It’s ironic, but not at all surprising that the best vegan burgers are not made with vegans in mind, but are intentionally formulated and marketed to meat eaters.

The latest vegan burger, the Impossible Burger 2.0 was unveiled at CES 2019 and was named the best new tech at the Las Vegas trade show, with rave reviews from several meat eaters who typically give their critiques of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions.

The engineering of this product is extremely fascinating. The company, Impossible Foods aims to tackle two major issues in today’s society, the environmental and health impacts of animal agriculture for the human consumption of meat.

“We have a love affair with meat,” David Lee, Impossible Foods CFO and COO said at a Best of CES 2019 event last week. “And no one wants to be told that you’re passionately in love with something that is bad for the world and is bad for your health.”

The technology of fake meat

The big new feature in the Impossible Burger 2.0 is the addition of soy as the main protein source over the wheat source in the original Impossible Burger. Impossible Foods immediately responded to consumer’s health reservations about the addition of soy in the new burger. This formula update makes the Impossible Burger gluten-free and adds nutrients. Other major ingredients include coconut, sunflower oil, and potato protein.

But it is heme that is the star ingredient in the Impossible Burger that makes it delectable to meat eaters and challenging to differentiate from cow’s meat. Heme is a compound that carries and binds oxygen and iron in the blood of animals, including humans, according to Lee. “No one had realized that heme is Mother Nature’s only thing that can create thousands of molecules that make [people] appreciate something like meat,” he said.

Impossible Foods founder, biochemistry professor, Pat Brown discovered and synthesized heme from plants in order to create the Impossible Burger. The process is similar to the fermentation used to make hard cheeses. Having started Impossible Foods in 2011, the Impossible Burger is available in 49 of the 50 U.S. states. The company currently works with restaurants and professional chefs to provide the best experience for diners, but Impossible Foods is planning a retail product launch later in 2019.

Vegan-friendly (but not for me)

I missed the Impossible Burger truck at CES, but I did get a chance to try the latest version of the meat substitute at the Paley Media Council’s Best of CES 2019 event last Tuesday in New York City. I have to admit, I didn’t have high hopes for this product, and after trying the burger, my expectations were confirmed. As someone who has followed a plant-based diet for seven years, I can definitively say that the Impossible Burger 2.0 is not for me.

Though it was my first time trying the Impossible Burger, I have tried rival products, such as the Beyond Burger. I am not a fan of most meat substitutes, but the ones that are very close to emulating raw meat are especially unappetizing. I find the smell of them cooking puts me off even before I eat them, so overall I don’t have the best gastronomic experience with these products. The first Impossible Burger I tried was rare and I then requested a well-done burger, but that didn’t help much. I have considered, perhaps a little seasoning may make it taste better, but overall, the smell for me is quite overwhelming.

The chef preparing the burgers noted that there is a small number of people who don’t eat meat that may not like the product, but most people, regardless their general diet find the Impossible Burger tasty. There was a life-long vegetarian at the Best of CES event who said she enjoyed the burgers.