Is frozen Quorn a viable alternative to mince?

TrollHammaren

I was just wondering whether frozen Quorn, a meat alternative, has similar nutritional value to regular, lean beef mince, or whether I would be missing out on the protein etc. I have a naturally skinny frame but am quite muscular as I usually eat quite well and train in martial arts, so I wouldn't want to cut out anything that is keeping me in good shape!

I'd appreciate any educated or semi-educated information you could give to someone who is clueless when it comes to diet and nutrition. Thanks in advance!

Zamboni

TrollHammaren wrote: »

I was just wondering whether frozen Quorn, a meat alternative, has similar nutritional value to regular, lean beef mince, or whether I would be missing out on the protein etc. I have a naturally skinny frame but am quite muscular as I usually eat quite well and train in martial arts, so I wouldn't want to cut out anything that is keeping me in good shape!

I'd appreciate any educated or semi-educated information you could give to someone who is clueless when it comes to diet and nutrition. Thanks in advance!

Stick with beef.
Quorn tastes like absolute muck.

smiles302

Quorn on it's own tastes weird, but it carries just about any kind of sauce really well.

It is high in protein as far as I am aware. It should have nutrition info on the back of the packet.

The only thing I find with quorn is that it's not that filling.

Moe1

As a non-meat-eater, I eat quorn stuff all the time, and have fed it to my meat-eating friends and family. I always tell them in advance and quite a few have said they wouldn't notice the difference, though I do accept they may have been buttering me up so I'd cook again.
None have been horrified by it though, it's quite inoffensive. The mince just takes the flavour of whatever you add to it, so its own taste isn't that much of an issue.

Dubchef

Quorn Mince is the 'vegetarian' variety of mince, it is actually quite nice and not as fatty as normal mince, i used to use myself, only problem is it is wuite expensive for the amount u get.

TrollHammaren

The taste isn't an issue - I would likely be using it for chilli con carne, I'm just specifically asking about its nutritional value.

Zamboni

TrollHammaren wrote: »

The taste isn't an issue - I would likely be using it for chilli con carne, I'm just specifically asking about its nutritional value.

Quorn
Serving Size: 100g; Calories: 94, Total Fat: 15.2g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 23.1g

Beef Mince
Serving Size: 100g; Calories: 259, Total Fat: 16.3g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 26.06g

Taking from livestrong.com

Pace2008

Zamboni wrote: »

Quorn
Serving Size: 100g; Calories: 94, Total Fat: 15.2g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 23.1g

Beef Mince
Serving Size: 100g; Calories: 259, Total Fat: 16.3g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 26.06g

Taking from livestrong.com

Those macros for the Quorn don't add up to the caloric total.

Here's the info. from the supplier themselves.

howtomake

Yeah quorn in sauce is ok, or mixed in with other things. Careful though, there are a few people out there who are allergic to it and get very bad stomach pains (some reports of going into a hospital too). The thing is, you won't really know if it affects you until you've eaten some, I think. Not sure if there is an allergy test out there for quorn. I have no problems what so ever eating it.

Red Cortina

TrollHammaren wrote: »

I was just wondering whether frozen Quorn, a meat alternative, has similar nutritional value to regular, lean beef mince, or whether I would be missing out on the protein etc. I have a naturally skinny frame but am quite muscular as I usually eat quite well and train in martial arts, so I wouldn't want to cut out anything that is keeping me in good shape!

I'd appreciate any educated or semi-educated information you could give to someone who is clueless when it comes to diet and nutrition. Thanks in advance!

I have been trying to find out some nutritional information on quorn, besides the calorie/protein/fat content but am struggling...

The quorn website says that it is a mycoprotein and this is what wikipedia has to say about how it is made:

A fungus called Fusarium venenatum is the main source of mycoprotein. The fungus is grown in vats using glucose syrup as food. This Fusarium sp. respires aerobically, so for it to grow at an optimum rate, it is supplied with oxygen. To make protein, nitrogen (in the form of ammonia) is added, and vitamins and minerals are needed to support growth. The vat is kept at a constant temperature, also optimized for growth; The fungus can double its mass every five hours.
The fermentation vat is filled with the growth medium, and then inoculated with the mold. When the desired amount of mycoprotein has been created, the growth medium is drawn off from a tap at the bottom of the fermenter. The mycoprotein is separated and purified. It is a pale yellow solid with a faint taste of mushrooms. Different flavours and tastes can be added to the mycoprotein to add variety.

Sounds lovely doesn't it!

If I were you I would stick to eating real foods!

Michael Pollan has some great 'food rules' such as don't eat it if it comes in a box or if your grandmother wouldn't recognise it or if you can't
pronounce the ingredients etc which I think are a good guideline to use

Transform

more artificial food being sold as a 'healthy' alternative.

Much like the special K of the cereal industry

smiles302

Transform wrote: »

more artificial food being sold as a 'healthy' alternative.

Much like the special K of the cereal industry

Thought quorn was a fungus like mushrooms?

howtomake

smiles302 wrote: »

Thought quorn was a fungus like mushrooms?

Naw that's just the way they market it, it is mold basically, with eggs (so it is not vegan). Don't quote me on this but it started with some type of yeast development before WWI (???), and started to be thought of as an alternative protein source by the British govt/scientist who did some study predicting that there would be some sort of food/meat shortage (I think it was the late 50's). Anyway that didn't happen, so some company started to market it to veggies, etc. That's what I understand anyway, bits and pieces from various food documentaries I've watched. If someone else could fill in the blanks, that would be great

Transform

if it didnt exist 100 years ago and you cant spell it then it might not be the best option.

I eats meat!!