what do you think of quorn chicken patties?

Question

they say these are not soy. they are quite delicious imo. what are they made of? is it lentils?

lentils

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentils

the unbreaded patties are much better than the breaded ones. but dont take my word for it.

thats disgusting. i just looked fusarium up. it says it causes opportunistic infections? what does that mean?

btw i knew about the eggs. im a vegetarian not fully vegan.

thank you greenghost for adding that. that is important to know as i have a couple of family members with repressed immune systems (not AIDS however) and i wouldnt want to serve this to them.

Answer 1

They're made of mycoprotein (from the fungus fusarium)

Quorn brand products are not vegan though, as they also contain egg whites. I haven't tried them, but would if they made something without egg whites.

Edit--
An opportunistic infection is something that is usually harmless but can cause problems with people who have weakened immune systems (such as those who have full blown AIDS.)


There is no danger of the fusarium in Quorn as the fungi is killed during processing.

Answer 2

Two weeks ago I went into some detail about Quorn with Andielep's question "Should Marlow foods make a vegan version of Quorn? What do you think ?" You might find my answer interesting since I go into some detail on the structure of Quorn. On your question I'm going to seem a bit negative in tone but please don't let that scare you away from Quorn.

Mycoprotein is a fancy way of saying their protein comes from a fungus. No big deal there as humans eat many different types of fungal protein like mushrooms or yeast and it's how they got 'easy' approval of their products. What they don't tell you is that their particular protein is of a form that has never been used as food before researchers found this particular fungus in a soil sample. Their use of the protein for food has been controversial because as you now appear to know it comes from a fungus family more typically associated with disease. All the public research on their protein has been sponsored by them since they hold patents on their fungus and the protein.

But you (and anyone reading this) might want to run a few searches on Quorn and mycoprotein. There have been quite a few people that have taken ill and several people have died after eating Quorn. As Vegan stated Quorn won't infect you since the fungus *is* killed but there are people that are allergic to mold and these folks need to stay away from it. It's a rare problem but it IS something people need to know. Besides the technical problems of making vegan versions of their products what I only hinted at in the other answer is that a huge part of their budget has been tied up dealing with legal liability issues.

All that nastiness aside if you like Quorn use it. I've tried it and didn't like it (I think I've been veggie too long) but know quite a few people that like it as an alternative to chicken (they're mainly meat eaters) and if it helps cut down on killing animals I'm all for it!

Answer 3

I love them! They are actually quite close to the texture and flavor of breaded chicken breast patties, and are made from Mycoprotein (a fancy way to say nutritional fungus!) Quorn makes fake nuggets and strips that are great in stews and stir-fries, too. Even though they are pricier than Boca and Morningstar Farms products, they are a nice change of pace, especially if you are concerned about eating too much soy that may come from GM soybeans. Give them a try!

Answer 4

I actually haven't tried the quorn chicken patties yet, but their veggie chicken nuggets are pretty yummy :)

Answer 5

what is lentils