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Thread: Mushrooms

  1. #1
    wuggy
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    Default Mushrooms.

    I was thinking about this while making tea tonight.
    I usually buy organic mushrooms, pull out the stalks, and peel off the 'skin' instead of washing them - and maybe just give them a wipe. However, two things have occurred to me - 1) Do mushrooms lose any of their nutrients when peeled, like carrotts, potatoes, etc? 2) In the light of what eve mentioned on the organic thread, should I be washing them properly?

  2. #2
    ConsciousCuisine
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    Some mushrooms are not grown on feces. These are the ones I prefer, lol!

  3. #3
    wuggy
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    Yes, just hard to get them round here - the choice is chemically sprayed or poo-covered mushrooms I think! (Or wild from the field.)

  4. #4
    wuggy
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    Having said that, I have seen grow-your-own mushroom kits for use indoors, maybe I'll find out more about them.

  5. #5
    John's Avatar
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    I've seen a company that sends you a birch log impregnated with spores. You just toss it outside and let the shrooms grow. I just had some mushrooms with dinner and come to think of it, I didn't even wash them.

  6. #6

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    yummy!!!!!!!!what company sells the pregnant mushroom logs?

  7. #7
    John's Avatar
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    Well, somehow I was able to find the website: http://www.fungi.com/plugs/index.html

    Looking at it again it looks a little bit more complicated. Oh well.

  8. #8
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    wuggy, this is from www.mushroomcouncil.org .

    Wipe mushrooms gently with a damp cloth or soft brush to remove dirt, trim stems if dry.
    When ready to use, mushrooms may be gently rinsed in cool water and drained.
    Shake gently to remove excess water.
    Do not soak mushrooms because they readily absorb water which speeds deterioration.
    There is no need to peel mushrooms. The only trimming that may be needed is on the stem end, if it is dry or the tough stem portion of Shiitakes, or the root end of the Portabella and Enoki.

  9. #9
    I eve's Avatar
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    I recently bought a mushroom starter kit after visiting a friend in Sydney who has so far enjoyed 5 lots of mushrooms from the kit. I still like to peel the tops, then they don't need washig or rinsing, and I do trim off the end of the stem. There are so many great varieties for sale, and last week at the local market they had some that were really huge, so thick that each one was enough for a meal. I hope my mushroom kit is successful.
    Eve

  10. #10
    gorillagorilla Gorilla's Avatar
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    i'm not very green-fingered but my parents bought me a mushroom growing kit for Christmas this year and i never got a single thing growing

    it just got covered in flies...i must have done something wrong
    'The word gorilla was derived from the Greek word Gorillai (a "tribe of hairy women")'

  11. #11
    wuggy
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    Thanks, gertvegan!
    Eugh, Gorilla, don't fancy that (no offence to flies, but they're not particularly welcome in my kitchen 'en masse'!).

  12. #12
    I eve's Avatar
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    Oh gorilla, I hope that doesn't happen to my mushroom kit! Incidentally in the press today, it seems that Swiss scientists have discovered what they think may be the biggest mushroom in Europe! The mushroom, which covers a whopping 35 hectares in a Swiss national park near the eastern town of Ofenpass is thought to be more than 1,000 years old, forestry experts say. The mushroom, which is 800 metres long and 500 metres wide, is of the armillaria type, according to the Swiss Federal Institute Forest, Snow and Countryside Research (WSL).

    The visible parts of the mushroom that poke out above the ground or on the boughs of trees are the tip of the iceberg, representing a tiny part of the vast undersoil organism. Some species within the family are formidable parasites which invade trees, gradually strangling them. They have been blamed for the widespread destruction of pines within the national park, a WSL statement said.

    Wow! Once again, I hope that doesn't happen to my mushroom kit!
    Eve

  13. #13
    gorillagorilla Gorilla's Avatar
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    don't worry i wasn't trying to put people off growing their own mushrooms, i think i messed up somewhere
    i really wanted to grow something of my own, all my veg attempts had failed, but i'm so hopeless with things like that! all i had to do was water the soil occasionally, and even that went wrong!

    mushrooms really are amazing. i'm a member of the Woodland Trust in the UK and the latest issue of their magazine has a great article about all the different kinds of fungus that grow in woodland in this country. it says fungi aren't actually plants but they're not animals either, they're a weird sort of organism that has elements similar to both.

  14. #14
    I eve's Avatar
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    Quote eve
    I recently bought a mushroom starter kit after visiting a friend in Sydney who has so far enjoyed 5 lots of mushrooms from the kit. ... I hope my mushroom kit is successful.
    Thought I'd let you know that my kit is bearing fruit! Today I sliced up a huge mushroom growing in my box, and added it to a salad. Just delicious. Looks like there will be heaps more, as the little white blobs are starting to stand up on their stems! Why not have another try, Gorilla? What I did about watering, was to use a 'mister' (that I don't bother to use when ironing), as heavy watering is apparently not the thing to do.
    Eve

  15. #15
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Quote eve
    Thought I'd let you know that my kit is bearing fruit! Today I sliced up a huge mushroom growing in my box, and added it to a salad. Just delicious. Looks like there will be heaps more, as the little white blobs are starting to stand up on their stems! Why not have another try, Gorilla? What I did about watering, was to use a 'mister' (that I don't bother to use when ironing), as heavy watering is apparently not the thing to do.
    I have been thinking of buying one of those kits. I love mushrooms and eat them several times throughout the week. I am thinking of purchasing a log next spring. It will be great to have them growing in my yard. I will remember to use a mister when I water them.

  16. #16
    I eve's Avatar
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    Good luck, MzNatural. I don't have a garden, or a cellar, so my mushroom kit is in the kitchen. I used to have a microwave standing on a kitchen chest of drawers, but a few months ago I gave my microwave to someone else, as I didn't use it, so the cardboard box with the mushroom kit stands where the microwave used to be. Works fine for me
    Eve

  17. #17
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    Thanks Eve,

    I ordered the mushroom box kit a few hours ago. It is a combination of shiitake and button mushrooms. Hopefuly all will go well so I can get the outdoor kits for this coming Spring. I never use my microwave anymore. I never liked the taste of microwaved food. My family/friends never believed I could tell the difference.

  18. #18
    ConsciousCuisine
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    Quote MzNatural
    Thanks Eve,
    I never use my microwave anymore. I never liked the taste of microwaved food. My family/friends never believed I could tell the difference.

    The one Restaurant in town my family visits once used a microwave to warm up the last bowl of soup, which was mine, an avid Anti-Microwave person.

    I noticed something "Off" and on a hunch asked if they ever used microwaves in food prep or before serving. They told me they did, on occasion and so now, we've got it all ironed out. (I ask before ordering that none be used, to be sure).

    I believe you can tell the difference. I can, and I refuse to eat anything that has been microwaved or allow my child to either.

    I wouldn't intentionally feed a stray dog microwaved food.

  19. #19
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Default Mushrooms

    I ordered a mushroom kit (Portabella & Button Mushrooms) in October. One Button mushroom has fruited. My daughter and I had it today. I have never had freshly picked mushrooms. Wow you definitely can taste the difference. I can’t wait until the others are larger. They are tiny at this point.
    Here are a few pictures of my daughter and the mushroom.

    Mushroom #1
    Mushroom #2

  20. #20
    PinkFluffyCloud
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    Your daughter is lovely - the Mushroom also looks lovely!

  21. #21
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Thanks,
    I love mushrooms. Jade is ‘my little angel.’ She ate most of it.
    I chopped it up and sautéed it with about a teaspoon of olive oil. I added black pepper and a small amount of parsley. She ate what was in her bowl and decided to claim what I had.

  22. #22
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    I sure would like to do this. They don't hold well in the fridge. Can you get any "special" spores?
    I am a tangerine ;)

  23. #23
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    Your daughter is precious and I'm very impressed with the mushroom.

    Completely off the subject....is your daughter's pj's flame-retardant? I don't know if I'm being overly-cautious but I read that the stuff they use to make pj's flame retardant is very toxic and tests have shown that babies/children's skin absorb the chemicals used. I accidentally bought 2 pairs of pj's that were flame retardant but have made an effort to avoid them. Have you heard/read anything about this?

  24. #24
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Quote chakra
    I sure would like to do this. They don't hold well in the fridge. Can you get any "special" spores?
    I know you can purchase the dowels. I ordered my kit from Mushroom adventrues
    The dowel spawn is located here. I received my kit in 5 days. Although I have not ordered from this place I have heard great reviews about Crop King mushrooms.

    Quote feline01
    Your daughter is precious and I'm very impressed with the mushroom.

    Completely off the subject....is your daughter's pj's flame-retardant? I don't know if I'm being overly-cautious but I read that the stuff they use to make pj's flame retardant is very toxic and tests have shown that babies/children's skin absorb the chemicals used. I accidentally bought 2 pairs of pj's that were flame retardant but have made an effort to avoid them. Have you heard/read anything about this?
    It weighed 4.9 ounces. I should have 3 crops.
    You know I did not even think of that. I have read about it and have avoided that for years. I normally check the labels but I did not the last time I bought her clothing. I picked that because I thought it was cute. I just checked the label and you guessed it flame retardent. *Sighs* and I thought it was so cute. Hmm, now I am going to look at the other items I bought on that day. Thanks so much.

  25. #25

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    Mz, your daughter is so beautiful! The mushroom looks good, but I don't think I'd have the patience to grow them. I'd be eating them as soon as they sprouted instead of waiting for them to get that big.
    -JK

  26. #26
    I eve's Avatar
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    Well after the initial 3 or 4 mushies, all the little white blobs stayed the same size and didn't turn into mushrooms! Still, I added the content of the box to half a bag of potting mix, and hopefully it will improve the potting mix, so I can grow some more pot plants instead!
    Eve

  27. #27
    ConsciousCuisine
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    Quote eve
    Well after the initial 3 or 4 mushies, all the little white blobs stayed the same size and didn't turn into mushrooms! Still, I added the content of the box to half a bag of potting mix, and hopefully it will improve the potting mix, so I can grow some more pot plants instead!

    Mushrooms?! POT Plants?! Why Eve, you progressive, you

  28. #28
    I eve's Avatar
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    Don't get the wrong idea CC, my pot plants tend to be bromiliads and colourful flowers!
    Eve

  29. #29
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    LOL Took me a minute - but I got it

  30. #30
    PinkFluffyCloud
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    Ha!
    I like to think of Eve growing all this contraband stuff, and sitting there in her meditation circle, passing round some home-grown!

  31. #31
    I eve's Avatar
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    PinkFC, that takes me back a few years!
    Eve

  32. #32
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    EVE! lol

  33. #33
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    As mentioned in the latest vegan mag, www.gourmetmushrooms.co.uk

  34. #34
    AR Activist Roxy's Avatar
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    Anyone know if magic mushrooms can be detrimental to your health - long or short term (other than the obvious halucenagenic effects)?

  35. #35

    Default my own mushrooms!

    well, i harvested my first three shiitakii (gosh how do you spell that?) mushrooms and ate them for lunch today. i have a kit, from fungi perfecti, which is a foamy square impregnated with spores. you mist it a few times a day and suddenly they are growing. very fun to watch their progress.
    there are a few more in this batch that i am wating to grow a bit more.
    THEY WERE SO GOOD! tastes like vitamins

  36. #36
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    Good for you! I started growing my own a few months ago. It taste so much different when they are so fresh.

  37. #37
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    Where abouts are you from? I wouldn't mind getting hold of some kit in England if anyone knows a good supplier.
    I bet Yoda was a vegan

  38. #38

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    (shiitake- oops)

    here is the website
    www.fungi.com

  39. #39
    Cloudy's Avatar
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    Quote 8 winks
    (shiitake- oops)

    here is the website
    www.fungi.com
    Bah, I just get "connection refused". Doesn't seem like much of a fun guy to me.
    I bet Yoda was a vegan

  40. #40
    cedartree cedarblue's Avatar
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    me too, no connection.

  41. #41
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Try again in a few hours. I was on there last evening. The company is located in the USA. I was going to order from there when I initially purchased my kit but I decided to purchase from another company.

  42. #42
    Cloudy's Avatar
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    Quote MzNatural
    Try again in a few hours. I was on there last evening. The company is located in the USA. I was going to order from there when I initially purchased my kit but I decided to purchase from another company.
    Bah, USA is no good. I was hoping for one in England. Oh well, I suppose there's always Google. You have a try first Cedar, I am too weak to type into Google due to not eating any meat.
    I bet Yoda was a vegan

  43. #43
    MzNatural's Avatar
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    Quote Cloudy
    Bah, USA is no good. I was hoping for one in England. Oh well, I suppose there's always Google. You have a try first Cedar, I am too weak to type into Google due to not eating any meat.
    Mr Lazy trying to pass it off on someone else.
    Here is the only thing I could find. I think they are located in London.

    I think 'Darth' was Vegan as well.

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