Hi Everyone! Happy Monday and welcome to a new month, which will bring the start of Spring! Yeah! We are going to step into March talking about all mushrooms! This will be a two-part blog series all about the mighty mushroom. I can’t believe how much information there is and what great tips I learned.
Ancient Chinese herbalists considered the reishi mushroom the most beneficial of all medicines and the emperors of Japan believed the reishi granted them immortality. Today, the Japanese government officially recognizes the reishi mushroom as a substance for treating cancer. Reishi is only one of more than 38,000 varieties of mushrooms that flourish throughout the world!!! WOW! Some varieties are edible, others (often called toadstools) are highly toxic or even poisonous, and most grow in the wild. The culinary mushrooms sold in grocery stores are usually grown in special buildings, where the desired environment for cultivating mushrooms can be controlled. The French were the first to grow mushrooms as a crop in caves beginning in the seventeenth century!
Mushrooms are the above-ground fleshy, fruiting body of a fungus. Mushrooms, like all fungi, do not have the chlorophyll necessary to turn light into energy. They are highly nutritious. They supply protein, amino acids, B vitamins, copper, magnesium, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, folate, selenium, and iron. Mushrooms are among the few food sources rich in the trace mineral germanium, which is thought to promote efficient use of oxygen in the body and to protect against damage from free radicals! Some species of mushrooms even provide beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant. Mushrooms are also very low in calories. Food fact: a cup of raw mushrooms contains approximately 20 calories and little or no fat. Because the small amount of fat in mushrooms consists mainly of unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, they may be the ideal food to lose weight and maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.
All edible mushrooms contain both medicinal and nutritional qualities. Scientific research indicates that the major actions of medicinal mushrooms are stimulating the immune system and protecting against cardiovascular disease, free radicals, mutagens and toxins. The combination of compounds in mushrooms is believed to target the immune system and aid in neuron transmission, metabolism, and the transport of nutrients and oxygen. Great fact: three mushroom varieties – reishi, shiitake, and maitake – have been studied intensively and have proven to possess strong medicinal properties. All mushrooms must be cooked to get the nutritional value. The cell walls cannot be digested unless they are tenderized by heat.
Most grocery stores today carry several varieties of mushrooms. Choose fresh varieties that show no sign of deterioration and are firm, plump, and dry to the touch. Also, select mushrooms with smooth, unwrinkled caps that are not frayed on the edges. Avoid mushrooms that are wet, black, bruised, or spotted with mold. Fresh mushrooms should smell like the woods. Avoid any mushrooms that smell of ammonia. (A word of caution: do not pick and eat any wild mushrooms. Eating any that are unidentified from the wild could lead to very serious illness.)
Most refrigerator vegetable bins do not provide adequate air circulation needed to keep mushrooms fresh. Store them unwashed and untrimmed in a loosely closed brown paper bag in the main compartment of the fridge. You can also place them in a shallow glass dish covered with a kitchen towel or lightly moistened paper towel. Leave prepackaged mushrooms unopened until you use them. Dried mushrooms can be kept indefinitely at room temperature in a dry place, providing they are unopened and in their original packaging or an airtight container.
The best method for cleaning fresh mushrooms is to gently wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. You can clean them also with a brief spritz from the spray attachment of the faucet, but be careful not to waterlog them. After mushrooms have been cleaned, cut off the tip of the stem if it is dried out. Mushrooms can be used whole or sliced. Slicing, however, causes fresh mushrooms to lose 33 percent of their vitamin B. To prevent darkening, dip mushroom slices in lemon water. Cooked mushrooms give foods a delightful flavor, due to their large quantity of natural glutamic acid. Also, mushrooms contain very little sodium. Dried mushrooms can be reconstituted by placing them in a pan of hot water for twenty to thirty minutes. Reserve the soaking liquid, filter it through cheesecloth or a coffee filter and use it in stock!!!! Be aware that mushrooms will discolor aluminum cooking pans and utensils and they are not recommended!
RECIPES:
Mixed Mushrooms. Take 1 pound of mixed mushrooms roughly chopped, 1 clove of garlic peeled and roughly chopped, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped, 1/2 bunch of thyme, leaves only, 2 tablespoons of butter, and sea salt and pepper to taste. In a large frying pan, using half of the olive oil, saute the mushrooms on high heat for 5 minutes or until reduced in size. Add the rest of the olive oil and garlic, saute for a couple of minutes, add butter, chives, thyme and saute. Remove from the heat and squeeze with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and serve on a piece of fresh sourdough.
Mushroom Risotto. (I love this with fish.) Take 1 cup of arborio rice, 5 cups of organic chicken broth, 1/2 cup of white onion, 6 ounces of fresh baby bella mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of rosemary chopped or dried. Dice the onion. Saute onions in one tablespoon of olive oil until tender. Add chopped mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly soft and beginning to release juices. Add 1 cup arborio rice to the pan and stir well, until it has soaked up the juice from the cooking mushrooms. Add 1 cup of warm broth and stir well, until absorbed by the rice about 5-8 minutes. Continuing adding chicken broth by the cup and stirring until absorbed. Over time the rice will become more tender. Go slow and keep stirring. When the rice is soft and slightly chewy, mix in your fresh, chopped or dried rosemary. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Mushroom Pate. Take 1 1/2 cups of mushrooms, 1 onion chopped, 1/4 cup of a butter of your choice, 8 ounces of light/low fat cream cheese softened, 1 tablespoon of chives, freshly chopped, sea salt and pepper. Slice the mushrooms and chop onions. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion and mushrooms until soft. Drain any juices from the mushroom onion mixture and allow to cool. In a food processor mix mushroom onion mixture with remaining ingredients until nice and smooth. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate for 2 or more hours before serving. Serve with rye bread, wheat, or other favorite bread or crackers.
Have a wonderful rest of your week. Next week’s post will be part two of this series. We will center on reishi, shiitake, and maitake mushrooms focusing on their great medicinal and culinary uses!
“When life knocks you down, roll over and look at the stars.”
Lemon and Rosemary 