Mushrooms and the World's Problems

Mushrooms really are incredible -- for an organism is so simple, it has a lot of potential to help the human body, and the health of our planet. It is not only the fancy mushrooms with Japanese names that are interesting researchers -- the button mushrooms, which are cheap and plentiful in our supermarkets, give scientists plenty of reason to sing their praises also! If you have a mushroom growing kit at home, or enjoy dried porcini mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms, find out how you’re helping your body and your world here.

Button mushroom genome sequencing could solve global warming and improve soils

This research is being headed by the University of Warwick, and the team has high hopes for it. The efforts come from the fact that these mushrooms are extremely efficient at decomposing what is around them (so your spent mushroom growing kit is definitely not rubbish!). They break down lignin (part of the biofuel formation process), help cycle carbon through decomposing plant matter, and can hyper-accumulate toxic metals, cleaning out the soil.

Reishi mushrooms fight sarcoma

This research is at present only in the mouse stage -- human trials have not begun. However extracts of reishi (especially when fused with extracts of green tea) seemed to create a massive slowing of the growth of sarcomas in mice. All mice still eventually died of their cancers, but those that received a commercial reishi mushroom extract as well as a green tea extract showed much slower progression. The anti-cancer effect has been attributed to other mushrooms like shiitake mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms also.

Reishi mushrooms fight obesity, heart disease, diabetes

They have been used for centuries as health promoters, and now scientists are uncovering the reasons behind that. Researchers are targeting people with Syndrome X in reishi mushroom powder trials.

Shiitake mushrooms hold key to biofuels

The ability of the shiitake mushroom to turned fallen wood into sugars to feed itself is amazing -- and may help scientists develop more efficient biofuels from a wider range of sources. Californian scientists believe the gene responsible is Xyn11A, and carries the instructions for the mushroom to make xylanase, an enzyme. This enzyme could be used to digest rice hulls and other food leftovers to make biofuels.

Five FAQs About Mushroom Growing Kits Answered

Mushroom-growing kits are very easy to setup and maintain. Fungi are typically very prolific reproducers, with the right conditions, and many people don’t have a problem getting the volume of mushrooms that they would like out of their kit. For the novice though, some strange and worrying things can occur in the brave new world of growing your own mushrooms! We look at five of the questions that most plague newbies in the mushroom growing kit world.

When should I harvest my crop?

The thing that confuses many people is that mature mushrooms all grow to different sizes. Sizes differ from species to species, and also from individual fungus to its neighbor. There is an easy way to tell, though -- the thin veil covering the gills underneath your mushroom will break when it is ripe (releasing spores into the air to grow new little mushrooms!). You can pick the ripe ones out of your mushroom growing kit and leave those that aren’t ready.

There's bugs eating my mushrooms! How do I kill them?

The bugs in most cases will do no harm to your mushrooms -- if you are worried, you can coat the inside of a large compost bag with vegetable oil and place it around the mushroom growing kit. The flies' wings will stick to it and they will die, without using chemicals.

There's mold on my casing surface -- what should I do?

Again, this usually is not a problem. Unless the molds start multiplying out of control or spreading onto the mushrooms themselves, don’t worry about them. Try to introduce a little more air ventilation next time.

Where do I put the kit when it is finished?

You'll know when your kit is finished because mushrooms no longer grow well in the surface -- the nutrients have been used up. This usually takes around 12 weeks but does vary by the particular mushroom growing kit you use. Mix it in with the compost, or dig it through the garden soil outside -- you may get more mushrooms with the fresh injection of nutrients!

My mushrooms are spreading their seed all over my cupboards -- what is going on?

This is their natural reproductive process. Spores usually come off with soap and water, but a better strategy is simply to pick the mushrooms when they are ripe -- this should minimize your spore load.

Mushroom's Nutritional Benefits: The Buzzwords

If you go to a health food store to get your daily multivitamins or other supplements, you have probably noticed an enormous increase in mushroom extract products on the shelves lately. There has been a lot of research into Japanese diet and the role that mushrooms play in keeping this nation so relatively free of disease, and researchers are finding out some weird and fabulous things! Of course, it isn't mandatory to spend hundreds of dollars a year on mushroom extracts. Simply grab a mushroom growing kit and get them fresh and full of goodies, or usedried porcini mushrooms or dried shiitake mushrooms in your ordinary cooking. Here we look at the exotic substances that make these mushrooms so special.

Chitosans

In some research these are referred to as chitins -- however, you'll soon find that this is a component of bugs' exoskeletons if you try to research it further! The chemical compound that medical researchers are interested in is the chitosan group. Chitosans have many properties that dietary fiber also exhibits, including:

• Adding bulk to your food and making you feel fuller, faster
• Traps carbohydrates in the digestion process and slowing glucose absorption, effectively lowering the GI of foods
• Speeds passage of foods through the gut
• Lowers both total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein
• Balances the pH levels intra-intestines

Chitosans are found in high concentrations in mushrooms that you can make yourself with mushroom growing kits, like portabellas and enokis.

Beta glucans

These are somewhat of a buzzword in medical research at the moment. They occur in the bran part of cereal grains, the cell wall of baker's yeast, and also in mushrooms. Arguably, the best form to intake is mushrooms, because the beta glucans come in the healthiest package. Beta glucans in mushroom research were found to be highest in portabella mushrooms, although shitakes and maitakes also have moderate amounts, and the cardio protective benefits can be gained from only moderate beta glucan intake.

Oligosaccharide levels

These are a very specific type of sugar molecule that occurs in dreid porcini mushrooms, dried shiitake mushrooms and most of the varieties you can grow at home in a mushroom growing kits. They are only partially digestible, but it is actually the undigested components that exhibit the most medical promise. These components act as probiotics, helping eliminate harmful bacteria in the colon. They do this by acting as food for the good bacteria, which them outcompete the baddies. Hooray for mushrooms!

Growing Mushrooms 101: Setting up a Location

If you love the idea of having a vegetable garden, but simply don’t have the space to put it, mushroom growing kits are a great alternative! Mushrooms are very easy to grow, and grabbing a kit makes it all the more foolproof. Today we are looking at how to set up a location for yourmushroom growing kit -- both natural and created aspects of the environment.

Temperature

Mushrooms will grow best in mild conditions, neither too warm nor too cool. But if you live in a desert or semi-arid area where the natural temperature varies more than this, here are some tricks to help with your fungal fun.

• Keep the mushrooms in a pantry. These are usually built near the center of a house, so are better insulated from outside temperature variations.
• Keep the mushrooms in a box in a part of the house that you frequent. This means that any cooling or heating you use for yourself will also help keep your mushrooms comfortable!
• Grow your mushrooms in the basement or crawl space under the house. In many houses there is easy access to at least part of the crawl space. Clear it out, sweep off cobwebs and set up your mushroom growing kit here to help insulate against the big bad world.

Bug protection

Indoor locations are preferable to outdoor ones, mostly because they have far less exposure to insect pests. Flies and their larvae, slugs, mites, and various flying insects will eat mushroom meat and the mycelium. To help protect against insects in your mushroom growing kit's environment:

• Don’t spray pesticides, unless you like the idea of eating them
• Use bowls of water around the legs of a small table to guard against crawling insects.
• Use mosquito netting to guard against larger flying insects and still allow air ventilation

Light

Ambient light will blush the top of your mushrooms. They will mostly taste the same, but don’t look as nice! This is another reason that the ideas suggested in the "temperature" section are all shaded or dark.

Ventilation

Your mushrooms need air to grow, like all plants do. However, too much air movement will strip the environment in your mushroom growing kit of humidity and dry out the casing. If the only spot you have for your kit is drafty or close to a heat source (which will also dry out the casing), leave a small bowl of water in there to help with humidity. You can also enclose your mushroom growing kit inside a larger box to help protect against drafts.

Growing and Using Mushrooms in Recipes

As a personal chef, I use many exotic and hard-to-find ingredients in many of my signature dishes. One of my favorite ingredients to use is a shiitake mushroom. These tasty mushrooms are the stars in my signature dish, mushroom risotto. This type of mushroom adds an earthy undertone to the creamy taste of the risotto. My clients go absolutely crazy for this dish and is also my most requested to date.

Lately, I have been going through an abundance of shiitake mushrooms in many other dishes that I make such as tomato sauces, stir-fries and beef-based sauces. This has caused me to run to the farmers market constantly in order to assure my customers that they are receiving the freshest ingredients in my dishes and has been costing me valuable time. I began looking for an alternative and have found that dried shiitake mushrooms work just as well and there is no difference in the taste and they have longer shelf life then fresh mushrooms.

A fellow chef that I have worked with in the past invited me to his new restaurant for its grand opening. I could not wait to try many of his new dishes and was looking forward to tasting his sauce with dried porcini mushrooms. When the day arrived for the grand opening, my chef friend invited me on a tour of his new restaurant, and of course the most important part of the building, the kitchen. I was amazed at all the fresh produce that he was using in all of the dishes. He informed me that all of the produce, even down to the mushrooms, he and his wife had grown themselves. I was now curious about how they had managed to grow mushrooms. The chef informed me that he had ordered a mushroom-growing kit from Oak Hill Mushrooms.

After all the delicious food that night I went home to order my very own mushroom growing kits. By growing my own mushrooms at home I have saved money. Growing these wonderful fungi was easier then I had thought and give me great joy telling everyone that I grew them all by myself. My friends are so impressed by this that they are now growing them also and cannot get over how fun it is. I now give these amazing mushroom grow kits as gifts and get many thanks from my friends and loved ones.

The Underappreciated Mushroom

One of the most harrowing difficulties cooks face when they begin learning gourmet preparations for the very first time is how to best utilize each ingredient in a dish. One much loved but often overlooked ingredient for many dishes is the mushroom. If you've never considered the many varieties and possibilities available to you as a chef when it comes to the mushroom, today's the day of enlightenment.

The mushroom is a healthy, delectable, diverse, and often underappreciated food. Many people don't like mushrooms because they object to eating a fungus. However, mushrooms are often used to flavor a variety of dishes, and can even be used as the main course. Some people find that a nice, plump, freshly grilled mushroom hits the spot more quickly than even a steak!

The portobello mushroom makes a delightful substitute for a meat product. Believe it or not, many people replace hamburger with portobello mushrooms to get the texture they crave without the unhealthy effects of red meat. This is good news for vegetarians everywhere! The mushroom also makes a delightful addition to any Italian sauce or soup. In fact, most people consider spaghetti sauce to be incomplete without the addition of a flavorful mushroom.

Whether sautéed, eaten raw, added to salads, substituting for meat, incorporated in a sauce or soup, or simply used as a garnish, the mushroom should not be underestimated as one of the powerhouse foods for chefs everywhere. The finest mushrooms are usually hand-picked and cultivated in the highest quality soil, the highest quality environment, and grown to come equipped with the highest quality flavor.

Because of the many varieties of mushrooms available, cultivating a delicate system of checks and balances that are required to give each mushroom a unique flavor is an often underappreciated process. In fact, if you can find a supplier of high-quality mushrooms who have dedicated their practice to growing, cultivating, and supplying the best possible quality mushroom -- you've found a connoisseur you likely will not come across again any time soon.

So, if you’ve never considered the mushroom as a delicacy, now’s the perfect time to start trying the many different types, flavors, and varieties of mushroom available. What could be better than enjoying a gourmet food that not only tastes good, but is good for you, too?