I went to my favorite Asian market the other day because I ran out of fish sauce. I really like fish sauce for so many different dishes. While there I went down the mushroom isle (yes they have a whole section just for mushrooms) and decided that I really needed to try all their different varieties just because. I do a lot of things just because. It supports my insatiable curiosity. When I got home I found that I had 13 different varieties of mushrooms. I had grabbed only one of each different type they had, not all the different brands of each type. So now what do I do with them?
First step, check the internet to see what I know and don’t know about mushrooms.
Did you know that mushrooms and fungi are more closely related to us than to vegetables? Vegetables grow from soil, water, and sunlight. Mushrooms do what we do; we both eat dead things. They are neither animal nor vegetable. They are their own separate category. Because they are similar to us, we end up having the same enemies from the viral and bacterial worlds. Over the eons fungi and mushrooms have developed defenses against many of these bad guys. We have copied and created most of our antibiotics from those originally created by fungi. They also have many other healthful chemicals they have evolved that we as humans can use.
About 100 varieties of mushrooms are being studied out of the thousands of varieties known. Here are some of the uses that have been found.
Shiitake: Animal studies have shown that these flavorful and readily available mushrooms have anti-tumor, cholesterol-lowering, and antiviral pro
perties.
Enoki: These slender, mild-flavored mushrooms appear to have significant anti-cancer and immune-enhancing effects.
Maitake: Also known as ‘hen of the woods,’ these mushrooms may have anti-cancer, antiviral, and immune-enhancing properties. They may also reduce blood pressure and blood sugar.
Oyster: Less expensive — and less flavorful — than shiitakes, these mushrooms may also provide some protection against cancer.
Portabella: Higher than bananas in potassium and much fewer calories.
Criminis: Very high in B12 and about the only non-animal source of B12.
In general mushrooms are good sources of protein, antioxidants, trace minerals like iron and selenium, and also Vitamin D and B. If you are a vegetarian, mushrooms are the closest you can come to getting the nutrients missing in plants but found in animal products, because as I said earlier, mushrooms are more animal like than plant like. However mushrooms share the thick stiff cell walls that plants have, so to get the most nutrients out of the mushrooms they need to be cooked. Some of this fiber is beneficial to our gut – specifically the chitin and beta-glucans found in mushrooms.
Mushrooms also boost your immune system by promoting the maturation of various immune cells and pumping up the production of anti-viral proteins. Mushrooms may delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s because of their high niacin levels.
So much for the healthful benefits that come from eating mushrooms – now for the taste test. To keep all things equal I diced up a tablespoon of each mushroom and sautéed each one individually in a fry pan with a teaspoon of avocado oil and a shake of sea salt. I wrote down the first impression that came to my mind when I tasted each different mushroom. Here are my results:
White Button Mushrooms: these taste like what you think mushrooms taste like. These are the basic mushrooms Americans eat in their soups and on their pizzas.
Crimini mushrooms (also called Baby Bellas): These had a very mellow, veal like flavor. The texture is very smooth.
Shimeriji Mushrooms: These had a nondescript bell pepper taste with strong bitter overtones. A bit of astringency in the taste as well.
Portabella Mushrooms: These had a flavor that reminded me of a nicely marinated steak.
Bunapi Mushrooms: On first bite these reminded me of the flavor of a dry cooking sherry, but after a few seconds a bitter aftertaste spread across my tongue. Some people like bitter – I don’t.
Maitake Mushrooms: This had an interesting grain taste, like maybe corn.
Seafood Mushrooms: These were apparently named for their taste, because they taste like a plate of steamed seafood, such as muscles.
Beech Mushrooms: These also had a seafood taste, but a little more fishy and a little bitter.
Oyster Mushrooms: These had a nice flavor that was hard to place. The texture was chewier than the other samples.
King Oyster Mushroom: These shown out with a nice beefy flavor and the texture is more meat like than other mushrooms.
Enoki Mushrooms: These thread like mushrooms taste like a vegetable, so they might go well in a salad or light soup.
Abalone Mushroom: The first thing that came to mind when I bit into this sample was the flavor of French fries. The mushroom may look a bit like an abalone, but it does not taste like one.
Shiitake Mushroom: Saving the best for last, shiitake definitely had the best flavor of all the mushrooms I tried – a very meaty taste like a super tender filet mignon.
OK so now what do I do with all of these mushrooms? Do I sauté them and just keep them in a glass jar to add to various dishes over the next week or two? Do I make a mushroom quiche with them, or maybe a soup? Maybe I will grind them all together and make something like a mushroom “meatloaf.”
After consideration I decided I couldn’t let the flavor of the Shiitaki be swallowed up by a meatloaf, so I sautéed them in a pan with a little avocado oil and a few drops of fish sauce.
I decided to run with the French fry taste of the Abalone mushroom, so I cut it up into hash brown/mini French fry size and fried them up with sea salt and avocado oil.
I tossed the mushrooms with the bitter taste and ground up all the rest in my Vita Mix with some free-range eggs, fish sauce, and avocado oil, then poured it into a baking dish and into the oven. It ends up more a quiche consistency than meatloaf, but the flavor is definitely savory and “meaty.”
So there you have it – a tiny slice of the world of mushrooms – powerful immune stimulants and full of high power nutrition.