Fast Veg 07: McVegan

McDonalds launched the McVegan in Tampere in 2017 as a test, and then launched it in Finland and Finland on Thursday, December 28, 2017. I duly went and ate one, photographed it, and forgot to write it up. Subsequently I deleted the photographs as well.

Recently I learned on the web that McDonalds now have a new, improved “proper” Impossible-style vegan burger in Germany called the Big Vegan TS. Armed with this information I made an effort to seek out and gulp down a second McVegan before they disappear forever.

I ate this one in Rautatientori, with fries and a Coke Zero.

Unlike the other burgers I have tested this year the McVegan came in a cardboard box.

The burger unwrapped

With the wrapping opened the burger sits there looking pretty much like any other burger. It has no obvious distinguishing features.

I sniffed it but to no avail. I got a standard response from my noise. Fast food, my nose said.

The burger inside

I took the top off as I usually do, and found the standard stuff you would expect to find, in the kind of quantities that you might term generous, if you felt generous.

The McVegan does in the guise of a standard burger, so it does not contain the extra garnished that you would expect to find in the premium range. Unlike the Rebel Whopper, it does not aspire to the status of a McFeast, for example.

The verdict

I felt slightly disappointed when I had my first McVegan a year or so ago. Partly, I suspected, because it does not aspire to premium status, which seems like a shame. It replaced a perfectly acceptable Vegetable McFeast which did have all the big tomatoes and onions that you might want inside your bun.

This time I knew approximately what to expect, and so I felt no disappointment. In fact, it tasted better than I had expected. The McVegan has soy as its prime ingredient and seems, to me at least, to have a faint aftertaste of Marmite, which might hint at the presence of yeast somewhere in the recipe. As a Marmite lover I do not find this a disadvantage.

The burger feels substantial in your mouth, although it does not really make much of an effort to imitate meat. Which you might find a good thing. It works as the patty in the bun, without leaving faux bits of “meat” between your teeth as both the Impossible and Rebel Whoppers did.

The McVegan meal cost 5.45€ and the McVegan would cost 3€ if you purchased it on its own.

Would I eat it again? Yes, in the right circumstances.

These would include feeling hungry, feeling happy with fast food, and failing to see a Burger King anywhere in the vicinity.