Had my first Impossible Whopper the other day and here are my thoughts. I can tell the difference between the Impossible patty and the meat patty. The Impossible patty looks a little different and it tastes a little different. It doesn't taste bad but there is a difference. However, once all the other stuff is added to the burger, I don't think I could identify which burger is which. I don't plan on buying any more Whoppers in the near future, but if I do, I'll choose the Impossible Whopper because cow farts are bad.
I got a scoop of it at Qdoba where it was made to look like ground beef. Honestly, with the spice rub and the different flavors in the bowl it was hard to tell it wasn't regular ground beef. I was shockingly impressed. Like really truly impressed. I could see myself easily choosing it if not for one problem. It cost more, A LOT more. I could get double steak for less than 1 serving of the Impossible protein. The price has to come down significantly. Right now it would add $6 extra to my usual Qdoba order of double steak.
Is Impossible significantly better than other meat substitutes? I've tried some of them, but they never taste anything like meat.
I tried the Beyond Meat burger they keep in the meat section of the store. I fried it and the smell was not pleasant. 2/10. The taste however, was 85% of a real burger. Texture was also about 85% and the price was like 200% over lean ground beef. I was actually amazed, and slightly creeped out, by how similar it was to the real beef. If I ever try it again, I'll grill it outside. Although tasty, I think many people would realize that it's not fresh ground beef. By comparison, the impossible burger was like 75% taste of the Whopper burger and 90% texture. Both factors being kind of irrelevant once they are covered in ketchup, mayo, and lettuce. The smell was also a little off. Given that fast food beef isn't the best quality, I think 10 /10 would think it's real Burger King meat.
I suspect Qdoba had to season it so perfectly because side by side you could taste the difference. But as part of a larger burrito bowl, I think 9/10 people would be fooled in a blind taste test.
The secret to meat substitutes seems to be to drown them in enough other stuff that you don't really taste them.