Well, it looks like a burger, smells like a burger, tastes like a burger. Must be -- an irradiated burger?

Who really can tell?

No one, at least no one among six panelists who gathered for an unscientific taste test of regular and irradiated ground beef. Without being told which burger was which, three panelists expressed preference for the non-irradiated, two for the irradiated and one had no preference. All agreed there were only subtle differences in the taste of the two, tested with and without condiments.

The two meat mavens on the panel, Jordan Naftal, owner of Jordan's Steakhouse in Ellicott City, and Howard Caplan, a butcher with Victor's Meats in Eddie's of Roland Park, were split on their preference. Caplan preferred the nonirradiated, Naftal the irradiated.

When told he had chosen the irradiated burger, Naftal said, "That's what I was afraid of."

As a steakhouse owner, he figures "People are going to look to you to pick the real stuff."

Caplan said he thought the taste of the nonirradiated burger "comes out a little more than the other."

Aimee Lafrenaye, a registered dietitian at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, who acknowledged she's not much of a beef eater, said, "I thought they were fairly comparable."

Her dietitian intern, Jennifer Eldred, expressed a mild preference for the irradiated burger.

Sun writers Peter Jensen and Rob Kasper, both of whom have written their share of beef-related stories, preferred the nonirradiated burger.

"I thought [the irradiated] burger was gummy," said Kasper. "Both were pretty bland. Both carry condiments well."

Jensen said he found "both very mild ... I think the ideal burger would have more of a fat content."

For the taste test, food stylist Julie Rothman bought the leanest beef available, 93-percent-lean irradiated and nonirradiated ground beef at the Rotunda Giant. She broiled each without any seasoning to a temperature of 160 degrees as per the safety instructions on the package, or about five minutes per side.

Distinctions in the taste and texture might well have nothing to do with irradiation, as the two were different lots of ground beef. The irradiated beef, for example, was ground more finely.

Giant says the irradiation process has no effect on the taste of the beef and less impact on nutritional value than ordinary cooking.