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Andrew Cebulka photo
The Magic of Mushrooms
Foraging for wild foods.
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Courtesy of No Taste Like Home
The Magic of Mushrooms
Wild morel mushrooms.
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Chelsea Bullhoefer photo
The Magic of Mushrooms
Alan Muskat, founder of No Taste Like Home, forages for wild foods in Western North Carolina.
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Eric Abernathy photo
The Magic of Mushrooms
Wild chanterelle mushrooms.
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Lynne Harty photo
The Magic of Mushrooms
Chef William Dissen, owner and executive chef of The Market Place in Asheville and Haymaker in Charlotte. Chef Dissen uses a variety of wild mushrooms in his kitchens.
Mushrooms, once considered a fungal anomaly when compared to more aesthetically appealing foods, have moved to the forefront as a culinary and medicinal treasure. Chefs have long been aware of the mushroom’s unique place in the kitchen, but only recently have they become popular with home growers and as a source of healing.
“Food as medicine” is an ancient but still emerging mentality. People are realizing food can often do more for the body than a vitamin or pharmaceutical. North Carolina farmer and business owner Paul Lott was initially attracted to mushrooms for their medicinal purposes. As the caregiver for his parents, he sought relief for his dad’s diabetes-induced neuropathy pain. Lott learned that lion’s mane mushrooms are highly regarded and support the rebuilding of myelin sheath around nerve endings, as well as the production of nerve growth stimulants. Further, lion’s mane can aid with dementia, gastrointestinal maladies, and a number of other issues.
Medicinal Mushrooms
“The medicinal aspect of mushrooms is probably my biggest interest, followed by their culinary uses,” says Lott. “As Hippocrates once said, ‘Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.’ This is certainly true in the world of mushrooms.”
Lott’s beliefs are anchored in modern medical opinion, as well. According to a Journal on Nutrition report about the 2013 ‘Mushrooms and Health Summit’ in Washington: “Research on mushrooms and health has emerged rapidly over the past decade, building on thousands of years of culinary and medicinal usage. Promising evidence suggests a positive role for mushrooms and their bioactive components.” The report concluded: “Mushrooms appear to be an item that can be leveraged to improve the healthfulness of dietary patterns.”
A recent study from the Transparency Research Market suggests the global mushroom market will grow 8.2 percent from $34.1 billion in 2015 to $69.3 billion by the end of 2024. This upward trend is no doubt influenced by humanity’s quest for a healthier, happier life.
“Through exploring mushrooms, I’m routinely amazed and have been drawn into a world I can’t get enough of,” Lott said. “Now, I get lost in the woods in a totally different way.”
Growing or Foraging Your Own
Despite the developing popularity in the mushroom market, consumer knowledge still seems limited. While home chefs are using fungi in the kitchen more than ever, they tend to stick to familiar types, such as cremini and portabella, perhaps not realizing how vast the choices are.
Listed here are several esteemed mushroom varieties. Only a few of these, however, can be found in a grocery store. This lack of availability is leading individuals to purchase mushrooms from local farmers’ markets, growing their own at home via cultivation kits, or exploring the woods to forage. July kicks off the season, which typically runs through October, aside from a handful of strains that grow better in winter and spring.
Reishi
This highly esteemed mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a thousand years. It’s been shown to support a person who is suffering from prostate cancer. Reishi mushrooms are tough, woody, and bitter to the taste. They can be grown on sawdust or logs. This type is popular in teas, soups, and on the grill.
Oyster Varieties
Oyster mushrooms get the name from their oyster-shaped cap and minimal stem. Their color is very similar to a raw oyster. Oyster mushrooms are common in the kitchen. They sauté quickly and are common in Asian dishes. These are one of the easiest varieties to cultivate and are great for beginner growers.
Shiitake
This well-known varietal is famous for its meaty texture and earthy, smoky flavor. They are delicious to the palette and also medicinal, offering antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and regenerative properties. Shiitake mushrooms grow outdoors on logs or indoors on sawdust blocks. They are prevalent with home growers.
Lion’s mane
Akin to the looks of a lion’s mane, this type may be unappealing upon first glance, but their appetizing taste and healing properties outweigh their curious appearance. Many describe the flavor as being “seafood-like.” Lott says, “When you sauté lion’s mane mushrooms and finish with some butter and soy sauce, they take on the flavor of crab meat.” Moreover, as mentioned earlier, lion’s mane provides significant healing properties for a slew of bodily systems.
Velvet Foot
Velvet foot fruits under cool conditions, so unlike many other edible items, these are fresh and abundant in the dead of winter. In Asia, they are grown in jars under low light and high CO2 to produce long thin stems and minute caps. Interestingly, they develop a different appearance in nature than when cultivated at home. Velvet Foot is the fifth most consumed fungi in the world and often used in Asian dishes.
Wine cap
Wine cap mushrooms are easy to grow and tasty to eat. Their hefty size has earned them the nickname “garden giant.” Wine caps offer a crisp texture with a wild, nutty, earthy flavor with hints of potatoes and red wine. They grow well from spring through autumn, especially with a few good rains.
Maitake (Hen of the Woods)
Maitake, also called hen-of-the-woods, are delicious and medicinal. They grow outdoor on logs or indoors on sawdust. This type of mushroom contains chemicals which may help fight tumors and stimulate the immune system. There is some evidence showing maitake mushrooms can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and reduce blood sugar levels
Chicken of the Woods
Large in size and strikingly orange in color, this variety is easy to spot when foraging. They’re one of the safest, tastiest, and most widely available mushrooms out there. They are especially delicious when picked young. Some say the name comes from the mushroom’s lemony, meaty flavor, while others say it tastes more like crab or lobster.
Nameko
This popular strain is cultivated in Japan. It’s marketed in the United States as “butterscotch mushroom.” These vibrantly orange mushrooms provide the palate an earthy, forest flavor, which is enhanced after cooking or sautéing. This varietal provides good amounts of selenium, offering antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chanterelle
Bright orange or yellow in color, these mushrooms are popular with high-end chefs. When popped open, this variety emits aromas of peach and apricot. When cooked, chanterelles are chewy with a velvety consistency and have a woodsy, earthy flavor with hints of mild pepper. Just as many Chanterelles are golden in color, they are also golden in flavor and in price. Chanterelles are challenging to grow and therefore are not a variety commonly grown at home.
Morel
Morels are widely distributed and popular with many restaurant chefs. These mushrooms have a brown oval or pointed fruiting body with an irregular honeycombed surface bearing spores. The taste is described as nutty, meaty and unique, whether they are cooked or dried. Butter brings out a morel’s one-of-kind flavor. Morels are full of vitamin D and antioxidants. They also bolster immunity and liver functionality.
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According to Lott, success in growing mushrooms comes by mimicking nature. First, you need to decide the type of mushroom and then match the mushroom with the substrate, whether that is arboreal (on trees or logs) or terrestrial (from the ground). The next step is to purchase the spawn and inoculate the substrate with the spawn. After that, you wait.
Lott says the home growing process is not really that challenging, but it does require waiting. “If nothing else, growing mushrooms has taught me a lot about patience,” he says.
When it comes to foraging, Western North Carolina nature guide and wild foods expert Alan Muskat is the person to consult. He’s the founder of No Taste Like Home, a company that offers forest tours and teaches amateurs how to identify and cook over 300 types of wild foods, including mushrooms.
Southern Appalachia has been described as the second richest ecosystem on Earth, making it a wonderful place to explore ultra local food. No Taste Like Home tours run year round and are family-friendly, easy treks that appeal to foragers of all ages and skill levels.
“Our tours remind me of nature’s abundance,” Muskat said. “Every outing has at least one surprise. Sometimes it’s finding nothing except exercise, so it’s also a Zen practice as well.”
Coveted in the Kitchen
Asheville, North Carolina is well known for its culinary scene. Many high-end restaurants use common and rare mushroom varieties in their dishes. William Dissen, executive chef and owner of The Market Place in downtown Asheville and Haymaker in Charlotte, is renown for his sustainable practices and ability to use rare and unique foods.
Spending time on his grandparents’ farm and watching his grandmother prepare meals straight from the farm or garden significantly influenced Dissen’s career and philosophy regarding agriculture and cooking. In fact, The Market Place has been touted as Asheville’s first farm-to-table restaurant, a distinction now promoted by almost every culinary establishment in Western North Carolina.
Dissen takes his kitchen staff on annual mushroom education and foraging tours. He’s reported using 3,000 pounds of mushrooms per year. Some of his favorite wild varieties include chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, and lobster mushrooms. He says they each have unique, rich, and delicious flavors.
“As a forager and chef, it’s always amazing to spot a mushroom growing in the wild or to taste one brought in fresh from a forager,” Dissen said. “It’s exciting to cook with these foods and harness their wild flavors.”
Dissen and Muskat have partnered many times through the years. Originally, Muskat worked directly with area chefs to find mushrooms for the kitchen, but as No Taste Like Home evolved, a new model developed. Tour participants keep the foods they’ve found and one of five award-winning restaurants will prepare an appetizer using the foraged food. The five restaurants are The Market Place, Rhubarb, Benne on Eagle, Aux Bar, and Vue 1913. Dissen says other than mushrooms, tour participants often bring in wood sorrel, staghorn sumac, wild ramps, greenbrier tendrils, and wild birch.
Dissen said seasonal foods are key for dining variety. “Watching the forest and land change throughout the year helps us as chefs understand the seasons and utilize delicious ingredients that may only be available for a short time.”