Business Name: Vegini Where to Buy It: Edeka Südwest or boutique-vegan.com
Main Ingredient: Pea Protein Rating: 4/5 Main Issue: Very Small Burger Patties
The Burgers by Vegini are good, really good in fact. I enjoyed them so much that my only issue and I do think it is a valid issue is the size of the patties, they were just too small. But before I get into the size of the patties, which I am told doesn't matter....Let us take a look at the most important thing, the Flavor.
I was intrigued not only by Vegini using only pea protein to make up the burger but also the spices that they added. Basil, parsley, tomato powder and most intriguing Balsamic Vinegar. Reading the lest of ingredients, really made me think they were going for a Italian them, the good and maybe the bad of it was, the flavors while clear weren't pronounced and the Balsamic Vinegar, again had a hand in the overall, I wouldn't have been able to distinctly taste the Balsamic Vinegar either. Both a strength and a weakness. Strength in the sense that it gives one many different options in terms of what one can do with the toppings and the burger patty itself, a weakness simply because, I was so intrigued to see how the made the vinegar flavor work.
The burgers cook quite quickly,place burgers in a hot frying pan, with a little oil and maybe fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. The burgers hold together really well and the look and color of them are excellent. Like most vegan products, you want to make sure that you cook the product but over cooking make the product dry and flavorless, so remember just a minute or two.
And before I go further into the taste and talk about all the good things, I want to talk about the size. I am 1.8 meters tall (6 foot) and my hands while not the hands of a pianist aren't disproportional to my height, meaning the hands fit my rather ordinary size. So when I say that the burger patty can fit into the palm of my hand with ease, I literally mean it can fit into my palm with ease.
Maybe the great folks at Vegini, know that people really shouldn't be eating a giant slap of "Hamburger" even though it is vegan, we still should eat more veggies and salads....however, I love burgers and BBQ's and sometimes it is just so very satisfying when you bite into that oversized vegetarian burger. However, the flavor and consistency overcome any of the problems I had with the size of the burger.
I tried the burger for the first time on a simple white bun.
The flavor was excellent, I didn't really taste any of the particular spices and herbs that they used but the overall taste was fantastic. The consistency to was perfect, I always enjoy texture to my food and the Vegini burger had perfect texture, "Meaty" without being too much like eating real meat. The burger patties by Vegini while not bio (organic) I do get a sense that the ingredients that the use are of good quality, they mention on the package that the product is soy and gluten free and on the website mention that their products are GMO free. All of which is good, also to note that there is no "natural flavor" in the list of ingredients which is also good.
So I was very happy with my burger. But I thought, when I bought the burger what else could I do with it. I made some vegan "meatballs" and thought that I might take a stab at making an Italian "Meatball" Burger with Fresh Basil and Red Peppers on a briouche Bun. The Result: So crazy good.
