Mae's Kitchen Vegan No Beef Burgers

Vegan Food Review: Aldi — Mae's Kitchen Range

Since the start of 2019, the plant-based food market has exploded — thanks to a perfect storm of a record number of people signing up to Veganuary, the Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll and an abrupt realisation that we're going to burn out our planet if we don't change how we live, and fast.

On a lighter note, I took to trying Aldi's brand new plant-based food range — Mae's Kitchen, which I've been so excited about since they announced it. I regularly shop at Aldi for their convenience, fresh vegetables and quality products at low prices. I've never been one to default to 'chuck in the oven' food, mainly because there just wasn't many options out there to do so and I get great satisfaction out of cooking from scratch.

On this occasion though, I had to try the new range. Starting with the Vegan No Sausage Roll — £1.20 for 4

These bad boys are everything you'd hope for and more.

Although relatively slow in the oven, expected with a pastry, once you have cooked them up (I usually put two in), it's an absolute heavenly delight. I regularly put these on at the weekend for a little midnight snack, and they're mighty filling. The flavouring gives it a slight 'stuffing' flavour, with sage and onion. The protein content is around 7.4g per roll, and isn't as fatty as you'd expect from a home-cook fast food. For 30p a sausage roll, you definitely get your money's worth on the filling. My only pre-warning is that the actual filling is very hot once cooked (obviously), but these are so tasty you just want to wolf them down. Don't. You'll end up with a burning sensation in your chest, which if you're okay with you can aid with water, but I'd suggest just eating a little slower!

Rating: 7/10 — an excellent and delicious throwback to getting a roll in town with mum, the pastry can be unpredictable at times but a good roll nonetheless.

Next, we have the Vegan No Beef Burger — £1.99 for 2 (currently £1.49)

Now, this may possibly be my favourite meat alternative I have come across since starting a vegan diet. The taste and texture can be compared to animal meat, without knowing any different, however this isn't and shouldn't be its main selling point. The quality of the flavour and texture is to such a high standard that whatever you want to compare it to, it's always a delicious experience and the composition of the patty has obviously been crafted in a way to offer something more entertaining to the palette than any equivalent could provide. The base flavour is smoky once cooked, with a creamy aftertaste to replicate a cheesy flavour (mouth is watering just thinking about it). For this, you barely need any burger dressing at all, little bit of salad, a sauce just isn't necessary, as it tastes better than most sauces you'd usually put on a burger, as well as boasting extra succulence.

Rating: 9/10 — absolutely mouth watering, coming to £1 per patty. You can tell that the colour, texture, flavour and composition of the burger has been meticulously crafted to an exciting standard that will leave anyone smiling.

Last but not least, the Vegan No Chicken Burger. £1.99 for 2 (currently £1.49)

This delightful little patty is coated in breadcrumbs for a crispy finish when cooked, with a slightly oily finish for extra moisture. The texture is soft and comparable to that of fish fingers, however the taste is again where the Aldi patty outperforms. I can't pin exactly what it tastes like, but it wins the palette with a savoury, creamy and ever-so-slightly funky taste. To complement the flavour, I use smoky BBQ sauce and a bit of burger dressing, which creates a very dynamic burger. I would recommend this as something that kids will love. The texture and design of the burger is friendly and familiar, with a versatile taste for even the fussiest eaters.

I think I would still choose the No Beef Burger over the No Chicken Burger if I had to, but I always switch it up as they're both equally tasty and very filling for the price.

Rating: 8/10 — Versatile in texture, flavour and design, suitable for a wide range of palettes.

When someone asks me, "how does it compare to the real thing?" that, translated as "animal meat" being the 'real thing', I'm always thrown by what to answer with. I've come to a stage in my vegan diet where it's now barely ever possible to compare the taste of vegan products to their animal counterparts, as I genuinely can't remember what they taste like, their texture or any food-like factors about them. Like with anything, after a while of not doing something, all this irrelevant information seems to drift away.

I would say that for anyone looking for a better comparison in this sense, to see what someone who eats animal meat thinks of these vegan alternatives. The important word to consider here is that these are alternatives, and not replicas. If they were replicas, then you might as well just eat the same product. Nothing is a true replica of anything, so it's important that the thought process changes to see it as a more sustainable and cruelty-free way of eating. I'll always be someone who favours raw products found in every healthy diet over processed products such as the above, but I know this is because I have more time than others to cook from scratch, and I only cook for myself.

For families with a busy schedule wanting to try and cut their meat intake, why not try the above? Next time you're doing your weekly shop, stick a couple of quid aside and pick up either 1 of the 3 above, give it a go and let me know what yours or your family's verdict is!

I hope you've all had fun reading my review of these tasty products! I bet you're all watering at the mouth… get yourselves down to Aldi and bag yourself a plant-based treat!

All the love,

B12 Bikepacker

dukestim1963.blogspot.com

Source: https://medium.com/@b12bikepacker/vegan-food-review-aldi-maes-kitchen-range-1d384b73025f

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