Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a fungi, not a plant. Fungi were the first organisms to come on land 1.3 billion years ago. They were used as medicines by ancient civilizations to the point where Egyptians called them the plant of immortality. They are crucial to traditional Chinese medicine.
Humans are more closely related to fungi than to any other kingdom. Some of the essential molecules mushrooms contain have been present in the human diet for so long that our bodies may now depend on them.
From the beautiful to the grotesque, fungi send out mycelium (roots) which travel through the earth as an organism to create rich soil/earth for farms and forests. Mushrooms themselves are very short lived, but mycelium can be massive. A colony in Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon is estimated to be 2,400 years old and encompasses 2,200 acres, mostly underground in decaying wood and dying tree roots.
A world renowned mycologist, Paul Stamets, gives an excellent TED talk explaining how mushrooms can help solve some the world’s most serious problems, from cleaning oil spills and absorbing farm pollution to fighting off smallpox, flu viruses and insects. The Department of Defense is studying mushrooms from old growth forests as a defense against poxes—preserving old growth forests may become a matter of national defense!
Mushrooms have already been used successfully against termites, carpenter ants and fire ants.
To find out more on mushrooms, watch the video by Paul Stamets on YouTube entitled “6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World.”
A mushroom is actually the fleshy, spore-bearing body fruit of a fungus, usually produced above ground or on the food source of the fungi. Mushrooms were often referred to as toadstools, but usually in relation to poisonous mushrooms. In the 14th through 16th centuries, toadstool was used frequently, especially in German and Dutch language and there may have been a connection with poisonous toads. In modern vernacular, fungi, especially in cooking and nonscientific uses, is often referred to as mushrooms, which may have originated from the French word mousseron in reference to moss (mousse).
For a time, “fungophobia” was present in England, probably due to the exaggerated importance on the few poisonous and actually deadly mushrooms. Fungus hunters and mushrooms in general were regarded by a small population as abnormal and worthless. The superstitious also regarded mushrooms as the Devil’s fruit due to the ability of fungi to appear quickly overnight from underground; some believed mushroom rings were magical entrances. Limited fungophobia spread from England to the United States and Australia.
The ability of mushrooms to grow quickly has been incorporated into the English language to include anything mushrooming or expanding rapidly or appearing unexpectedly. All species of mushroom take at least several days to form the fruit bodies, although these do grow rapidly through the absorption of fluids. Some mushrooms grow quite slowly from the edges of a colony and are critically endangered due to this limited development.
In spite of their usually white or brown colors, mushrooms contain many antioxidants usually present in more colorful foods. They are low in calories, good sources of fiber and protein and packed with nutrients. Some of these include selenium, potassium, copper and the B vitamins niacin and riboflavin (a helper vitamin which turns other nutrients into usable forms).
The two types of dietary fiber, beta-glucans and chitin, increase feelings of fullness and reduce appetite.
Lectins, a protein that binds to abnormal and cancer cells to label them for destruction by our immune system, are an important component of mushrooms. Numerous studies have shown that mushrooms help fight breast, hepatocellular, uterine cervix, pancreatic, and gastric cancers and leukemia.
Mushrooms have been found to contain ergothioneine, an antioxidant and cell protector that is made from the soil only by fungi and mycobacteria. Shiitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms contain large amounts, but it is present in other mushrooms also. This compound is so stable and powerful, it has been predicted that it will become a vitamin!
It’s better to eat cooked mushrooms rather than raw. Agaritine hydrazine, a natural toxin and carcinogen is contained in mushrooms, but is destroyed by cooking. Cooking also reduces the large amounts of water in mushrooms and concentrates the nutrients.
Because some wild mushrooms are not edible and are toxic and some mimic edible versions, no one should collect wild mushrooms unless they have been trained and are an expert in identification.
People do grow their own mushrooms.
Since someone asked:
Some mushrooms have psychedelic properties and have been used for centuries by ancient as well as modern cultures for religious and recreational purposes. One of these, the psilocybin mushroom, gained notoriety in the 1960s for its use during the hippie culture.
Psychiatric medical research involving mushrooms is ongoing with positive and also negative results.
Mushrooms are a fungi, not a plant. Fungi were the first organisms to come on land 1.3 billion years ago. They were used as medicines by ancient civilizations to the point where Egyptians called them the plant of immortality. They are crucial to traditional Chinese medicine.
Humans are more closely related to fungi than to any other kingdom. Some of the essential molecules mushrooms contain have been present in the human diet for so long that our bodies may now depend on them.
From the beautiful to the grotesque, fungi send out mycelium (roots) which travel through the earth as an organism to create rich soil/earth for farms and forests. Mushrooms themselves are very short lived, but mycelium can be massive. A colony in Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon is estimated to be 2,400 years old and encompasses 2,200 acres, mostly underground in decaying wood and dying tree roots.
A world renowned mycologist, Paul Stamets, gives an excellent TED talk explaining how mushrooms can help solve some the world’s most serious problems, from cleaning oil spills and absorbing farm pollution to fighting off smallpox, flu viruses and insects. The Department of Defense is studying mushrooms from old growth forests as a defense against poxes—preserving old growth forests may become a matter of national defense!
Mushrooms have already been used successfully against termites, carpenter ants and fire ants.
To find out more on mushrooms, watch the video by Paul Stamets on YouTube entitled “6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World.”
A mushroom is actually the fleshy, spore-bearing body fruit of a fungus, usually produced above ground or on the food source of the fungi. Mushrooms were often referred to as toadstools, but usually in relation to poisonous mushrooms. In the 14th through 16th centuries, toadstool was used frequently, especially in German and Dutch language and there may have been a connection with poisonous toads. In modern vernacular, fungi, especially in cooking and nonscientific uses, is often referred to as mushrooms, which may have originated from the French word mousseron in reference to moss (mousse).
For a time, “fungophobia” was present in England, probably due to the exaggerated importance on the few poisonous and actually deadly mushrooms. Fungus hunters and mushrooms in general were regarded by a small population as abnormal and worthless. The superstitious also regarded mushrooms as the Devil’s fruit due to the ability of fungi to appear quickly overnight from underground; some believed mushroom rings were magical entrances. Limited fungophobia spread from England to the United States and Australia.
The ability of mushrooms to grow quickly has been incorporated into the English language to include anything mushrooming or expanding rapidly or appearing unexpectedly. All species of mushroom take at least several days to form the fruit bodies, although these do grow rapidly through the absorption of fluids. Some mushrooms grow quite slowly from the edges of a colony and are critically endangered due to this limited development.
In spite of their usually white or brown colors, mushrooms contain many antioxidants usually present in more colorful foods. They are low in calories, good sources of fiber and protein and packed with nutrients. Some of these include selenium, potassium, copper and the B vitamins niacin and riboflavin (a helper vitamin which turns other nutrients into usable forms).
The two types of dietary fiber, beta-glucans and chitin, increase feelings of fullness and reduce appetite.
Lectins, a protein that binds to abnormal and cancer cells to label them for destruction by our immune system, are an important component of mushrooms. Numerous studies have shown that mushrooms help fight breast, hepatocellular, uterine cervix, pancreatic, and gastric cancers and leukemia.
Mushrooms have been found to contain ergothioneine, an antioxidant and cell protector that is made from the soil only by fungi and mycobacteria. Shiitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms contain large amounts, but it is present in other mushrooms also. This compound is so stable and powerful, it has been predicted that it will become a vitamin!
It’s better to eat cooked mushrooms rather than raw. Agaritine hydrazine, a natural toxin and carcinogen is contained in mushrooms, but is destroyed by cooking. Cooking also reduces the large amounts of water in mushrooms and concentrates the nutrients.
Because some wild mushrooms are not edible and are toxic and some mimic edible versions, no one should collect wild mushrooms unless they have been trained and are an expert in identification.
People do grow their own mushrooms.
Since someone asked:
Some mushrooms have psychedelic properties and have been used for centuries by ancient as well as modern cultures for religious and recreational purposes. One of these, the psilocybin mushroom, gained notoriety in the 1960s for its use during the hippie culture.
Psychiatric medical research involving mushrooms is ongoing with positive and also negative results.
Mushrooms are a living organism that has no roots, leaves, flowers or seeds. They require no soil or light to grow—only decaying material (e.g. wood, leaves or manure). It is due to the growth media used in commercial production of non-organic mushrooms being possibly contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other unwanted substances that it is recommended that you buy organic mushrooms.
All mushrooms should be stored in the refrigerator to retain texture and nutrients. They should be removed from the original container and placed in a loosely closed paper bag wrapped in a damp cloth or placed in a glass dish covered with a damp cloth. Mushrooms should not touch one another or at least not be clumped together. Under these conditions, they can be stored for 3 to 7 days in the refrigerator. Once a layer of slime has formed on the mushrooms, they are no longer fresh.
Mushrooms should not be washed with water because they are porous and will absorb water and become soggy. It is best to clean them gently with a slightly damp paper towel, kitchen towel or with a mushroom brush.
Dried mushrooms should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer in a tightly sealed container and will keep for six months to a year.
The types of mushrooms most commonly eaten are:
All mushrooms should be stored in the refrigerator to retain texture and nutrients. They should be removed from the original container and placed in a loosely closed paper bag wrapped in a damp cloth or placed in a glass dish covered with a damp cloth. Mushrooms should not touch one another or at least not be clumped together. Under these conditions, they can be stored for 3 to 7 days in the refrigerator. Once a layer of slime has formed on the mushrooms, they are no longer fresh.
Mushrooms should not be washed with water because they are porous and will absorb water and become soggy. It is best to clean them gently with a slightly damp paper towel, kitchen towel or with a mushroom brush.
Dried mushrooms should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer in a tightly sealed container and will keep for six months to a year.
The types of mushrooms most commonly eaten are:
- button or white—most common in US supermarkets & available year-round, with an earthy flavor
• cremini, also called baby portabellos and portobellini or just brown mushrooms. They are a more mature white button mushroom in a light brown color with a mild but deeper flavor than white buttons. While they do contain Vitamin B12 and the fatty acid linoleic acid, both usually found only in animal products, you cannot rely on getting your RDA of Vitamin B12 from mushrooms as the content of this vitamin depends on growing conditions. Cook only 7 minutes to avoid losing nutrients.
• portobello is the most mature stage of the white button mushroom and has a mild flavor with a meaty texture. Large portobellos are often grilled.
• porcini—meaty with similar taste to portabello and a sourdough aroma. They are light brown and vary in size from small to 10 inches across. They are often sold dried: soak them in hot water for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
• hen of the woods or maitake (Japanese for dancing mushrooms) have a rich earthy flavor and hold their shape well and can be used in soups and stir fries.
• chanterelles are often a golden color, but come in different shades. With their delicate flavor, they were once served only to nobility and similar to truffles and morels in that they are highly prized. They can last up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
- morels are very savory & chewy but available only in spring.
• enoki are common in Asian cooking and available fresh and canned. They are crisp, holding up well in soups & salads and are native to Japan.
• shiitake are widely used in Japan, China, and Korea. WIth a savory taste, they are good in soups and sauces. They are available in powdered form and often used in traditional Asian medicine.
• oyster have a delicate, sweet flavor and are easily cultivated and therefore relatively inexpensive.
Enjoy those mushies!!!