We often buy the frozen hamburger patties because there are only two of us, and the frozen patty is perfect for when you want a quick hamburger sandwich. We get regular ground beef, but usually use that when we are making some kind of a recipe that calls for more than just a ground beef patty. Anyway, this morning, I made a beef patty and an egg for breakfast. When I looked at the food information on the side of the box, it said that there was 5 grams of carbohydrates in each patty. We all know that meat is all protein and fat, and not carbs; so (puzzled) I looked for the ingredient list to see what could possibly be in a food labeled "beef patty" that was not beef. It turned out that besides beef, there was soy and maltodextrin, which is one of the fancy names for sugar. The soy was labeled TVP, which stands for textured vegetable protein, and then it said soy in parentheses . Apparently, you can call something a beef patty even when it is not just a beef patty. I can see why they might put in the soy protein as a filler, but I am at a loss as to why they would also be adding sugar to our meat.
Sugar is used in the baking process of the bun. It's not a lot of sugar though so it's negligible. It's to make the bun sweet and softer I believe. However, you might be talking specifically about the meat? Not sure why sugar would be in that alone.
I was only talking about the beef that is used for a beef patty, not a whole hamburger sandwich with a bun and other condiments. Most bread has sugar of some sort in it, and it needs sugar to interact with the yeast so that the bread will rise properly. However, when you buy a package of frozen beef patties, you should expect them to be made from nothing except beef. I guess that unless they specifically say that they are an all-beef patty, then can add other ingredients and still call if beef.
Yes, TVP is used as a meat extender, while Sugar is added to the beef to complement Glutamic acid on beef. It also enhances the caramelization of meat specially in beef which then add a nutty flavor and aroma to the food when cooked. This is called the Maillard Reaction.
When cooking fresh-made patties, I never use sugar but some might use it to increase the calorie or weight of the meat. I personally have never seen it being used but I have seen some meat products claim to have sugar.
