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Mushrooms are tasty, nutritious, very simple to grow, and they grow fast. The claims made in the article about the supposed fussiness of mushrooms does not fit

Mushrooms are tasty, nutritious, very simple to grow, and they grow fast. The claims made in the article about the supposed fussiness of mushrooms does not fit with my experience. We should all eat more mushrooms, not necessarily as a meat substitute, just in general. They can bring their own fantastic richness and flavor to so many dishes, if you venture beyond the boring white button mushrooms. At least go for portobellos or something, they're so much more interesting.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bitumen 9y ago
Emphasis on tasty! The savory “umami” nature of mushrooms complements and enhances meat wonderfully. I’ve blitzed up some dried mushrooms in a blender and mixed it into panko breadcrumbs, and it works like MSG only better. Mushrooms are basically culinary magic, and criminally underused (other than as you say, those nasty white ones) in this country. No really, I love mushrooms.
- crowbahr 9y ago
  My new favorite mushrooms are ennoki. Local Asian food store has them insanely cheap and they're amazing pan fried with some garlic, bok choy and pepper.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  I much prefer mushrooms to tofu as a meat substitute, or as the umami component in stews or soups.
  - spodek 9y ago
    You may like nutritional yeast. I started putting a tablespoon in my bowls of soups and stews. I liked the taste enough to keep putting on more until I put in a cup or two to the whole stew.
    - KozmoNau7 9y ago
      Sure! I got introduced to it through a friend who's lactose intolerant, but loves the taste of cheese. It does add an almost cheese-like umami component.
      - bitumen 9y ago
        You can also use it to jack up the flavor of cheese! I love adding a little bit to dehydrated cheese, and using the mixture on popcorn. It’s more cheesy than cheese (if you know what I mean).
Alex3917 9y ago
> The claims made in the article about the supposed fussiness of mushrooms does not fit with my experience. Growing mushrooms indoors on a commercial scale is very different than order an oyster kit or having a couple shiitake logs in your backyard. IMHO the mushroom that pairs best with beef is ishnoderma resinosum, and I'm not sure anyone even knows how to cultivate that.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  I (and a few of my friends) picked mushrooms at farms as a part-time job while studying. Maybe it depends on the climate, here in the humid northern Europe, it's relatively simple to grow mushrooms on a commercial scale.
  - Turing_Machine 9y ago
    Well, there are mushrooms and mushrooms. The common commercial white and brown button/portobello mushrooms (Agaricus campestris and Agaricus bisporus) are pretty easy to grow -- they've been cultivated at scale since the 1700s. Others (such as oyster mushrooms and shiitake) aren't too much harder. Unfortunately, the most prized species (truffles, morels) are more tricky. Commercial truffle cultivation does exist, but it's a roll of the dice. You inoculate your trees, then you pray. It's nothing like the large-scale factory model used for the Agaricus species. With respect to morels, while several people over the years have claimed to have a process for cultivating them, no one (to my knowledge) has ever been successful at producing them on a commercial scale. Virtually all morels are still harvested in the wild. That's a real pity, because they are worlds better than the Agaricus species.
maxerickson 9y ago
Mushrooms aren't all that nutritious. They don't have many vitamins and don't have many calories. They do have nice flavor and a good mix of calories though.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  Considering how most people eat to a calorie surplus on a daily basis, fewer calories is a good thing.
- HillaryBriss 9y ago
  In addition to vitamins/minerals/calories, mushrooms contain other chemicals which may impact human health. This study found increased immune system activity after the consumption of white button mushrooms for 1 week: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113068 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113068 This study suggests that certain chemicals found in mushrooms might be helpful in combatting cardiovascular disease: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-2891-9-29?site=nutritionj.biomedcentral.com https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-...
- coldtea 9y ago
  >Mushrooms aren't all that nutritious. They don't have many vitamins and don't have many calories The first part is not exactly right, and the second part is a pro. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278858.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278858.php
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    They really aren't high in vitamins and minerals. They have moderate levels of a couple of them. And not having calories might be a good thing, but it doesn't make a food "nutritious".
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >They really aren't high in vitamins and minerals. They have moderate levels of a couple of them That's true for most plants too. It's not like anyone advices eating only or mostly mushrooms, so that getting 100% of your vitamins from them becomes essential. Plus, nutritional value is relative. Mushrooms are more nutritious than many of the kind of foods they can replace.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

bitumen 9y ago

Emphasis on tasty! The savory “umami” nature of mushrooms complements and enhances meat wonderfully. I’ve blitzed up some dried mushrooms in a blender and mixed it into panko breadcrumbs, and it works like MSG only better. Mushrooms are basically culinary magic, and criminally underused (other than as you say, those nasty white ones) in this country. No really, I love mushrooms.

crowbahr 9y ago
My new favorite mushrooms are ennoki. Local Asian food store has them insanely cheap and they're amazing pan fried with some garlic, bok choy and pepper.
KozmoNau7 9y ago
I much prefer mushrooms to tofu as a meat substitute, or as the umami component in stews or soups.
- spodek 9y ago
  You may like nutritional yeast. I started putting a tablespoon in my bowls of soups and stews. I liked the taste enough to keep putting on more until I put in a cup or two to the whole stew.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    Sure! I got introduced to it through a friend who's lactose intolerant, but loves the taste of cheese. It does add an almost cheese-like umami component.
    - bitumen 9y ago
      You can also use it to jack up the flavor of cheese! I love adding a little bit to dehydrated cheese, and using the mixture on popcorn. It’s more cheesy than cheese (if you know what I mean).

Alex3917 9y ago

> The claims made in the article about the supposed fussiness of mushrooms does not fit with my experience. Growing mushrooms indoors on a commercial scale is very different than order an oyster kit or having a couple shiitake logs in your backyard. IMHO the mushroom that pairs best with beef is ishnoderma resinosum, and I'm not sure anyone even knows how to cultivate that.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
I (and a few of my friends) picked mushrooms at farms as a part-time job while studying. Maybe it depends on the climate, here in the humid northern Europe, it's relatively simple to grow mushrooms on a commercial scale.
- Turing_Machine 9y ago
  Well, there are mushrooms and mushrooms. The common commercial white and brown button/portobello mushrooms (Agaricus campestris and Agaricus bisporus) are pretty easy to grow -- they've been cultivated at scale since the 1700s. Others (such as oyster mushrooms and shiitake) aren't too much harder. Unfortunately, the most prized species (truffles, morels) are more tricky. Commercial truffle cultivation does exist, but it's a roll of the dice. You inoculate your trees, then you pray. It's nothing like the large-scale factory model used for the Agaricus species. With respect to morels, while several people over the years have claimed to have a process for cultivating them, no one (to my knowledge) has ever been successful at producing them on a commercial scale. Virtually all morels are still harvested in the wild. That's a real pity, because they are worlds better than the Agaricus species.

maxerickson 9y ago

Mushrooms aren't all that nutritious. They don't have many vitamins and don't have many calories. They do have nice flavor and a good mix of calories though.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
Considering how most people eat to a calorie surplus on a daily basis, fewer calories is a good thing.
HillaryBriss 9y ago
In addition to vitamins/minerals/calories, mushrooms contain other chemicals which may impact human health. This study found increased immune system activity after the consumption of white button mushrooms for 1 week: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113068 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22113068 This study suggests that certain chemicals found in mushrooms might be helpful in combatting cardiovascular disease: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-2891-9-29?site=nutritionj.biomedcentral.com https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-...
coldtea 9y ago
>Mushrooms aren't all that nutritious. They don't have many vitamins and don't have many calories The first part is not exactly right, and the second part is a pro. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278858.php https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278858.php
- maxerickson 9y ago
  They really aren't high in vitamins and minerals. They have moderate levels of a couple of them. And not having calories might be a good thing, but it doesn't make a food "nutritious".
  - coldtea 9y ago
    >They really aren't high in vitamins and minerals. They have moderate levels of a couple of them That's true for most plants too. It's not like anyone advices eating only or mostly mushrooms, so that getting 100% of your vitamins from them becomes essential. Plus, nutritional value is relative. Mushrooms are more nutritious than many of the kind of foods they can replace.