We're thinking about making are own Quorn , do you guys reckon is feasible. We're thinking about just on a small scale to help feed us 
. Looks simple enough. Has anyone here ever thought about amking there own quorn , if so how have you gone about it ?
NOTE:Previous attempts at producing such fermented protein foodstuffs were thwarted by excessive levels of DNA or RNA; without the heat treatment, purine, found in nucleic acids, is metabolised producing uric acid, which can lead to gout.[8]
Fermentation Techniques
From http://www.mycoproteineducation.com/...rmentation.php
Fermentation in the food industry can either take place :
1. when microbes are suspended in a liquid medium into which oxygen (air) is pumped. To ensure that all the cells have sufficient food and oxygen the mixture in the fermenter must be constantly mixed. These conditions are provided by two different types of fermenter :
a) Mechanical stirring using a paddle in the fermenter vessel shown below. This method is often used in smaller laboratory fermenters.
Fermentation also either takes place in what are known as a 'batch ' or 'continuous ' processes.
Batch fermentation involves filling the fermenter with medium (nutrients) and a starting culture. It is operated in conditions suitable for growth and then emptied so that the product can be harvested. Finally the fermenter is cleaned ready for the process to be repeated. With this method the product is produced in batches.
Continuous fermentation involves setting up a fermenter in the same way as for the batch method. With this method there is continuous removal of product and waste from the system while fresh nutrients continuously enter the fermenter. Continuous fermentation has mostly replaced the batch fermenter system in some industries as it is provides the best yields and longest periods between clean-downs.
With both methods the product has to be recovered from a mixture containing by-products. This is usually done using a filtration system to separate the waste and product. In cheese production the waste is whey which is used as animal feed. In beer making it is the dead yeast cells which are disposed of and in mycoprotein production it is the liquid in which the mycoprotein is grown.
The fermenter used to grow mycoprotein is a pressure cycle fermenter, which relies on air pumped through the system to circulate the broth and the continuous method of fermentation is used.
2. When solid materials are inoculated with a particular organism, its subsequent growth may introduce new flavours and/or textures, or preserves the system by producing acids. Blue cheeses and tempeh are perhaps the most common products of this type in the developed world, but as shown above, there are many others.
. Looks simple enough. Has anyone here ever thought about amking there own quorn , if so how have you gone about it ?-
- continually oxygenated water in large sterile fermentation tanks (don't need to be large etc.)
- Fusarium venenatum is the fungus (mould used to make micoprotein for quorn)
- continually oxygenated water in large sterile fermentation tanks (don't need to be large etc.)
- During the growth phase glucose is added as a food for the fungus,
- as are various vitamins and minerals (to improve the food value of the resulting product).
- The resulting mycoprotein is then extracted and heat-treated to remove excess levels of RNA.
NOTE:Previous attempts at producing such fermented protein foodstuffs were thwarted by excessive levels of DNA or RNA; without the heat treatment, purine, found in nucleic acids, is metabolised producing uric acid, which can lead to gout.[8]
- The product is then dried and mixed with chicken egg albumen, (which acts as a binder. It is then textured, giving it some of the grained character of meat, and pressed either into a mince (resembling ground beef) or into chunks (resembling diced chicken breast). In this form Quorn has a light )brown
Fermentation Techniques
From http://www.mycoproteineducation.com/...rmentation.php
Fermentation in the food industry can either take place :
1. when microbes are suspended in a liquid medium into which oxygen (air) is pumped. To ensure that all the cells have sufficient food and oxygen the mixture in the fermenter must be constantly mixed. These conditions are provided by two different types of fermenter :
a) Mechanical stirring using a paddle in the fermenter vessel shown below. This method is often used in smaller laboratory fermenters.
Fermentation also either takes place in what are known as a 'batch ' or 'continuous ' processes.
Batch fermentation involves filling the fermenter with medium (nutrients) and a starting culture. It is operated in conditions suitable for growth and then emptied so that the product can be harvested. Finally the fermenter is cleaned ready for the process to be repeated. With this method the product is produced in batches.
Continuous fermentation involves setting up a fermenter in the same way as for the batch method. With this method there is continuous removal of product and waste from the system while fresh nutrients continuously enter the fermenter. Continuous fermentation has mostly replaced the batch fermenter system in some industries as it is provides the best yields and longest periods between clean-downs.
With both methods the product has to be recovered from a mixture containing by-products. This is usually done using a filtration system to separate the waste and product. In cheese production the waste is whey which is used as animal feed. In beer making it is the dead yeast cells which are disposed of and in mycoprotein production it is the liquid in which the mycoprotein is grown.
The fermenter used to grow mycoprotein is a pressure cycle fermenter, which relies on air pumped through the system to circulate the broth and the continuous method of fermentation is used.
2. When solid materials are inoculated with a particular organism, its subsequent growth may introduce new flavours and/or textures, or preserves the system by producing acids. Blue cheeses and tempeh are perhaps the most common products of this type in the developed world, but as shown above, there are many others.
