What are you looking for?
21 January 2014

quorn fed // meat free... for me?

when the good people at quorn got in touch asking if we'd like to try a meat free, healthy protein diet, i was hesitant. boyfriend is a 'meat and three veg' kinda guy, and he protests to the mainly-asian menu that i keep him fed on so it was a certainty that he wouldn't be on board with this. i didn't tell him what i had planned for us until the day it arrived. even after he saw it and worked out what was going on, i was sure he wasn't going to be as ok with it as he was...

we started with the meat-free sausages; bangers and mash, with plenty of gravy to hide the taste if he didn't like it. for me, the taste was ok - i don't really like the taste of sausages anyway, only the texture. weird, i know. so i did like the taste of the quorn, but the texture was all wrong for what it was trying to be; they were too soft and smooth where sausages are normally chewy and a bit hard in places.

so i think while these are a fine visual substitution, they aren't a great textural or flavoursome one. plus, boyfriend only complained mildly and not about anything in particular - his main protest was that the mash was lumpy, so i guess that one was passable. will we have these again? considering these are a much healthier option than regular sausages and we quite enjoy a sausage and mash, or weekend fry up, then i definitely would buy these again.



and then on sunday night we tried the meat-free chicken pieces. besides the totally redundant name (i get it, but no; call them 'meat free chicken subs' or something less likely to confuse my other half: "if they want chicken, why don't they eat chicken?" because they're vegetarian. "yeah but if they're eating meat free chicken, it's still chicken". except it's not chicken meat. "so why say it is?" i really don't know.

dear quorn; please don't make me have that conversation ever again. thanks. 

this time cooked up with a korma, and again, well hidden in sauce just.in.case. the texture was spot on to regular chicken, but the taste was a little bland. boyfriend kept comparing it to tofu but i quite like tofu (when it's cooked right), and tofu can be more squidgy when over cooked. that's the thing about the quorn; you never really know when or if it's cooked - it doesn't change colour or anything, haha. will we have these again? yeah, probably. i'd prefer real chicken though. 

not pictured but also tried was the meat-free mince which we had in a yummy slimming-world friendly pasta bolognaise type dish. now, the mince i liked. i hate regular mince - even when you get it lean it's too fatty, so am happy to report that the quorn mince was tasty, not oily and was the perfect mince substitute. will we have this again? heck yes. boyfriend reckons it's crumblier than normal mince, but he's a mince meat fiend. i reckon i could sneak it in again without him knowing though. watch this space.

have you tried any of the quorn products? which was your favourite?


Add your comment

  1. I've been vegetarian for 17 years and occasionally eat quorn. The regular sausages aren't my favourite, but the chef special ones are amazing! My husband's Dad is a farmer and they got both of their approvals when I cooked them as part of a breakfast! The texture is so much better. I quite like the mince, but in meals that are full of flavour and I occasionally buy the chicken or ham slices for sandwiches. You wouldn't believe how many people assume that all vegetarians eat is qourn or how many people have asked the question your boyfriend asked! I like the flavour and texture of meat (or did 17 years ago) so eat quorn I just don't agree with eating it. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been a vegi for 34 years. I have tried probably 90% of Quorn products through the years I can honestly say I'm not that keen, I don't mind the family roast and the mince but that's about it, I hate the bacon style rashers and such like, I'm with the people who say "if they want chicken why don't they eat chicken". But there must be a lot of people who like it as the range has grown massively. Hey ho each to there own I suppose x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I only ever buy Quorn mince, I hate regular mince too. It's always fatty and just eugh so Quorn wins everytime, much to boyfriends disgust. He likes real meat, I prefer chicken, fish and Quorn.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm been a pescatarian since I was 8 so can't really remember the taste of meat, but I do like the Quorn products, my favourite is the mini sausage rolls, which I think probably do taste slightly meaty but it's probably the pastry that attracts me - they're quite addictive!

    mojitosandhandbags

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Quorn, I'm not a massive meat eater and tend to buy Quorn whenever I can. My favourite is the Quorn mince. It's so good, I'm not a massive fan of the chicken though.
    By the way your curry looks amazing.
    Kloe xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Having been veggie for more than 11 years I've been happily eating Quorn on occasions. I don't really feel that fussed about meat, and even now, whislt I have extended my diet to include some chicken and fish for health reasons, I could sort of take or leave it.I'd never bother with proper mince for bolognese or anything, as I know quorn is much better for you and the taste is about the same, or so I've been told by friends who've tried both..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gary would laugh me out of the kitchen if I ever tried to make him meat - substitutes! I find it hard enough getting greens down his throat! Xo

    ReplyDelete

thank you for your comment, you lovely thing you.