Burger King has the “Impossible Whopper,” Jack in the Box offers an “Impossible” patty for their burger options and, most recently, McDonalds (in Germany) debuted nuggets of plant. Other fast food franchises sometimes offer “vegetarian” options (the product is still grilled on top of both beef and chicken) include the Cheese Cake Factory, Qdoba, Chipotle, Red Robin, Johnny Rockets, and White Castle. A new one study from Food Research International shows that despite or despite the growing popularity of plant-based protein products, “the overall sensory evaluation remains low.”
“This study uses open-ended questions, preference ranking, and an identity question to study sensory drivers and barriers to liking four burger patties, namely two plant-based (one referred to as a pea protein burger and one referred to as an animal-like protein burger), a meat-mushroom hybrid, and a 100% beef burger.”
The results can be surprising. “The results from the ranking tests for the blind and informed treatments showed that the animal-like protein was the most preferred product, followed by the 100% beef burger. Moreover, in the blind condition, no significant difference in preferences between the beef burger and the hybrid and pea protein burgers.”
If you’re a vegetarian you may have experienced introducing your meat-eating friends to a delicious dinner, or even on the side, with plant-based protein – and they loved it. So, you can now share this research study to assure them that their enjoyment of cooking is shared with many others.
For a series of studies on “The psychology of eating animals and veg*nism,” click here.
