The kroket (or croquette) is a typical Dutch snack. It is so delicious and epic, that there are many different versions and even a burger variant, the Kroketburger. A surprisingly good (non-vegan) example is the McKroket. Yes, from McDonald's. But now there's also a vegan/plantbased option from Vivera. So let's do a review and hope it satisfies my real native Dutch kroket cravings 😉
Presentation and ingredients
It looks like a normal Kroketburger, albeit a little bit thin. There are two of them in one package. The inside of the Kroketburger is not completely the same as the original thing, its consistency is a bit different than the ragout you usually find in a Kroketburger. It's more somewhere in the middle of a vegan schnitzel and ragout, so it's a bit thicker than normal ragout. But, as I discovered when I prepared the Kroketburger, this is actually a good thing!
It's mainly made from wheat and soy protein. Usually you don't eat these burgers as a healthy snack, but the nutritional value isn't that bad with 8 gram protein per 100 gram, 8 gram fat per 100 gram and 22 gram carbohydrates per 100 gram. Actually, it contains less fat than most non-vegan kroketburgers.
Preparation and taste
A normal Kroketburger is prepared in a deep fryer. But I don't have a deep fryer, so I have to fry it with some oil in a frying pan. And that is when the consistency, the thicker ragout, of this Kroketburger becomes an advantage: it doesn't start leaking its ragout. And because it's thin, it's easy to prepare in the frying pan. I used some olive oil and fried it on both sides for a few minutes. And the result was: a pretty much perfect fried Kroketburger!
A Kroketburger is served on a hamburger bun, usually with mustard sauce. You can add some accessories such as lettuce. Cheese is not very common and personally I don't like cheese on a Kroketburger, but some people seem to like it. I only had normal mustard (which is less creamy than mustard sauce), so I decided to add a bit of mayonnaise (the Dutch mayonnaise, not the French stuff), also to compensate for the ragout consistency. And that worked out absolutely great! This Vivera Kroketburger tastes for 90% like the original Kroketburger. Okay, the McKroket is still king, but that one isn't vegan. So I'm very surprised how good the Vivera Kroketburger tastes. Also because its ragout is so different and it wasn't fried in a deep fryer. So, in my opinion Vivera did a really good job on this and if you like to enjoy a good Kroketburger it's definitely recommended.
Conclusion and points
I'm very surprised that this is a vegan/plant-based product! Its taste is so much like the original non-vegan thing. Only the consistency of the ragout is different, but if you don't have a deep fryer this one is much easier to prepare than a normal Kroket(burger). The other option is to choose for a kroket which can be prepared in the oven (but no vegan versions yet), but that takes very long. This one from Vivera actually has that good 'fried' taste if you prepare it in the frying pan with some oil. So, better than the 'oven kroket', almost as good as the non-vegan deep fried kroket.
Presentation: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Would I buy it again: 5/5
