3 ms·

I suspect this stuff cannot be commercially viable, otherwise someone would have done it by now. Though, I'm a vegetarian of 22 years and have never heard of ei

I suspect this stuff cannot be commercially viable, otherwise someone would have done it by now. Though, I'm a vegetarian of 22 years and have never heard of either of these things. It sounds cool, and I'll probably seek some out now, but it's certainly not well-known. I've used portobello mushrooms, and several kinds of Asian mushrooms, for substitution in various dishes, but never considered them indistinguishable (or even all that similar) to meat. But, given the incredible and fascinating (and delicious) variety of mushrooms and fungi, I am more than willing to believe there are lots of food options that haven't been explored.

Alex3917 11y ago
> I'll probably seek some out now Join your local mycology group in spring. Every city has one, and you can either Google for yours or look them up on the NAMA website. A lot of their websites look like the group may be defunct, but they are mostly still active -- it's just that the average age in these groups is going to be like 60, so the sites just don't get updated often. (Though most of the younger folks in these groups tend to be software developers, go figure.) Anyway they'll have at least one walk every weekend, and if you go on half of them then you'll know how to safely identify and cook with most of the basic edibles by fall. You'll probably learn a bunch of edible plants as well, especially during the slow season between when the morels finish and when the summer mushrooms start coming up. There definitely are a lot of things that aren't commercially viable. But probably even more that just haven't been commercialized. E.g. there are tons of foods that are eaten in Asia, Africa, and South America that aren't commonly consumed in the U.S., and sometimes that has to be with growing conditions, but more often than not it's just a marketing thing. Regardless, what I'd say is that you're not a real foodie unless you own a couple dozen field guides, because at least for the foreseeable future that's the only way you're ever going to get to try a lot of the best foods available in your area.
vidarh 11y ago
Cultivating mushrooms at commercial levels have been, and still is, incredibly difficult. Many of the most desirable mushrooms are still so poorly understood that cultivation involves "get things mostly right, spread spores, wait, try again, and maybe you get lucky". E.g. chantarelle mushrooms are an example that is tricky [1] and where commercial cultivation is just in its very early infancy despite being an extremely attractive goal for people to cultivate because of its price. I've not tried the ones mentioned, but I've picked maybe a couple dozen different types and their taste and texture varies so wildly that I'd not be surprised at all if some of them get close. I've tried smaller puffball varieties, and they're in any case nice. They're also "easy" ones to learn as there's very few poisonous varieties and I believe only a few similar mushrooms you might mistake for puffballs (but if you want to pick them - or any type of mushrooms - check local advice on what to look for; a common problem with picking mushrooms given the sheer variety, is if you pick somewhere new and don't realise there are poisonous varieties you're unfamiliar with that look similar to the ones you're picking - always familiarise yourself not just with what the mushrooms you want to pick look like, but also specifically how they differ from similar poisonous ones in the area) [1] http://www.gardenguides.com/127093-grow-chanterelle-mushroom.html http://www.gardenguides.com/127093-grow-chanterelle-mushroom...

Alex3917 11y ago

> I'll probably seek some out now Join your local mycology group in spring. Every city has one, and you can either Google for yours or look them up on the NAMA website. A lot of their websites look like the group may be defunct, but they are mostly still active -- it's just that the average age in these groups is going to be like 60, so the sites just don't get updated often. (Though most of the younger folks in these groups tend to be software developers, go figure.) Anyway they'll have at least one walk every weekend, and if you go on half of them then you'll know how to safely identify and cook with most of the basic edibles by fall. You'll probably learn a bunch of edible plants as well, especially during the slow season between when the morels finish and when the summer mushrooms start coming up. There definitely are a lot of things that aren't commercially viable. But probably even more that just haven't been commercialized. E.g. there are tons of foods that are eaten in Asia, Africa, and South America that aren't commonly consumed in the U.S., and sometimes that has to be with growing conditions, but more often than not it's just a marketing thing. Regardless, what I'd say is that you're not a real foodie unless you own a couple dozen field guides, because at least for the foreseeable future that's the only way you're ever going to get to try a lot of the best foods available in your area.

vidarh 11y ago

Cultivating mushrooms at commercial levels have been, and still is, incredibly difficult. Many of the most desirable mushrooms are still so poorly understood that cultivation involves "get things mostly right, spread spores, wait, try again, and maybe you get lucky". E.g. chantarelle mushrooms are an example that is tricky [1] and where commercial cultivation is just in its very early infancy despite being an extremely attractive goal for people to cultivate because of its price. I've not tried the ones mentioned, but I've picked maybe a couple dozen different types and their taste and texture varies so wildly that I'd not be surprised at all if some of them get close. I've tried smaller puffball varieties, and they're in any case nice. They're also "easy" ones to learn as there's very few poisonous varieties and I believe only a few similar mushrooms you might mistake for puffballs (but if you want to pick them - or any type of mushrooms - check local advice on what to look for; a common problem with picking mushrooms given the sheer variety, is if you pick somewhere new and don't realise there are poisonous varieties you're unfamiliar with that look similar to the ones you're picking - always familiarise yourself not just with what the mushrooms you want to pick look like, but also specifically how they differ from similar poisonous ones in the area) [1] http://www.gardenguides.com/127093-grow-chanterelle-mushroom.html http://www.gardenguides.com/127093-grow-chanterelle-mushroom...