vegetarian or vegan dishes are particularly good when they don't just copy classic menus. On the one hand. On the other hand, there are many standards with meat, to which vegetarians have good memories. For example, Bolognese, Lasagne, or Frikadellen. Someone who has already stood in front of the refrigerated section, looking for vegan alternatives, may know the frustration when reading the ingredients. So many additives. Do you really want to eat that?
The Stiftung Warentest has tested fifteen vegan meat substitutes. Result: Some vegan meat alternatives can indeed keep up with the original. Seven out of fifteen of the tested products scored "good" in the overall assessment.
Dried Veggie-Hack less convincing
Eight chilled and seven dried products were tested. Those who want it to taste like meat should rather go to the refrigerated section. In terms of taste, only three out of the testers' judgments resemble meat. This is decisive for the sensory category. Three products scored "very good" in this category: Rügenwalder "Veganes Mühlen Hack" and The Vegetarien Butcher "Hick-Hack-Hurra", which are mainly made from soybeans. And Rewe "Beste Wahl Veganes Hack" mainly from lentils. All three have an overall rating of "good".
The Rügenwalder product particularly convinced the testers: "It has a clear roasted note and is slightly savory." It was the only product to receive a smooth 1.0 for sensory qualities.
The five trained tasters evaluated appearance, smell, taste, and mouthfeel after cooking. The dried products in the test were hardly hack-meat-like, says project leader Jochen Wettach: "Above all, in terms of texture and mouthfeel." The dried products therefore all scored only satisfactorily in the sensory evaluation. However, it appears that production is simple, as all of them come – unlike the refrigerated ones – almost always without additives and aromas. The only dried product with an overall rating of "good" is Alnatura "Veganes Hack (Bio)".
Better nutritional values than meat hack
A big surprise in the nutritional value check: The testers found that Veggie-Hack makes less body fat than meat hack. The reason: It contains a similar amount of proteins – with fewer calories.
Unlike with raw meat, bacteria in the Veggies is not a major issue. With one exception: The dried product from Greenforce contained an increased amount of Bacillus cereus, a spore-forming bacterium. "If the cooked hack is left at room temperature for a long time, a heat-stable toxin can form, which can cause nausea," warns the Stiftung Warentest.
The testers found a lot of Cadmium in two sunflower seed granules. Too much of this can damage the kidneys. This was no longer a problem in earlier tests: None of the Veggie-Hack products contained critical levels of mineral contaminants or polyunsaturated fatty acids. The test appears in the August issue of the magazine test. Or online at www.test.de/veggie-hack (paid).
Vegetarians and vegans who are fond of classic meat dishes like Bolognese or Frikadellen might be pleased to know that the Foundation Test found some vegan meat alternatives that closely mimic the taste of their meat counterparts. For instance, Rügenwalder "Veganes Mühlen Hack" and The Vegetarien Butcher "Hick-Hack-Hurra" scored "very good" in the taste category, predominantly made from soybeans and lentils respectively.
Despite containing fewer additives and aromas than their refrigerated counterparts, dried vegan meat substitutes generally lacked the texture and mouthfeel of real meat, as reported by the Foundation Test's project leader Jochen Wettach. Alnatura "Veganes Hack (Bio)" was the only dried product to earn an overall rating of "good" in the test.
