Fungi as Food Sources
(Source of picture: http://www.everbloom-mushroom.com.sg/)
Traditionally, mushrooms were identified and picked for food. The mushrooms you see at the markets are now commercially cultivated. These mushrooms are grown in highly controlled environments at specific temperature and humidity levels.
Do you know why
should we eat mushrooms ?
Mushrooms that made their way to our dinning tables
Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinus
edodes)
Also known as Japanese mushroom, Chinese mushroom and mushroom of the forest.
It is a saprophytic fungus which colonises dead wood of various species. In Japan, it occurs naturally in a type of tree called Shii. Therefore the name Shiitake in Japanese.
It is of medium size, with a cap diameter of approximately 2-4" and a stalk that is 4-5" long. The cap is round, brown and "scaly" while the stipe is yellowish-white with a prominent, persistent annulus.
Economic Importance of Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake Mushroom is the second most cultivated mushroom in the world, only after Agaricus, the Paris mushroom. Besides China and Japan, Shiitake is also widely cultivated in Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Singapore as well as Holland, the United States and Canada.
Shiitake's protein has a full complement of essential amino acids so it can be used extensively in a vegetarian diet. Its active ingredient, Lentinan (a polysaccharide), has been shown to reduce cancer and cholesterol.
The Shiitake Mushroom is as common in Asian countries as Agaricus bisporus is in the West. Its cultivation method is similar to that of P. ostreatus.
Find out the nutritional and medicinal properties of Shiitake
Mushrooms
Agaricus Mushrooms
This genus includes the commercially cultivated Agaricus brunnescens (bisporus). This is not a tropical species and those sold in supermarkets are imported.
The basidiocarp consists of a stipe bearing a ring and pileus. the pileus is cup-shaped and when fully opened, the gills rapidly turn dark brown.
The young button stage is marketed as 'Button Mushrooms'.
Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus
ostreatus)
This species is a saprobic fungus that can commonly be found, growing on dead trees, in nature. This large white, gray-brown or ivory-colored mushroom is named for its oyster shell-like shape. Its cap can grow to around 5-15 cm in its longest dimension. It has white gills running down a very short, off-center short and white stalk.
Paddy Straw Mushroom (Volvariella
volvacea)
The Paddy Straw mushroom is large. Its cap, if allowed to mature, often exceeding 5" in diameter, and is light to dark gray.
When young, the mushroom is entirely enclosed in a white, egg-like structure called the volva. As the mushroom develops, the stalk will elongate and push the cap upward, thereby rupturing the volva, leaving only a cup-like structure at the base of the stalk.
Many Chinese recipes require this mushroom. It is commercially cultivated on a mixture of raw cotton waste and rice bran and harvested in the button or egg stage before the pileus emerges. In the wild, the fungus tends to grow on decaying vegetation and wood.
Wood Ear (Auricularia
polytricha)
The earliest record of this species dated back to about 200-300 BC. It is now cultivated throughout the South Pacific and Asia. It has a common name that refers to the ear-shaped structure of the fruiting body: Mu-Er (wood ear) in China, and Pepiao (ear) in Hawaii.
The fruiting bodies are usually brownish to
reddish brown and has a consistency of jelly. In nature, the two
species are saprobes that grow on tree logs.
The cultivation of these species is the same as that of the Shiitake Mushroom. It is cultivated on logs and also on a mixture of saw dust and cotton waste.
Silver Ear (Tremella
fuciformis)
Commonly known as
'Jelly
Fungi' because of the
gelatinous, jelly-like nature of the basidiocarps which are
wrinkled or consist of leaf-like folds.
It is a saprophyte growing on decaying branches. This species produces a white, lobed, irregularly shaped fruiting body.
It is has been long utilized as a "herb" to cure many ailments. Tremella fuciformis is also known as 'silver ear' or 'snow ear' fungus, is widely eaten in the east. Chinese believe that it could cure tuberculosis, high blood pressure and common cold. It is also a Chinese delicacy.
The method of cultivation of this species is identical to that of the Shiitake and Auricularia since it is a wood inhabiting species.
Enoki (Flammulina
velutipes)
The Enoki is a very small, delicate mushroom. The species is whitish-yellow, with a cap not more than ¼- ½ " in diameter. The stalk is approximately 3-4" long and about ¼" thick.
It is cultivated on sawdust medium in a large container. It would seem to be an unlikely candidate for cultivation because of its small size, but seems to be commonly sold in supermarkets. The origin of cultivation of this species is believed to be in Japan.
More on Morels
Truth about Truffles
These mushrooms are believed to contain medicinal properties...
Lingzhi or Reishi (Ganoderma
lucidum)
Ganoderma is not a palatable mushroom. It can be used to make tea or soup.
It is a large, hard and leathery fungus with sessile or stalked basidiocarps. the undersurface of the basidiocarp is characterised by the presence of many tiny pores.
It is one of the most respected ingredients in traditional oriental medicine. It is cultivated for its medicinal and tonic values.
Cordyceps (Cordyceps
sinensis)
This fungus is a parasite growing on insects. It produces a long club-shaped structure or stroma on the dead body of the host.
Cordyceps sinensis
that grew on caterpillars.
When the caterpillars died, the fungus is dried and used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic and for various ailments.
Do you know how some common mushrooms are cultivated?
You may be inspired to grow mushrooms on your own and see them blooming before your own eyes !
Hmm....
These mushrooms look delicious. Shall we gather them and ...
Hey ! Wait a minute.
Do you know that these mushrooms are some of the most poisonous ones in the world?
These 
mushrooms
are NOT EDIBLE!
(Source of mushroom photos found on this page: "A Guide To Tropical Fungi" by Dr Tan Teck Koon. Publisher: Singapore Science Centre)
