Undercooked Quorn – why it happens and how to avoid it
We're huge fans of Quorn and have published various guides about Quorn across our website, from listing our favourite Quorn products to explaining what it tastes like. But there is one aspect of Quorn that we'll admit is quite frustrating, and that's cooking it. Because of the way some of the Quorn products look, it's often quite hard to tell when they have been properly cooked, meaning it is often served undercooked. Luckily the more you cook Quorn, the better you get at judging when it has been thoroughly cooked for optimal taste and texture. We wanted to publish a guide with some tips on how to avoid undercooking your Quorn, let's get into it:
Firstly, is it safe to eat undercooked Quorn?
We should clarify first of all that because Quorn isn't meat and isn't made using any ingredients which are unsafe to eat raw, you could in theory safely eat Quorn which is undercooked, or even not cooked at all. However, for the best taste and texture, we'd obviously recommend that you always cook Quorn, but you shouldn't be worried if you've consumed it without cooking it thoroughly.
What type of Quorn tends to be undercooked?
There are certain Quorn products which tend to be undercooked more frequently compared to other products within the Quorn range because it's harder to tell when they're cooked properly. For example, it's quite easy to tell with products like the Quorn Pieces and the Quorn Sausages because you can see the colour change, whereas other Quorn products don't change much visually when they are cooked. Here are the Quorn products which are most commonly undercooked:
Quorn mince
The most common Quorn product that people tend to undercook is definitely the Quorn mince. The main reason for this is that even when the mince is uncooked, it is dark in colour. So as you are cooking the mince, there is no visible change (unless you burn it). We actually have a guide to cooking Quorn mince, so you can make sure that you don't undercook it.
Quorn Nuggets
Quorn Nuggets are also often undercooked because although the exterior of the nugget gets visibly crispy and changes colour, it's hard to tell if the interior is cooking. The key to making sure you don't undercook Quorn nuggets is to make sure that the oven is hot enough to cook them inside.
Final thoughts
So like we said, you shouldn't be too worried about undercooking your Quorn because it is safe to eat. However, for the best taste you want to try and cook it properly, and you need to be extra careful with the Quorn mince and nuggets as these products tend to be undercooked more than any other type of Quorn product. Let us know your tips for cooking Quorn properly, and if you want to read something similar check out our tips to avoid bloating from Quorn.
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.