On the radio this morning Paul Harvey mentioned a British food invention named "quorn" (rhymes with worn). It is grown from a ground fungus and can have differnt flavors. Anybody know anything about it? I found it in google but info is scetchy.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), April 17, 2002

Answers

U.S. Quorn (pronounced "kworn") is a mycoprotein from the mushroom family that is touted by its makers as superior to existing meat substitutes.

The Quorn fungus is now grown commercially through fermentation, but it was discovered in the 1960s, growing naturally on farms west of London. Scientists found that its long strands could be made into a product that resembles the fibrous tissue of meat. AstraZeneca, a very large pharmaceutical company, introduced Quorn-based foods in Great Britain in 1985.

According to quornworld.com, the product offers high-quality protein and high fiber and contains all nine essential amino acids.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

once again, check you out BC. fastest search in the West.

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), April 17, 2002.

Just trying to provide points for further searching/research by those interested: Fusarium gramineurum-Originally discovered growing in the dirt around Buckinghamshire, the fungus is now produced in giant- sized vats to which a steady supply of oxygen, nitrogen, sugar, and vitamins are added. Once harvested from the fermentation vats, Quorn undergoes an RNA-reduction process to reduce its potential mutagenic properties to a level recommended by the World Health Organization.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

Wow BC, I am impressed with how fast you come up with this stuff. I have a question. Is this stuff Carcinogenic if eaten as a main protein source? Isn't that what mutenogenic or whatever that was...is?

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), April 17, 2002.

....and the yeast farms are in full production. Reminds me of the sci fi movies like The Matrix and Soylent Green..... everything a body needs. It will be a major part of future microfarming.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

Jay, like the vats of Trantor in the Foundation series by Asimov?

-- Joe (CactusJoe001@AOL.com), April 17, 2002.

Joe,

I'm reading "Prelude" now. I get a kick out of the way Hari keeps getting in hot water and Dors proves herself to be more than just a historian.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

I ate quorn once in Britain - key word being ONCE. It tasted like tempeh (a fermented soy product, for those unfamiliar w/ vegetarian foods) that had been left in the fridge a little too long, and I don't even really like tempeh to begin with. I have been vegetarian for six years now and I used to eat "meat substitutes" but have abandoned them in favor of more natural protein sources, like beans, eggs, cheese, and yoghurt, that don't pretend to be things that they're not.

-- Alice (megatron_revised@yahoo.com), April 17, 2002.

Hey folks, Thanks for this information. I was looking for another research topic to study and this sounds sort of interesting.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Creepy. I'll stick to morel(sp) mushrooms, they're strange enough. Magically appearing in the woodland over night in the spring. Odd little boogers. Maybe they are there, maybe not. You may find one, you may find millions. One day they are there, the next .... gone. You find them one spring, but not again many springs later. Doncha just love this Earth? Wonder why we are interested in other planets, ours has plenty of oddness.

-- Susan in Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Susan, wash 'em, soak them in milk overnight. Light flour and fry in PAM or in a WOK. Wonderful! We have 'em in central Oklahoma. Now I've moved to the hills of Arkansas and I'm staking out fallen cedar logs with annnnnnnnticipation!

-- Dennis Enyart (cowboy405@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Quornworld.com? Wow. That cracks me up for some reason... Thanks!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

Here in Oklahoma the Morels come up when the redbuds bloom. Dennis, thanks for telling me how to serve them. We have just been frying them with onions. MMMM good.

-- Jimmy S (Macrocarpus@gbronline.com), April 18, 2002.