Would you eat Quorn?

[Durandal7]

Are you willing to try Quorn, the meat substitute grown from fungus? Or should it be recalled. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8484-2002Aug12.html Or is it just plain creepy.

[Beej]

Heh... next thing they'll be recalling nuts because they can have the same effect on some people...

[awrc]

Is Quorn a new introduction to the US or something? When I left the UK in 1994, you could buy Quorn in pretty much any big supermarket. It had been on the market for a while and there'd been no calls to ban it.

And I'd add that this was before Mad Cow got really big, so it wasn't as if there was some sort of desperate search for an alternative to beef at the time :D

[zarathustra]

I have had Quorn on many occasions, and as a previous poster said, it has been available for a long time. Trust me, it's not any worse than feasting on the muscle tissue of animals who are injected with hormones and God knows what else while they stand in their own fecies.

[alex_ant]

I have had Quorn on many occasions, and as a previous poster said, it has been available for a long time. Trust me, it's not any worse than feasting on the muscle tissue of animals who are injected with hormones and God knows what else while they stand in their own fecies.
Silence! How dare you try to make Macrumors' resident fatasses feel guilty about what they eat. You should be ashamed.

[jelloshotsrule]

never heard of it. but the more meat alternatives there are, the better.

[awrc]

I just have a problem with the idea of "meat alternatives" generally, especially when a lot of effort is put into making it look and/or taste like meat. If you want to eat meat, eat meat. If you don't want to eat meat, don't. Being vegetarian but eating fake meat is just weird - I'd have thought that if someone found the idea of eating dead animals unpleasant, they wouldn't want their non-animal protein to look and taste like it.

It's like someone giving up cannibalism but requiring that every time they have meatloaf, it's cooked in the shape of a foot.

I'm not vegetarian, but I try to limit the amount of meat in my diet to maybe one meal a week (a big juicy steak on a good week, Hamburget Helper with lean meat on a bad one). The rest of the time my diet is primarily vegetarian - if it wasn't for the objections of my wife, I could live entirely on the Gourmet Veggie Sub from the local Jimmy John's pretty much indefinitely.

[eyelikeart]

I'll try anything pretty much...unless it's something really nasty....like raw squirrel or something...he he he :D

esp. if there are health benefits to it...most people are turned off to something that sounds funny if it's healthy...not me...quite the opposite ;)

[zarathustra]

Originally posted by alex_ant

Silence! How dare you try to make Macrumors' resident fatasses feel guilty about what they eat. You should be ashamed. [/B]

You sir, are funny.:cool:

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

I agree with AWRC. If you want to eat meat, eat me.

What's the deal of trying to eat something that looks like something else.

I eat meat everyday. It hasn't bothered me none.

[vniow]

Originally posted by ShaolinMiddleFinger
If you want to eat meat, eat me.


How do you prefer to be cooked, medium or well-done?

[Sun Baked]

edvniow,

A little slow on the offer today, aren't you?

[vniow]

I'm multitasking: tabbed browsing, cleaning room, cooking lunch, screwing around with my out of tune guitar, it's tough staying on time. :D

[Kashchei]

When I was a grad student living in England (and money was very much an issue), I ate Quorn regularly and it was wonderful. I don't know that I would have tried it the first time had I known what it was made of, but having taken the leap I can say that it is the best meat-substitute I have ever eaten.

[Durandal7]

Originally posted by awrc
Is Quorn a new introduction to the US or something? When I left the UK in 1994, you could buy Quorn in pretty much any big supermarket. It had been on the market for a while and there'd been no calls to ban it.


Yea, it's new to the U.S. Some gruops over here are claiming it causes problems with your digestive tract. I would be willing to try it but I haven't seen it this far into the country yet.

[topicolo]

Fungus? bah. Mushrooms are fungi and people eat them all the time. I'd try it. I've had seaweed and snakemeat and they didn't taste all that bad. Quorn can't be much worse.

[Mr. Anderson]

Quorn, introduced in Britain in 1985, arrived in U.S. supermarkets in January. Its popularity in Europe now rivals that of soyburgers and other meat substitutes.

Never heard of it myself, but it seems europe has had it for almost 2 decades, come on, this is ridiculous. If it makes you sick don't eat it, but if its acceptable to your GI tract, why make a fuss?

I love meat alternatives now and again - a good portobella mushroom on the grill is great. But there wasn't enough info on the fungus that makes up Quorn - it might not be mushroom, but some thing else you could grow in a vat.

Anyone know the how its made?

D

[awrc]

Originally posted by asurace


Yea, it's new to the U.S. Some gruops over here are claiming it causes problems with your digestive tract.

Oh, sort of like Olestra, you mean. Its side effects are more than just claims, but nobody's managed to ban it yet, probably because the diet and potato chip industries can afford more lobbyists than the anti-Olestra activists.

I wonder who's *really* behind the Quorn fuss, the meat industry or the more rabid vegetarians who object to even the idea of meat substitutes? Fungal rights activists, perhaps?

Then there's Sorbitol, for that matter. I *love* sugar-free mints containing Sorbitol, but if I eat more than just one or two, I deeply regret it. I know there are anti-Sorbitol websites out there, but I don't recall seeing any concerted action to ban it. Again, probably because the "sugar-free" aspect means its got some big names and big bucks behind it.

[awrc]

Originally posted by dukestreet
But there wasn't enough info on the fungus that makes up Quorn - it might not be mushroom, but some thing else you could grow in a vat.

Anyone know the how its made?

D

From people, of course :D

See www.quorn.com (http://www.quorn.com) for the grisly truth.

Actually, the web site doesn't get any more specific than "mycoprotein", which I suspect means it's generic goop grown in big vats.

Al

[Royal Pineapple]

if we arnt suposed to eat the animals, than why are they made of meat?

sorry i had to:D

[scem0]

I would take a tiny bite from it, and then if I liked how it tasted I would take a larger bite :D

[whfsdude]

Originally posted by edvniow
I'm multitasking: tabbed browsing, cleaning room, cooking lunch, screwing around with my out of tune guitar, it's tough staying on time. :D

Speaking of screwing around.......


Hehe that made my day, now back to Billy Corgan & reading the boards.


PS. The Help viewer sucks in os x when will I every get a break and I was almost done with carracho help x :-(

[whfsdude]

One more thing best Corgan song =) Billy's Gravity Demos - Depresso

[Durandal7]

Originally posted by dukestreet

I love meat alternatives now and again - a good portobella mushroom on the grill is great. But there wasn't enough info on the fungus that makes up Quorn - it might not be mushroom, but some thing else you could grow in a vat.

Anyone know the how its made?

D

Well, the website said that parts of Quorn are mushroom (8%-87% depending on dish) but it doesn't say what the rest is.

[awrc]

Originally posted by asurace


Well, the website said that parts of Quorn are mushroom (8%-87% depending on dish) but it doesn't say what the rest is.

The websites differ depending on country. The UK website's so evasive about what's in Quorn you'd think it really was something like Soylent Green, but the US site page here (http://www.quorn.com/us/fiabout.htm) basically says it's an edible fungus. Well, technically they say it's a plant, but plant != fungus, so they're hedging around the truth, since I'm pretty sure the "myco" in "mycoprotein" means it's fungus. I suppose it's easier to say it's a teeny tiny little plant than a kind of mold found in dirt. So a mushroom is roughly right, although again calling it a mushroom is more public relations, since the actual stuff's probably got more in common with what you find growing on cheese if you leave it too long. According to the US site it's made in in huge fermenters then harvested. Again, Soylent Green comes to mind.

Interestingly, they make a bit of a fuss on the US site about Quorn not being genetically modified - someone in marketing screwed up there I think, since the UK's aversion to GM crops doesn't exist to anything like the same extent in the US.

Now that I think about it, I think my ex-wife and I did try Quorn once before I left the UK. Well, I did anyway, my ex-wife was allergic to mushrooms if I'm remembering correctly. Tasted like chicken. No, really. However, it was supposed to, since it was Quorn chicken pieces. Thoroughly unmemorable.

[Gelfin]

Oh sure I'd give it a try. For the people in Europe who've had it, how does it compare to actual meat products?

Naturally you shouldn't serve a substitute to people without telling them because some people are allergic. I don't know if it's just Americans (I'd guess not), but when people try something they think might be icky, they're prone to getting vague digestive ailments just psychosomatically.

Unfortunately the Center for Science in the Public Interest has a rather spotty track record on both science and public interest. I want to see the results of a tightly controlled double-blind experiment demonstrating that people with no preexisting fungus allergies become sick eating Quorn at a higher rate than when eating an inert placebo. Knowing the CSPI's history, they almost certainly have not conducted such a study, but have instead collected a pile of anecdotal reports and rushed to publish an article.

The important thing for people to remember is that a correlation does not prove a cause. You'd think we'd have realized this by now, with all the hyperbolic media reports we've seen for decades where at some point practically everything is said to cause cancer and heart disease, but on the other hand at some point practically everything is said to prevent cancer and heart disease, even the same things which are at other times said to cause them.

The reality of health reporting in this country is that practically every article and news spot you've ever seen that gives you the impression that "scientists have discovered that eating X has dramatic health consequence Y" is at best premature. In most cases it's just unsubstantiated bunk by people who short circuit the established scientific process of peer review and instead take their theories directly to consumers who don't have the scientific training to evaluate the claims being made. This is a proven way to get publicity and (more importantly) funding without enduring the rigor of good science. Any time you see any of these amazing health claims on the evening news, the only sane reaction is to be extremely wary.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by awrc
Actually, the web site doesn't get any more specific than "mycoprotein", which I suspect means it's generic goop grown in big vats.

Soylent Green is People!!!!






any gets this I'll be very impressed....

[G4scott]

I had a nice, big, juicy steak for dinner :cool:

Aren't mushrooms made of fungus (or fungi?) Maybe some people are allergic, and shouldn't eat the stuff if they can't handle it... Personally, though, I haven't ever seen this stuff, but I dont go looking for it...

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Soylent Green is People!!!!
any gets this I'll be very impressed....

well i get it, but you're a little late, i think... being as it's been eluded to like 4 times...

as far as my opinion goes, i echo some of what's been said. First, why try to replicate meat. almost makes it seem like there's a "vegan agenda" or something ;) secondly, yeah, they need to tell people that occasionally people are allergic. otherwise i don't see what the fuss is about, i'm certainly not a vegitarian, but to each his own. tho i personally can't stomach the idea of eating fungus, mushrooms in particular... i've tried them of course, but the texture is just ...oogy... tho i did try a certain kind of dried mushroom once, it was pretty good :) what i remember of it...

:)
pnw

[mischief]

Between the Rabid Vegan Studentia Non-Gratis and the Rabid Man-Hate Vegan Lesbians, Santa Cruz is a bit of a PC warzone. In that Pollitical Correctness Warzone I'm a Blackops guy with a painting laser and a good map.

I figure that we ARE a predatory species but we eat WAY too much meat. Beef, Pork and Chicken in particular. EAT MORE FISH.

When I get into it with one of these food-Nazis I find myself wondering why, if the Beef INDUSTRY is their issue, they don't go do communes with herds of Bison and go spear themselves healthy wild animals as neccesary. I personally much prefer an animal I've just speared, netted, throttled, gigged, hooked or stuck with an arrow to a faceless slab of meat from a Cow I've never met. ;)

I really don't like the idea of making fake meat. Period I care not what it actually is, it's the equivalent of SPAM but worse..... it's SPAO (Selected Parts of Assorted Organisms:eek: )

[jelloshotsrule]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Soylent Green is People!!!!

any gets this I'll be very impressed....

duh. what's there to get. soylent green was made of people and that's what he said at the end of the movie... come on now oldie olderton

[jelloshotsrule]

Originally posted by awrc
I just have a problem with the idea of "meat alternatives" generally, especially when a lot of effort is put into making it look and/or taste like meat. If you want to eat meat, eat meat. If you don't want to eat meat, don't. Being vegetarian but eating fake meat is just weird - I'd have thought that if someone found the idea of eating dead animals unpleasant, they wouldn't want their non-animal protein to look and taste like it.

It's like someone giving up cannibalism but requiring that every time they have meatloaf, it's cooked in the shape of a foot.

I'm not vegetarian, but I try to limit the amount of meat in my diet to maybe one meal a week (a big juicy steak on a good week, Hamburget Helper with lean meat on a bad one). The rest of the time my diet is primarily vegetarian - if it wasn't for the objections of my wife, I could live entirely on the Gourmet Veggie Sub from the local Jimmy John's pretty much indefinitely.

as a vegetarian, here is why i disagree... people (most) are raised eating meat and thinking that every meal has to include some version of one meat or another. as a result, the idea of not eating meat anymore and instead eating only vegetables and other things (rice, polenta, tofu, etc) is very hard to deal with. what imitation meat type products do is allow people to stop eating meat and have it be a bit less burdensome to them when trying to figure out what to have for a meal. i eat a lot of imitation meat products. hot dogs, burgers, even just tried some bbq riblets... and they were quite tasty i'd say. however, having never been one to eat veggies or other "exotic" foods before i can a vegetarian, i have also started to eat a vast number of different dishes... like tofu stuff, like polenta (which isn't really common, at least on the east coast), and more veggies in general.

basically, i think if it helps people stop eating meat, it's a good thing. personally, i don't get sick at the thought of a burger, in fact, i still like the taste though i haven't had one in years. i realize what's in it, and it's disturbing, but i can separate the taste from the process... not enough to eat it though.

and fish... not exactly a clean and pure thing either..


i think morningstar imitation hot dogs were found to contain "quorn" and for a while that was a big deal. but i eat them and i haven' had problems... so i'm not sure if it's out of them or what...

just my thoughts.

edit: also, along the same lines, i don't like it when hardcore animal rights folks push veganism straight away. while i agree that's the goal, i think people should aim for stopping eating meat, then try to cut out the other stuff. not because it's less bad, but because it's just very very hard to do. it multiplies the amount of work you have to do looking into what you are eating everywhere by a huge amount. meat is meat, that's clear... but eggs... milk... they get mixed into stuff and you can't tell..... it's better to have a few people switch to vegetarianism than to have 1 person make the switch to vegan right away.. the idea just scares them off. and i think the meat substitutes are something that can help kinda lure them. and then, most likely, they'll discover all the other non-meat dishes....

sorry for the blah blah blah

[Aquanaut]

Quorn, in the UK, is available as sausages, steaks, small pieces, mince, southern style burgers, straight burgers, you name it. They do have their own tastes and textures and, in my opinion, are all highly palatable. They go well in bread rolls, stir fries, Indian dishes, with french fries, spaghetti, etc.

They are marketed as being healthy eating and I don't see any reason why they aren't, especially if you don't fry them much.

I ran a burger bar 20 years ago and made a lot of money and ate a lot of burgers. However, I haven't eaten meat for 17 years and products like Quorn make this very easy - I only have to look at an on overweight, unfit slob stuffing his face in a burger bar to remember why I, and my kids, eat stuff like Quorn.

A bit of info about Quorn:
Discovered in 1967, growing in a field near Marlow, UK.
High in fibre and protein, low in fat.
Myco is the Greek word for mushroom (hence myco-protein).
Other ingredients in the Qourn products (apart from the Quorn) are oils, starch, egg white, hydrated wheat protein, etc.

[jelloshotsrule]

thanks a lot for that info aquanaut...

sheds some more light on things for us americans for sure

[Aquanaut]

Originally posted by jelloshotsrule
thanks a lot for that info aquanaut...

sheds some more light on things for us americans for sure

You're welcome.

Ignore all this rubbish about health scares. I feed it to my kids and we are all doing well after several years. However, don't get me started on GM ...!

[mcrain]

I had previously given up beef, now I just recently gave up chicken. I still eat fish, but am willing to try Quorn if it allows me to make recipies I know how to make, but without using beef/chicken/pork.

(I'm trying to become a vegetarian - hopefully won't fall off the wagon when I get my Chinese food cravings)

[Aquanaut]

Originally posted by mcrain
I had previously given up beef, now I just recently gave up chicken. I still eat fish, but am willing to try Quorn if it allows me to make recipies I know how to make, but without using beef/chicken/pork.

(I'm trying to become a vegetarian - hopefully won't fall off the wagon when I get my Chinese food cravings)

Good luck with it. I found it a lot easier than giving up cigarettes.

Food like Quorn really does make it a lot easier because you still feel like you have eaten something substantial and it tastes good. However, anyone who's a serious steak head can forget it. There is no substitute for that other than a desire to eat more healthily.

[jelloshotsrule]

good luck mcrain... chinese food without meat is quite good... mainly the tofu stuff (bean curd) and brocolli dishes are my favorite..

basically, just take it meal by meal and it's pretty dang easy (in my opinion...)

for good meat imitation products try the morningstar farms stuff.... also, if you didn't know already, check in the produce area and you'll find a ton of stuff with the tofu..... word