When we created this blog, we were mainly thinking of traveling stories. Never did I imagine writing about food, yet fast food. But here I am with a satisfied stomach writing about a new burger called the Impossible Whopper.

Last year I heard of the progress that the company Impossible Foods had made in creating a beef burger patty that was made from plant based ingredients but looked and tasted exactly like it was from a cow. I was intrigued but didn’t really set out to find one.

This is NOT a sponsored post.

That was until I drove by our local Burger King and saw the Impossible Whopper advertisement. I’ve been a Whopper fan from my college days and curious to try a beef-less version. I’ve never been a fan of veggie burgers, but have an open mind and thought maybe this would be different. So today, I ordered an Impossible Whopper meal.

The drive-thru lane was long today. Whether that is due to the Impossible Whopper, I don’t know. When it was time to order, I quickly noticed that it was $1 more than the regular Whopper. But I don’t think that will stop anyone. Also, surprised to see similar calorie count compared to the regular Whopper. When I got back to my office, I actually looked it up and the nutrition facts are very similar…fat and sodium almost identical. So you don’t eat the Impossible Whopper for your own health reasons. You eat it to save the cows and the environment. And, I guess that if you want to get as close to the real thing, it has to be similar in many ways. The biggest difference is that the Impossible Whopper is made from soy and coconut oil vs the cow meat in the original version.

So what was my verdict?

+ It looks the same (other than the grill marks looking enhanced)
+ The texture is very similar
+ It pretty much tastes the same (although the grill flavor is more pronounced)
– If I were to find something concerning, it’s that I don’t fully trust the ingredients. Meat is meat. But this patty has been engineered. Meat might be unhealthy in large quantities, but is engineered food any better? I prefer natural food to lab food.

What makes it easier for Burger King to get away with it seeming to be the real thing, is that Whoppers are loaded with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and it’s mayo-ketchup sauce. It’s actually what makes me prefer the Whopper to other fast food burgers. Without those extras, the story would probably be very different.

Will I order it again? Probably, but not regularly. I like that it doesn’t kill cows or contribute to global warming, but I’m still concerned about the engineered part of it.