What is the quorn? It is a vegetarian or vegan product that uses a mushroom-based protein blend as an alternative to meat. And if before it could only be found abroad, where the quorn has had great success as it is tastier than tofu or seitan, today this alternative to vegan or vegetarian meat (you will understand the distinction) is also found in Italy, produced by Quorn Foods .

Ok, but what exactly is quorn?

Quorn is a protein food obtained from a mixture of proteins called mycoproteins, which is obtained from the processing of a small, very fibrous mushroom, Fusarium venenatum, of which the protein or albuminoid part, the most viscous, is extracted. However, you should n’t think of Fusarium venenatum as a mushroom like champignon.

Instead, it is a mold that was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century and used to produce quorn, which is therefore not a new food. The proteins obtained from this mold are suitable for human consumption, although cases of allergies have been reported , although not widespread, and its processing allows to obtain a protein blend that has great advantages.

The first is to obtain a protein product that uses neither soy nor cereals and therefore has no environmental impact. These molds are raised in specific tanks, apart from the use of water there is no exploitation of the soil. Except for Quorn 100% vegan, where instead the product is a mixture of proteins from cereals and legumes and mycoproteins with emulsifiers and additives that make it very unattractive from a nutritional point of view.

The second is that the protein quality of this mushroom is high, and Quorn is also low in fat, but it depends on the product.
There are two variants of the Quorn.