Arts: You?re Doing It Wrong: Veggie Burgers

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Brow Beat You're Doing It Wrong: Veggie Burgers By L.V. Anderson Posted Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 02:00 PM ET Forget everything you know about veggie burgers. No, wait—for just a moment, remember everything you know about veggie burgers: the suspiciously rubbery feel of those textured-vegetable-protein disks; the Gardenburger patties that look like coagulated oatmeal; mushy, homemade bean burgers that disintegrate the second you put them between the two halves of a bun. Now forget everything you know about veggie burgers. Veggie burgers don't have to be to hamburgers what The Wedgewoods were to The Beatles (at least according to Mad Men). In fact, they shouldn't really try to imitate hamburgers much at all: We don't yet have the technology to make fake beef that tastes anything but disquieting. And, to consider another popular approach, there's no reason vegetarian patties have to include every edible crop known to man. (Here's a black bean, and a grain of brown rice, and—look, everyone, a corn kernel!) Veggie burgers simply need to be sturdy, savory, and juicy—flavorful and dense enough that you know you're eating something distinct from the bun, and not getting more bland starchiness. The way to accomplish that is marinated tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented soy product. Originally from Indonesia, it's typically sold in the United States in half-pound shrink-wrapped rectangles. A few months ago, I suggested making chili with tempeh, which immediately prompted widespread outcry from chili traditionalists. But tempeh is the closest thing vegetarians have to a non-weird meat substitute. And, whether or not you're a vegetarian ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Weigel: How Conservatives Are Generating Sympathy for George Zimmerman Roiphe: "Gay Cure" Psychiatrist Robert Spitzer Isn't Nearly Sorry Enough How Do Cranes Get on Top of Skyscrapers? How Do They Get Down?	Advertisement
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