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8.4 Processed Fungal Food as an Alternative to SCPs
8.4.1 Mycoprotein
Various popular processed food products are available in the market. The most notable one is the mycoprotein ‘Quorn’. The UK Foods Standards Committee coined
the term mycoprotein to serve as the generic name for a food product obtained using
continuous fermentation of a selected strain of Fusarium venenatum (originally
called F. graminearum). Very large air-lift fermenter has been used to grow the
mycelium in a continuous culture mode (Trinci 1992). During continuous fermentation, mycoprotein is grown on food-grade glucose derived from starch as the carbon
source. A filamentous hyphal mass is the resulting product of the above reaction
much resembling a meat-like texture which was originally dried and powdered for
sale as high-protein SCP flour, but due to organoleptic qualities of the hyphal mass,
it has been developed as a meat substitute under the brand name ‘Quorn’, a hightechnology product coupled with the inherent nutritional value of fungal biomass.
Complementary to beef, the product is a low-fat, low-calorie, cholesterol- free health
food (Peinter et al. 1998).
The nutritional value of both mycoprotein and mushroom is comparable. It is
rich in protein and dietary fibre (due to the presence of chitin and β-glucans in
hyphal walls) and contains adequate proportions of all essential amino acids. It has
a protein content minimum of 44%. Its net protein utilization (NPU) is 75/100,
comparable to beef (80) and cow’s milk (75). When supplemented with 0.2% methionine, NPU is 100 (equal to egg protein). Mycoproteins are good source of B vitamins such as biotin (16 mg/100 g), riboflavin, niacin and B6 (content equivalent to
lamb), although it lacks in B12. Mycoprotein is found to be the excellent source of
zinc, particularly useful to vegetarians (Moore et al. 2001).
8.5 Production of Bakery and Cheese Products
Mixing of flour (usually from cereals especially wheat) with water, salt and sugar
followed by leavening using yeast results in the production of bakery products.
Fermentation of the sugar by the yeast forms carbon dioxide and alcohol. Bubbles
are formed by the released gas due to the elastic extension of gluten (a protein) in
the flour. On baking, the alcohol evaporates. The texture and flavour of the bread are
determined by the length of leavening, the quantity of gluten in the flour, the constituents of the grain and the temperature (Taniwaki et al. 2001).
A solid or semisolid protein food product manufactured from milk is considered
as cheese and is an occidental equivalent of the fermented soya products which are
popular in Asia. Cheese manufacture was the only method of preserving milk before
the advent of modern methods of food processing, like refrigeration, pasteurization
and canning. Although bacterial fermentation is involved in basic cheese-making,
A. Singh et al.
8.4 Processed Fungal Food as an Alternative to SCPs
8.4.1 Mycoprotein
Various popular processed food products are available in the market. The most notable one is the mycoprotein ‘Quorn’. The UK Foods Standards Committee coined
the term mycoprotein to serve as the generic name for a food product obtained using
continuous fermentation of a selected strain of Fusarium venenatum (originally
called F. graminearum). Very large air-lift fermenter has been used to grow the
mycelium in a continuous culture mode (Trinci 1992). During continuous fermentation, mycoprotein is grown on food-grade glucose derived from starch as the carbon
source. A filamentous hyphal mass is the resulting product of the above reaction
much resembling a meat-like texture which was originally dried and powdered for
sale as high-protein SCP flour, but due to organoleptic qualities of the hyphal mass,
it has been developed as a meat substitute under the brand name ‘Quorn’, a hightechnology product coupled with the inherent nutritional value of fungal biomass.
Complementary to beef, the product is a low-fat, low-calorie, cholesterol- free health
food (Peinter et al. 1998).
The nutritional value of both mycoprotein and mushroom is comparable. It is
rich in protein and dietary fibre (due to the presence of chitin and β-glucans in
hyphal walls) and contains adequate proportions of all essential amino acids. It has
a protein content minimum of 44%. Its net protein utilization (NPU) is 75/100,
comparable to beef (80) and cow’s milk (75). When supplemented with 0.2% methionine, NPU is 100 (equal to egg protein). Mycoproteins are good source of B vitamins such as biotin (16 mg/100 g), riboflavin, niacin and B6 (content equivalent to
lamb), although it lacks in B12. Mycoprotein is found to be the excellent source of
zinc, particularly useful to vegetarians (Moore et al. 2001).
8.5 Production of Bakery and Cheese Products
Mixing of flour (usually from cereals especially wheat) with water, salt and sugar
followed by leavening using yeast results in the production of bakery products.
Fermentation of the sugar by the yeast forms carbon dioxide and alcohol. Bubbles
are formed by the released gas due to the elastic extension of gluten (a protein) in
the flour. On baking, the alcohol evaporates. The texture and flavour of the bread are
determined by the length of leavening, the quantity of gluten in the flour, the constituents of the grain and the temperature (Taniwaki et al. 2001).
A solid or semisolid protein food product manufactured from milk is considered
as cheese and is an occidental equivalent of the fermented soya products which are
popular in Asia. Cheese manufacture was the only method of preserving milk before
the advent of modern methods of food processing, like refrigeration, pasteurization
and canning. Although bacterial fermentation is involved in basic cheese-making,
A. Singh et al.