I like the taste/texture of Quorn products, but find them to be a little scary. Some people are reportedly allergic to the fungus (not actually a mushroom) that's the major ingredient. And it is of course a very processed food----fungus is a real biological entity, but this is definitely tinkered with in a manufacturing plant. Here is what Wikipedia says about it:
Quorn is made from the soil mould
Fusarium venenatum strain PTA-2684 (previously misidentified as the parasitic mould
Fusarium graminearum [23]). The fungus is grown in continually oxygenated water in large, otherwise sterile fermentation tanks. Glucose is added as a food for the fungus, as are vitamins and minerals to improve the food value of the product. The resulting mycoprotein is then extracted and heat-treated to remove excess levels of
RNA. Previous attempts to produce such fermented protein foodstuffs were thwarted by excessive levels of
DNA or RNA; without the heat treatment,
purine, found in nucleic acids, is metabolised by humans, producing
uric acid, which can lead to
gout.
[24] However two recent studies have found dietary factors once believed to be associated to gout are in fact not, including the intake of
purine-rich vegetables and total protein.
[25][26] The Mayo Clinic, meanwhile, advises gout sufferers to avoid some foods that are high in purines.
[27]
The product is dried and mixed with egg albumen, which acts as a binder. It is then textured, giving it some of the grained character of meat, and pressed.
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So I've been experimenting with more natural ways to do ground beefish type dishes. I've got a great recipe for a meatless meat sauce made with real mushrooms! And a raw recipe for tacos that uses ground walnuts for the beef.
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Yes! Better than Boca Crumbles
