The Magic of Mushrooms
Originally published on Medium
Usually when I talk about the wonder that is mushrooms, I see rolling eyes. If you know how awesome mushrooms are already, then I’m preaching to the choir. But if you aren’t a fan, just tolerate mushrooms, or even find them distasteful, I’ll always find a way to prove you wrong. In other words: buckle up! You’re in for a lengthy ride.
Mushrooms are a wildly beneficial food to have on your plate, even in moderate proportions. By now researchers have extensively proven their worth. A natural provider of Vitamin D, B6, and Selenium, mushrooms have the capacity to lower our cholesterol, risk of cancer (selenium in particular helping prevent cellular damage), and risk of developing cognitive impairment, to say nothing about their benefits for the intestinal organs. And then of course, there’s a subset of mushrooms that are psychedelic (more on their benefits later).
And yet, having fungi on a plate can still raise some eyebrows. After all, they are a fungus, they can grow in a variety of environments, some of them not at all appetizing, and there are still a few that aren’t entirely safe for consumption. How do we make heads or tails of this so-called ‘magical’ ingredient?
Mushrooms: what are they?
The Britannica Encyclopedia defines a mushroom as the body (or sporophore) of fungus. They are typically umbrella-shaped in some fashion, though as you’ve surely seen, their shape and size vary considerably. The mushrooms we can eat usually come from the Agaricales of the phylum Basidiomycota. Inedible mushrooms however, typically go by the name of ‘toadstool’ (though ‘mushroom’ can technically refer to both edible and inedible sporophores). The group of edible mushrooms is vast: Portobellos, shiitakes, button mushrooms, oysters, cremini, morels, false morels, and enoki are all mushrooms we can digest comfortably.
For some, the idea of eating anything fungus related, or anything that grows below ground, is off limits. Though carrots, onions, garlic, beets, and a variety of other root vegetables also grow underneath the earth, fungus are in a class all their own. For one, mushrooms aren’t technically plants, which partially explains their unique growing pattern. All mushrooms grow in environments that are damp and dark. Each mushroom releases thousands of spores into the environment. According to Northspore, “when one of these spores lands in the right environment, it’ll germinate and send out a small filamentous thread called a hypha.” It is this hypha that spreads and forms a network underground known as a mycelium. Again, not at all like plants. When you eat a mushroom, you’re technically eating one part of a bigger network that some argue connects all trees and plant life in forests.
Despite growing underground, mushrooms are still miraculously flavorful. Mushrooms are frequently used for their umami flavor and capability to adapt to a variety of dishes. As vegan and vegetarian eating become more vogue, their popularity has only increased. Portobello mushrooms, for one example, have a ‘meaty’ texture that makes them an excellent (and healthier) substitute for steaks. Smaller button mushrooms can also be a great alternative for ground meats, particularly in pasta sauces.
Not all mushrooms are equal
All of these pleasing aspects aside, it would be a failing on my part not to mention that not all mushrooms safe for consumption. Mushrooms essentially can be classified into three different categories: edible, inedible, and poisonous. In additional to the several varieties of edible mushrooms described above, there are several hundreds of deadly and inedible fungi, enough to give someone pause when foraging for mushrooms in their backyard for their salad.
Inedible mushrooms (like the bird’s nest fungi pictured above) are perhaps mislabeled. You could consume them, and you wouldn’t suffer any illness necessarily, though the texture would be leathery, tough, and potentially bland. Some have described it like eating wood or plaster.
Poisonous fungi on the other hand, have toxins and are best avoided altogether. The majority of these would cause gastrointestinal distress, though there are some that could prove fatal if consumed.
What makes these mushrooms scary however is that several can look very similar to edible mushrooms, and could even grow right next to them! All of which is to say, don’t simply pick up the mushrooms you find in your backyard assuming they’ll be delicious.
Magic Mushrooms
And finally, how to shrooms fit into the mix? Mushrooms are considered psychedelic only if they have secondary metabolites (i.e. psilocybin and others) that are psychoactive. It is this magic ingredient that causes someone to trip, and what differs these mushrooms from the ones you’ll find in your supermarket.
Psilocybin has a long history, one rooted in indigenous American culture, though it wasn’t introduced into the U.S. until the 1950’s. Early research into the wonders of psilocybin made it a promising cure for mental ailments, but was later deemed a dangerous hallucinogenic drug, one associated with the hippy movement and anti-establishment ideologies.
Safe to say, psilocybin was wrongfully villainized. After years of underground research and trial-and-error, researchers are cautiously optimistic that psilocybin can be beneficial in treating depression and other mental disorders, though not in all cases and circumstances. Supervised psilocybin usage is coming back into the medical realm slowly, but not in all states. Only time will tell how psilocybin is used in future medical practices.
Conclusions and Ways to make palatable
Whether psychoactive or not, mushrooms are an amazing ingredient, one we don’t often appreciate enough. Most are edible and if consumed on a regular basis, can be enormously beneficial to your health. What’s more, as plant-based eating becomes a key part of our futures, mushrooms will almost certainly play a bigger role in our diets, both as a replacement for meat as well as in celebration of plants.
But still, if you don’t enjoy them all that much, you may be wondering how to make them worth eating. Below are some ideas:
Add them subtly to your diet. By way of example, mushrooms go well in just about any soup and won’t significantly alter the flavor profile of what you’re creating. Add a few to a soup where you already have several other vegetables.
Sauté them in butter. If you add enough butter to anything, it will taste delicious, and mushrooms are no different.
If cooked mushrooms is what’s giving you the ‘ick’ factor, do the opposite and eat them raw. Button mushrooms especially make for terrific snacks with dips or dressings.
Try a recipe where there’s enough flavor to mask that you’re eating mushrooms. Korean, Indian, Mexican, Spanish, etc. are just a few examples of cuisines that have strong flavors and spices which could help to mask the fact your eating an ingredient you aren’t 100% sold on.