Funky Fields Plantbased Mince Review + Burger recipe
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the popularity of veganism and plantbased foods. As a vegan, this is a super exciting time for me as new products continue to emerge, filling the gaps in the vegan market, making veganism more accessible, more interesting and more delicious. And today, I want to introduce you to one of the most innovative plantbased products in the market to date – Funky Fields’ “Minced” 100% plantbased mince that looks and tastes like, you guessed it, mince meat.
The folks at Funky Fields did an absolutely brilliant job in presenting Minced. I’m super impressed by how ‘real’ it looks: from the packaging (not pictured here, but looks like the normal mince pack with plastic windows) to the squiggly strands and the iron red colour.
What’s is Funky Fields Minced made of?
This is the first question I asked myself. What is it actually made of? Here’s what it says on the package as well as on their website.
Ingredients:
I’m actually quite pleased with the ingredients list, it’s quite a short as far as processed foods go and has no numbers or ingredients that I can’t pronounce:
Rehydrated soy protein/isolate (58 %), water, coconut oil, soy flour, wheat gluten, almond, porcini mushrooms, tomato, fermented dextrose, tapioca starch, salt, malt extract (barley), colour (beetroot), natural aroma, maltodextrin, stabiliser (methylcellulose).
How does it tastes?
The second (and most important) question was, how does it measure up against real beef mince? Though I haven’t had the real thing for over 5 years, it used to be one of my favourites so I’m quite confident I’d be able to make a pretty accurate comparison between the two. But as a safety measure, I’m including my husband Nat in this test – he eats vegan at home but still eats meat from time to time, mostly when he eats with his parents.
It tastes surprisingly very close to real mince. If I’m going to quantify it, I’d say it’s 85% similiar to normal beef mince. It can never completely be a hundred percent because it’s not actually beef, but it’s damn close! I love the texture, how it browns when cooked, how it sizzles and gives off that smoky aroma when it hits the hot oil on the frying pan. I tasted it when cooked, though I think next time I will brave myself to taste it uncooked, just to see what it tastes like without the effects of cooking. I think might struggle though, because it just looks so real!
Funky Fields Vegan Burger (with stuffed cheese)
This will be the best vegan burger you’ve ever made. Delicious and juicy vegan burger patties made with Funky Fields Minced, stuffed with vegan cheese for next level vegan burger experience.
Vegan patties
- 200 g Funky Fields Minced (half a packet)
- 1 brown onion (finely diced)
- Dairy-free cheese slices
- 1 drop of liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
To make the burger
- 4 burger buns
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 1 continental cucumbers (sliced)
- 1 Baby cos lettuce (leaves torn and rinsed)
- 2 tomatoes (thinly sliced)
- Vegan mayo
- BBQ or Tomato Sauce
To make the patties
-
Heat the oil on a frying pan, fry the diced onion until translucent.
- Place 200g of the mince into a bowl. Add in cooked onion, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined (I used my hands).
-
Divide the mince into 8 equal portions, roll each into balls and then flatten into discs – around 1 cm thickness.
-
Place 1 stack of vegan cheese in the centre of one of the patties. Put the second patty on top and pinch the edges to form a seal. Repeat with the remaining patties.
-
Place the patty on a cold frying pan greased with a bit of vegan spread (I use Funky Fields spreadable) and cook one side for a few minutes on medium high temperature until brown, flip using a spatula, and cook the other side.
Assemble your burger.
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Layer your bun bottom with vegan mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, burger patty, sliced red onion and BBQ/tomato sauce. Cover with a bun top. Serve immediately.
If you like crusty burger buns (I do). You can heat the buns on the pan as you cook the patties for a few minutes until light brown. The buns will soak up any left over drippings making them taste even better.
The patties held together nicely, much better than other vegan burger patties I’ve made previously. However, you still need to cook it gently, and not flip it too much, so you won’t risk it disintegrating. Trust me, your patience will be rewarded with the juiciest, most delicious vegan burger you’ve made!
So, what do you think? Would you try Funky Fields Minced?
Funky Fields Minced is currently available in Woolworths.
P.S. If you make this, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or find me on Instagram or Facebook. Don’t forget to tag me @passionatelykeren so I won’t miss your post.
Keren x
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