Quorn

BlueSpiral

Does anybody know anything about this quorn meat-substitute products?

Are they any good, and does it contain much protein?

Most importantly, is it tasty?

Shabadu

http://quorn.co.uk//cmpage.aspx?section=WhatIsQuorn

^ for the info

It is tasty! I have only used the mince and fake chicken bits incorporated into chillis and lasagnes etc.

Not terrible at all.

violenza

The mince and chicken style pieces are sooo versatile and tasty but don't overlook the burgers and quarterpounders(if you can find them), also chicken style fillets, garlic and herb fillets, nuggets, cheddar cheese and ham style en croutes it goes on, not mad about the sausages but there's Linda mc for that:-)
Truly the greatest thing since the toasted sandwich maker... Veggies need never eat TVP again!

seamus

violenza wrote:

not mad about the sausages

You can get them fresh (well, film packed, not frozen) in the UK, and they're much much tastier than the frozen ones over here. That said, big fat Quorn sausage in a baby roll....nyom!

alleepally

Not mad about the garlic and herb fillets but the mince and the chunks I use all the time.

Check out the recipe below and instead of the fish put in some of the Quorn chunks. Simply the tastiest and moreish dish I've ever made...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/coconutfishcurry_74888.shtml

alleepally

violenza wrote:

Veggies need never eat TVP again!

Can it even be got anymore. Haven't seen it in ages (not that I want to mind you)

Shabadu

alleepally wrote:

Can it even be got anymore. Haven't seen it in ages (not that I want to mind you)

Some health food shops still have tvp.

Freelancer

seamus wrote:

You can get them fresh (well, film packed, not frozen) in the UK, and they're much much tastier than the frozen ones over here. That said, big fat Quorn sausage in a baby roll....nyom!

Yup like any foodstuff frozen, frozen Quorn tastes like shíte.

Creamy Goodness

i ain't a vegitarian but i love their burgers, so so so nice.

violenza

While the supermarkets have a lot more veggie options over the last few years, were still a bit behind our neighbours. Even a trip to newry can be good for a few new bites to eat.

The frozen quorn is grand although other than the deli stuff I haven't tried fresh quorn. Can you get it in Dublin??

Freelancer

violenza wrote:

While the supermarkets have a lot more veggie options over the last few years, were still a bit behind our neighbours. Even a trip to newry can be good for a few new bites to eat.

The frozen quorn is grand although other than the deli stuff I haven't tried fresh quorn. Can you get it in Dublin??

My local has a couple of different kinds of tofu, and Linda Mc Cartney style veggie food, so they are options.

One of which is not eating tofu which is like a cross between jelly and yogurt.

Stark

Quorn is high in protein alright and high in fibre. (Strangely enough the protein itself is actually fibrous).

I wouldn't go looking up what it's made from as that put me off it.

Tesco had frozen Quorn last time I was there. I tried the sausages and the mince. I didn't like the texture of either. The mince fell apart too easily, and the sausages were too spongy.

Freelancer

Stark wrote:

Quorn is high in protein alright and high in fibre. (Strangely enough the protein itself is actually fibrous).

I wouldn't go looking up what it's made from as that put me off it.

Tesco had frozen Quorn last time I was there. I tried the sausages and the mince. I didn't like the texture of either. The mince fell apart too easily, and the sausages were too spongy.

Well its veggie, looking trying to pass off a mince dish with quorn is like trying to pass off Liza Minielli and David whathisface ( if I was not addressing the "mod of the gays" I assure you I'd be making a Peter Crouch, Micheal Owen reference) Use tofu in tofu reciepes, use meat in meat reciepes, don't pretend you can replace one with the other.

BlueSpiral

Fantastic, thanks for the information, esspecaily (sp?) for the quorn link, I feel a little safer trying the food now.

I'll go straight for the burgers.

Shabadu

I have to say- the frozen mince has made my life a hell of a lot easier. Vegetarian lasagnes normally release too much water, so they're all runny when they come out of the oven. Rather than have to sweat of the veg for AGES, it helps to throw a packet of quorn mince into it. The texture is also nicer than just a completely vegetable based lasagne or chilli. I find it helps not to *directly* equate it with the meat equivalent, but to consider it as a foodstuff in its own right.

Freelancer wrote:

Yup like any foodstuff frozen, frozen Quorn tastes like shíte.

This tub of ice-cream and I disagree! Well alright I'm not eating ice-cream at 11 in the morning, but you get my point.

Kix

I make vegetarian bollognaise sauce with Quorn mince. Perhaps it's nothing like real mince, but it's not like I can remember anyway. What I can tell you is that my meat-eating girlfriend loves it. I usually make a large quantity at one time and freeze portions. It's fantastically handy for mid-week dinners when you don't want to make a big effort. I've also made chilli with it and that's very good as well.

I don't use the pieces anymore although I used to use them for curry (based on my mum's chicken curry recipie). I liked it a lot but I switched to making a very lovely (and much more authenthic) potato-pea curry and don't make that old recipe anymore. It was the only thing I used to use the pieces for.

I don't know if people want recipies, BTW. Let me know and I'll post some.

seamus

Freelancer wrote:

Use tofu in tofu reciepes, use meat in meat reciepes, don't pretend you can replace one with the other.

I don't think anyone does. Quorn mince may look like mince, but it certainly doesn't smell or taste like it. I think it's more to emulate the look and texture of mince - this then allows you to create dishes such as lasagne and shepard's pie, without either having to cut up bits of tofu into tiny pieces or specially prepare the veg. As others point out, you'll also find approval from meat eaters if it contains anything resembling meat.

full forward

Quorn is a fungus and I just cant eat it knowing that. I wish I never found out.

seamus

full forward wrote:

Quorn is a fungus

Mushroom is a fungus.

Freelancer

Shabadu wrote:

I have to say- the frozen mince has made my life a hell of a lot easier. Vegetarian lasagnes normally release too much water, so they're all runny when they come out of the oven. Rather than have to sweat of the veg for AGES, it helps to throw a packet of quorn mince into it. The texture is also nicer than just a completely vegetable based lasagne or chilli. I find it helps not to *directly* equate it with the meat equivalent, but to consider it as a foodstuff in its own right.

Actually to wander off topic, the trick for a vegetable lasagnes is....beans. Different kidneys, Kidney, Chili, etc.....preferably dried soaked in water for a while. They give it texture and substance.

Shabadu

I'm not big on the sensation of pulses and pasta together. The bf is always making me put chickpeas into pasta sauces and I just don't like the combination of textures.

Freelancer

Shabadu wrote:

I'm not big on the sensation of pulses and pasta together. The bf is always making me put chickpeas into pasta sauces and I just don't like the combination of textures.

Hell I'm not pleased about vegetarian anything, and I generally find that the obtuse feckers are chuffed getting any amount of protein I could put dog biscuits in the lasagne and they'll eat it.

Shabadu

No calling vegetarians obtuse féckers, especially on the Vegan/Vegetarian forum please. 1st and only warning.

shroomfox

I used to hate the stuff, but now I've forgotten how good meat was, it's a passable substitute!

Seriously though, I'm mad into me quorn sausages lately, I marinade them in cajun sauce and munch. A1. The chicken pieces are good too, and I've always had a soft spot for the garlic and herb breasts because, well, it's nice to have something to cut once in a while, isn't it?

Maybe it's just my gooey vegetarian cooking...

miss serena

I'm after really getting hooked on the Quorn sausies! At first I preferred the Linda McCartney sun dried tomato sausages, but now the Quorn ones are after growing on me.

The rest of the Quorn stuff has yet to grow on me. Reminds me a bit too much of the meat it looks like. I don't know if its the look or the taste, probably the combination. Its like it trying to trick me!

Doctor Benway

miss serena wrote:

The rest of the Quorn stuff has yet to grow on me. Reminds me a bit too much of the meat it looks like. I don't know if its the look or the taste, probably the combination. Its like it trying to trick me!

I think that's probably the point of Quorn.

Samos

I find Quorn to be convenient and tasty. I suppose that's the point of it, but I still feel dubious about 'meat-substitutes'. It's almost like an admission that you enjoy the texture and flavour of meat, but will settle for an 'inferior' alternative. Mabe it should be considered a different foodstuff in its own right, without trying to immitate something that it isn't.

Tar.Aldarion

Samos wrote:

It's almost like an admission that you enjoy the texture and flavour of meat, but will settle for an 'inferior' alternative.

And...?
What is wrong with admitting you like the taste of meat?
If somebody likes quorn, they clearly do.

Shabadu

Interesting topic. Some people have a fetish for role-playing murder; some people would find this moraly abhorrent, and some would say if it is only a game and doesn't spill into reality it is harmless. It calls to mind the furore over the Human meat equivalent of Quorn: http://www.eathufu.com/home.asp

Tar.Aldarion

Has HufuTM created a controversy?
Yes it most certainly has. It has been denounced by the Dartmouth Review as another example of "today's culture of multiculturalism and moral relativism, [where] we are increasingly reluctant to make judgments about ideas, practices, or pieces of art. Sure, they say, cannibalism might seem wrong to your hetero-normative, Judeo-Christian culture, but who are we to judge the Aztecs or the indigenous cultures of Papua New Guinea?" Administrators at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business have allegedly discussed expulsion or other sanctions against Hufu, LLC's founder, a current Tuck MBA student. And the Harvard Crimson and the Chicago Maroon student newspapers have refused to run our ads, apparently because they were afraid hufu would offend the tender sensibilities of their students. And at New College in Florida, an anthropology professor apparently killed a student newspaper story about hufu because he was offended that our Fijian Hungry Cannibal looked Fijian. We suppose he would have been happier if Hungry Cannibal looked Norwegian.

Wow, I never even considered that people would find that offensive let alone what samos is talking about offensive but you can find people to be offended by anything.

Personally, I would love to try hufu, I have always wondered what human tasted like. Odd thing to have 'always wonndered' but well, I'm odd.

Samos

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

And...?
What is wrong with admitting you like the taste of meat?
If somebody likes quorn, they clearly do.

Even when I was typing that, I had doubts about what my objections really were, but I continued on anyway! I guess it may be just a gut defence to those omnivores who question why I eat imitations when the 'real thing' is 'more natural' and 'therefore better'.

I don't think liking the taste of meat is wrong in itself. However, like playing violent games or telling abusive (yet hilarious) jokes or, this may seem harmless but it creates a mindset that could easily suffering in harm to others if taken too far, and when one does not understand the context in which objections to such action exist, i.e. if the boundary between causing virtual and real suffering is blurred.

Hufu truly shows the ability of satire to polarize opinions, but it really makes you think about the real motives behind your actions. I just wonder how much human flesh they had to eat to get the taste just-right (and I guess the same goes for Quorn and chicken flesh)!