A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, which grows above the ground on soil or on its food source. The most commonly cultivated is the white button mushroom or Agaricus bisporus. They generally have a stem, a cap and gills on the bottom of the cap. It must be known that China is the largest producer of edible mushrooms accounting for over 50 percent of the world's edible mushroom production.
Mushrooms are delicious to eat. It can be added in soups, stews, vegetables and can be topped on your favorite pizza. Generally, all edible mushrooms are:
- Low in sodium, calories and fat
- High in protein and fiber
- Rich in potassium, minerals, copper, selenium, zinc, and magnesium.
- Rich in B-complex vitamins, niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.
- Rich in cancer-fighting nutrients like polysaccharides and linoleic acid.
- Free of cholesterol etc.
Moreover, mushrooms can be grown easily at your kitchen garden.
Different types of mushrooms grown around the world
Now lets check top Mushroom Varieties that Add Flavor to Indian Recipes;
1. White Button Mushroom
The white mushrooms have a creamy white to pale tan color with a firm texture and fragile flavor. They are juicy, delicious and economical. They are also called able mushroom, cultivated mushroom, button, champignon (de Paris). Around 90 percent of the mushrooms that we eat are of this variety. As it is less strongly flavored than many of its more exotic kin, you can eat it either raw or cooked. It goes perfectly in soups and salads and on pizzas.
2. Oyster Mushroom
Oyster mushrooms, the name sounds more like something you can find in the ocean than on the land. Yet this edible mushroom is very beneficial to the body and breaks down lethal chemicals. They are one of the most versatile mushrooms on earth, which can be easily cultivated. Oyster’s mushrooms are also very beautiful and come in a broad spectrum of colors. The mushrooms have the most promising effect on cholesterol levels and cancer.
3. Cremini Mushroom
Cremini Mushrooms are in fact the same species of mushroom as White Button Mushrooms. They are just a little different strain of that species that develops a skinny layer of tan or coffee-coloured cells on its cap. Cremini mushrooms have a bit more flavour than the White Button Mushrooms.
4. Morel Mushroom
Morels are one of the most preferred wild mushrooms in the world. These mushrooms are not cultivated like other mushrooms but are collected in the wild. The part of mushroom to eat is the fruiting body of the underground organism known as mycelium that has a composite symbiotic link with trees. Morel mushrooms are really delicious. People who don’t like eating mushroom often fall in love with this mushroom variety. Morels are very unique, with a brawny texture and an earthy and nutty flavour. Morels are hard to find, quite expensive and so exotic looking. They are generally kept for fancy meals with fancy wine and meats.
5. Enokitake Mushroom
Enokitake mushroom is a long, thin white mushroom used in East Asian food and cooking. Enokitake mushrooms are basically cultivars of Flammulina velutipes (Grnus Flammulina) and are also called golden needle mushroom, futu mushroom or lily mushroom. The wild forms differing in texture, color, dampness and are called futu, seafood mushrooms, winter fungus or winter mushrooms, velvet foot, and velvet stem or velvet shank.
6. Porcini Mushroom
Porcini mushrooms are famous as well as delicious. It has a strong nutty flavor and for this reason it is a very popular gourmet mushroom. Like many other good edible mushrooms, they are mycorrhizal, which means that the underground vegetative growth of the mushroom, known as mycelia, enters into a symbiotic connection with the roots of plants. The porcini mushrooms might grow a rather big cap - up to 12 inches in diameter and is usually brown or reddish-brown in color with a slightly sultry texture.
7. Portobello Mushroom
Portabella mushroom is one of the most impressive mushrooms in terms of size. It has a curved, earthen tan flat cap with near black gills in the bottom. The stem of this mushroom is broad, white and edible. It also has a very brilliant, rich and meaty texture and flavor, which it preserves even after cooking. Portabella mushrooms are available all round the year. These mushrooms, like all other varieties, are one of the only natural sources of vitamin D. Moreover, the amount of vitamin D they have depends on the amount of exposure to ultraviolet light.
8. Milky Mushroom
The milky mushrooms are also known as Swetha mushrooms. They are the only mushroom species that is both native to and cultivated in, the hot moist climate of India. Milky mushrooms are called ‘milky’ for their white color. Milky mushrooms are rich in nutrient, have a good shelf life and are the only fungus that can be cultivated in the tropics. They are one of the low-cost varieties to grow and are quite big in size.
9. Paddy Straw Mushroom
Paddy straw mushroom has a good combination of - flavour, aroma, delicacy and nutrients and hence it is equally popular as the white button mushroom. It is an edible mushroom of both - the topics and subtropics. It first started to be cultivated in China as early as 1822; later in 1932 was introduced into the Philippines, Malaysia, and other south-east Asian countries by overseas Chinese. And since then, its cultivation was done in several countries outside the region.
10. Maitake Mushroom
Maitake means the dancing mushroom in Japanese. These mushrooms are said to have got its name after people danced with happiness upon finding it in the wild for its incredible healing properties. Maitake mushroom is a type of adaptogen. Adaptogens help the body in fighting against any type of mental or physical difficulty. They also work to control systems of the body that have become unbalanced. They grow wild in parts of China, Japan and North America and can be grown at home.
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