Hi Folks! Thought you might like to know what "real" food looks like.
Best...... Wayne ******* Well Journal - Can a fungus out-muscle meat? From: http://www.welljournal.com/n3/a1.htm By David MacFarlane America is getting its first taste of Quorn, a meat alternative made from a fungus that uncannily mimics the physical and nutritional properties of the real thing - but with virtually none of the drawbacks. "In some ways, it's going to be the next soy," says nutritionist and author Susan Mitchell, M.D. "It's an attractive alternative to people who want to eat less meat. And, yes, it tastes good." Quorn is high in protein and fiber, low in cholesterol and saturated fats, and high in mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. According to Marlow Foods, which markets Quorn, a typical serving has two-thirds the fat of a skinless chicken breast, the protein of an egg and the same amount of fiber as a baked potato. Quorn has been a hit in Europe since it was introduced 17 years ago. Marlow, a division of AstraZeneca, says one in five English households eats the products, powering sales of more than $150 million in 2001. Will it play in the States? Americans have had to wait until now to try Quorn, because it first had to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. FDA approval, which was granted in December 2001, was required because Quorn is made from mycoprotein, a fungus grown in large vats that is processed and flavored to produce a variety of products. Marlow describes mycoprotein as "an all-natural vegetable protein from the mushroom family," but at least one consumer advocate has taken issue with the description. "Quorn's mycoprotein has nothing to do with mushrooms," says Mark Jacobson, the executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit watchdog group. "Quorn is a fungus and should be labeled as such." Mitchell says there is merit to Jacobson's assertion, "All mushrooms are funguses but not all funguses are mushrooms," she says. The nomenclature issue does not detract from the evidence to date that the product is nutritious and safe, says Mitchell. "If it's successful it wouldn't surprise me," she says. But most people aren't likely to try it, she says, until "they hear from a friend -- or a friend of a friend -- that this is something they should eat." Marlow hopes to build $50 million in sales by selling Quorn next to such familiar frozen meat-alternatives such as Gardenburger and Boca Burger. By comparison, Americans spent more than $2.7 billion on soy food in 2000, according to Soyatec. The first line of Quorn products includes ready-to-eat chicken-style nuggets, patties, and cutlets, plus a variety of entrees such as lasagna and fettuccine Alfredo. Quorn also will be available in ingredient form as frozen beef-style grounds and frozen chicken-style tenders. Additional products are planned. Ferment, spin and separate Fusarium venenatum, the fungus that produces mycoprotein (literally "fungus protein"), was discovered in the soil west of London in the 1960. European pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca developed mycoprotein into a product, and began selling it through Marlow Foods in 1985 in England. Quorn debuted in Western Europe six years later. The fungus that produces mycoprotein is grown in large temperature-controlled towers, continuously fermented and fed a steady stream of oxygen, nitrogen, glucose, minerals and vitamins. After harvesting, it is treated to reduce its ribonucleic acid content to World Health Organization recommended levels. It's then placed in a centrifuge, which extracts water from the mixture. The resulting mass is mixed with binders, flavorings and other ingredients. Afterwards, it can be shaped and sized into burgers, sausages and cutlets. Like soy, Quorn is tasteless before it is flavored, which makes it an enormously versatile ingredient in foods. Where it may surpass soy, say those who have tried Quorn, is in its semblance to real meats. Quorn has a fibrousness that makes the sensory experience of chewing a Quorn chicken cutlet seem remarkably like the real thing. -- *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Sharon and Wayne McEachern http://www.LightExpression.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] "A Divine Program for Healing and Transformation" and Expressing the Light "A Ministry Dedicated to the Divine Process" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
