286322 Sat Mar 11 03:25:53 -0800 2000 2 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1534776 In an article about tofu, it referred to its "pre-historic cousins tempeh and quorn". Tempeh I know (a kind of fermented tofu with the beans still lumpy), but quorn I've never heard of. Is this something very OLD (the article was '96). Is this at all common -- have you people heard of it?? I've looked around the web (including www.quorn.com), and have grasped WHAT it is...then question is more a matter of HOW WELL KNOWN is it?? Sat Mar 11 03:25:53 -0800 2000 0 julie id 1 1534777 Quorn is made out of what is called "head blight" --a fungus that attacks grains --particularly wheat. They process it by fermentation and it has fibers so it can be formed into textured meat analogs. Quorn is apparently much better known in Europe. Quorn appears to have similar absorbing properties to tofu -- so it is used with flavoring agents to produce palitible foodstuffs. The Quorn origin as "Head Blight" is not advertised, so the companies producing Quorn appear to keep the source of their product obscure. Interestingly the grain fungus known as ergot is the source of the basic molecule used in making LSD. I wonder about the properties of "Head Blight" (Fusarium graminearum). When people ate grain contaminated with "Head Blight" what effect did it have on them? Tord Sat Mar 11 07:44:37 -0800 2000 1534776 0 Tord 2 1534778 Here is a URL on the possible effects of eating tortillas affected by wheat containing Head Blight. The toxin in Head Blight is called DON. No wonder the companies producing Quorn are not discussing it's orgin.:-) I wonder what they do with the DON as a quorn by-product? Tord Link: http://www.ph.dhr.state.ga.us/epi/news/mar99/03.19.99.shtml Sat Mar 11 08:06:30 -0800 2000 1534777 0 Tord