Do not reheat

Is "myco-protein" the least appetising word in the English language? Not while "phlegmatic" is still in wide usage it isn't. Whatever, it's hats off to any food manufacturer who's willing to step into the cook-chill cabinet under a product description that brings to mind last winter's chesty cough.

Is "myco-protein" the least appetising word in the English language? Not while "phlegmatic" is still in wide usage it isn't. Whatever, it's hats off to any food manufacturer who's willing to step into the cook-chill cabinet under a product description that brings to mind last winter's chesty cough.

Quorn is the mushroom-derived non-soya protein munch that thinks it's meat. It is also friend both to carnivores who want to kick their flesh habit and veggies who are close to falling off the wagon, like methadone for the microwave.

The Chicken Tikka incarnation arrived in a zestful and plausible fluorescent orange sauce whose consistency amazed - it had zing, smoothness and detectable real cream. The 21g fat content indicated that if it wasn't as rich as a genuine Tikka Masala, at least it wasn't going straight for the ventricles. But what about the pretend meat? The Quorn manifested itself in satisfying enough quantities to make me doubt the box on the back, which said it was only 15 per cent of weight - perhaps a good thing, perhaps bad. Bitewise it felt like it had once been alive - in fact it tasted more like chicken than any one of a dozen microcurries. I polished the plate and vowed to join the Quorn hunt at the next opportunity.