Vegan Hack - none is 'very good'
Tariff-Free Hack is now found in supermarkets in various versions. But does it taste like meat? The Stiftung Warentest investigated this and also measured its content of fat, calories, and toxins. The result: quite inconsistent.
Veggie-Hack from the refrigerated section tastes most like meat. Dry products have their advantages: they lag behind the original in texture and mouthfeel, but they usually come without additives and aromas. They contained on average less fat and salt in the study by Stiftung Warentest ("Test"-issue 8/2024).
15 vegan products were tested, including 8 refrigerated and 7 dry. None of the products received the "very good" rating, but 7 received the "good" rating. The rest were "satisfying".
The vegan Quorn Hack from Rügenwalder (1.32 Euro per 100 grams) and The Vegetarian Butcher's Hick-Hack-Hurra vegan Hack (1.83 Euro per 100 grams) tied for first place. Price-performance winners were Rewe Beste Wahl - Veganes Hack and Aldi My Vay - The Wonder vegan Hack, priced at 83 cents per 100 grams. Among the uncooked dry granule products, Bio-Granulat Veganes Hack from Alnatura ("good", 2.49 Euro per 100 grams) performed best. 100 grams of dry granules is roughly equivalent to 300 grams of prepared Veggie-Hack.
Unbeatable in the Ecological Balance
All tested products (mostly made of soy, sunflower, or peas) received nutrition-physiology ratings between "very good" and "satisfying". Veggie-Hack usually contains less fat and calories than its meat counterpart. However, meat remains a better source of iron.
From an ecological perspective, it makes sense to choose Veggie-Hack over the real thing. Since it doesn't need to be refrigerated, it has an additional advantage.
The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg calculated the typical CO2 footprint from the ingredient lists of several vegan products available on the market. For soy-based chilled products, the CO2 emissions are 1.3 kilograms CO2 equivalents per kilogram (beans: 1.4). For dry sunflower hack, it's even lower, at only 0.5. Mixed bio hack meat comes in at 9.2, and conventional at 6.1.
- incidentally, many consumers are interested in reducing their CO2 Emission, making a switch to Vegetarian diet or even Vegan nutrition a popular choice.
- The Foundation Test recently released a Nutrition Guide focusing on the environmental impact of various meat alternatives, including Vegan nutrition options.
- Surprisingly, the Veggie-Hack product, which tastes most like meat, has the lowest CO2 Emission as it's made primarily from soy and sunflower seeds.
- Therefore, for those looking to reduce their environmental footprint, opting for a Vegan nutrition option like Veggie-Hack could be a smart choice, as it delivers similar taste satisfaction with significantly lower CO2 Emission than traditional meat alternatives.
