Sol Cuisine Mushroom Rice Burgers

 

 

 

 

Although I've been making an effort to "cook from scratch" more and more, including the basics like: bread, buns, burgers, dressings....there are times when it's great to enjoy the convenience of good store- bought options.

 

 

I've been using Sol Cuisine Mushroom Rice Burgers for a couple of years now. A tasty, vegetarian burger patty with an ingredient list that's far better than many of the other meatless burger choices out there:

 

 

Ingredients for Sol Cuisine Mushroom Rice Burgers

 

for Canada:

 

Filtered Water, Vegetables (Portobello and Button Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots, Red & Green Bell Peppers, Potatoes, Garlic), Organic Cooked Brown Rice, Soy Protein Concentrate, Modified Cellulose, Sunflower Oil, Organic Wheat Free Tamari Sauce (Water, Organic Soybeans, Salt), Yeast Extract, Spice, Sea Salt, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice.

 

and for the U.S.

 

Filtered Water, Vegetables (Portobello & Button Mushrooms, Onions, Carrots, Red & Green Bell Peppers, Dried Potatoes, Garlic), Organic Cooked Brown Rice, Soy Protein Concentrate, Yeast Extract, Modified Vegetable Gum, Sunflower Oil, Organic Wheat Free Tamari Sauce (Water, Organic Soybeans, Salt), Spice, Sea Salt, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Parsley, Onion Extract, Garlic Extract.

 

 

 

I LOVE mushrooms and these burgers have a definite mushroomy flavour.

 

I also appreciate that the vegetables are at the beginning of the ingredient list for these burgers, not at the end, as is the case with some of the other brands. Definitely not an afterthought with Sol Cuisine Mushroom Rice Burgers!

 

These burgers have a nice, meaty texture that doesn't get soggy or gooey after they are cooked. Don't you just hate when that happens? Some of the other brands I've tried over the years were inedible after they were cooked, for that reason alone.

 

 

These burgers cook up fast on the grill or stove top. 

 

 

Each burger contains only 90 calories, low in fat and sodium and provide 8 grams of protein.



Well, these were all good points about these burgers and I was feeling good about recommending them until I received an email from one of Sol Cuisine's company reps, yesterday:


Here is their email (emphasis/bolding is mine):

"All our products are hexane free however we do use hexane-extracted soy. We've thoroughly researched our alternatives and to-date have found that we cannot achieve the same great texture our customers love using non-hexane-extracted soy. That said, we are continuing experimentation at our plant… Stay tuned.


Several of our burgers use soy we extract here with a hexane-free process or do not use soy at all. They are our Almond Grain Burger and our (COMING SOON) Indian Masala Burger (called the Indian Aloo Tikki Burger in the US) and our Sprouted Quinoa Chia Burger.


We use organics in many of our burgers – for example the Mushroom Rice uses organic brown rice. Our Almond Grain Burger is 67% organic. We use organic and local ingredients wherever possible, while keeping our products at a price point our consumers find accessible.


Our new Sprouted Quinoa Chia Burger uses a base of organic quinoa and we have 3 organic certified SKUs: our Falafel with Sauce, BBQ Tofu Ribs and Veggie Crumbles.


The Mushroom Rice Burger's a great SKU to review because it's an elevated take on the traditional mushroom rice burger, which uses field mushrooms, white rice and often cheese. Ours uses portobello and button mushrooms (we recently doubled the quantity so you get great mushroomy flavour in the product) and organic brown rice, in addition to red and green bell peppers… Yum."

 

Oh, oh....there goes the alarm bells!!!

 

 

Seems to be some definite double-talk (to put it politely) when it comes whether there is hexane in these burgers.

 

I was under the impression from previously checking into Sol Cuisine products that they were ALL hexane free. But if they are using hexane-extracted soy in these burgers, I wouldn't personally consider this a hexane- free product.

And based on what's being said in this email, their IS a way to extract soy without the use of hexane!

 

If you aren't aware of the dangers of hexane in foods, you can read more here.

 

  

And as I wrote about here some other popular vegetarian burger options leave a lot to be desired too. It really is worth it to do some research online before deciding on what brands you want to buy and consume.

But based on this experience, I realize now that sometimes you have to dig deeper, to get ALL the pertinent facts/details.

 

I also previously reviewed Sol Cuisine Original Burgers (click for full review). Looks like I'm going to have reassess that review/rating, based on the information I'm now being told by this company.

For now, it's back to making and freezing homemade veggie burgers for me. I don't want to have to worry about picking the right variety (ie: hexane-free) of a veggie burger, from any product line!

I can live without the convenience factor of store- bought veggie burgers, if I can't feel good about eating them. And I'll keep checking for other better brands/products too.

On a more positive note and related topic, I'm re-posting my recipe for Bread-Machine Rosemary Flax Buns over at my cooking blog today.

These are the best burger buns I've ever tasted and that's not because it's my recipe! ;<) This is a  very popular recipe from my cookbook.

And without a good bun, any kind of burger is just a burger! LOL

If you've never made your own burger and hot dog buns, this is a quick and delish recipe to get started.
 

 

Overall rating for this product: Unsatisfactory. 1 out of  5.



Tofurky Beer Brats Gourmet Vegan Sausages

As an avid cook, cookbook author and long-time vegetarian, I am always on the look-out for new products to try that are vegetarian or even better vegan and of course,taste great. They are some winners and losers out there, particularly when it comes to meat-substitutes/alternatives: veggie burgers, patties, hot dogs, sandwich slices. With so many people looking for ways to cut down or gradually eliminate meat from their diets, these products are steadily gaining popularity with not just vegetarians/vegans but meat-eaters too.


If you are looking for a good veggie sausage product to try, the Turtle Island Company definitely has a winner with their Beer Brats. Yum, yum...and not anything like some of the rather "scary" choices available that are in my opinion only a small improvement from regular meat wieners and sausages. And some of these with very questionable ingredient lists too.


What do I like about Tofurky Beer Brats? Well, the taste and texture of these sausages is exceptional. Spicy but not overly. A nice "meaty" texture that stays that way even after they are cooked. And ingredient lists that are much better than many similar products from other companies. Certified vegan too. One concern: I'd like to see a lower sodium content for these. Up with the herbs and spices (my cooking mantra these days) and lower the salt! Perhaps a low-sodium version is something this company might consider in future? I hope so.


I've found the best way to cook these veggie sausages is to saute lightly with a tablespoon of vegetable oil for a couple of minutes then add a small amount of water (2-3 tablespoons) cover and steam for about 3 minutes more. They also work on the grill but I do think the addition of water and steaming is even better, in terms of keeping them at their best for serving.


I noted at the Turtle Island site that the ingredients for U.S. and Canadian versions of these Beer Brats are quite different. Not sure why. This review is based on the Canadian product and I'm pleased to see that organic tofu tops that list.


If you haven't tried Tofurky Beer Brats and have been looking for a good, meatless alternative to sausages/hot dogs I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I know I was!


I also use these in a variety of recipes including the Russian Beet Borscht from my vegetarian cookbook: Not Just for Vegetarians. Finely chopped, they add a nice rich flavor to this and many other soups such as split pea, bean, corn.... Stop by my cooking blog to check out a number of soup recipes from the archives that include chopped vegetarian sausages or slices as an ingredient. Beer Brats are a flavourful choice for these or just on their own with side dishes or in a bun. I've also tried the other varieties of these sausages: Italian and Kielbasa, very good too but Beer Brats still came out as the top choice!


Keep in mind, these are BIG sausages (a whooping 3.5 ounces each) when deciding how many you need to buy for yourself and for your family! Visit the Tofurky site at: Turtle Island/Tofurky products. 


PS: FYI. Update from an email I received from the Turtle Island customer service department:  "The Canadian ingredients are different than the American ingredients because Canada has different requirements than the US. For instance, Canada requires vitamin fortification for meat alternatives and the US doesn't. Also, Canada forbids the use of the term non-GMO, so we leave that off our Canadian packaging even though all our ingredients are non-GMO. Also, yes, we are working on lower sodium options. "



Overall rating for this product: Very good. 4 out of 5.