General Chat

In a new study, conducted by Nutrition Research Australia, researchers found the most commonly consumed mushrooms contain a range of bioactive compounds, found not only in vegetables but also some meats, whole grains and nuts.
Here, the experts listed the health benefits of eating everyday mushrooms:
VITAMIN D
Eating mushrooms that have been exposed to sunlight increases vitamin D levels - and can be as effective as taking a vitamin D supplement, research has shown.
'To reap the vitamin D rewards, leave your mushrooms to tan in the sun with the gills facing up for 15 minutes - it's an easy trick that multiplies the vitamin D content of mushrooms by up to 10 times,' Ms O'Hanlon said.
You should also use every part of the mushroom in your meals - caps and stems. Many people don't realise but there is so much goodness found in mushroom stems, so don't waste them.'
FULLER FOR LONGER
Eating mushrooms has been linked to increased feelings of fullness, reduced hunger, and a lower food intake during the rest of the day, making mushrooms ideal for a healthy diet and those watching their weight.
GUT HEALTH
Want to keep your gut health in check? Mushrooms contain special prebiotics that feed your good gut bacteria, and can reduce bad breath.
IMMUNITY SUPPORT
Mushrooms are abundant in antioxidants, which help fight free radicals and support immune function.
LOWER CANCER RISK
Regularly consuming mushrooms has been associated with a reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer and the progression of prostate cancer.
BETA BENEFITS
The cell wall of mushrooms contain beta-glucans, a soluble fibre commonly found in oats that has cholesterol lowering properties and may boost heart health.

That's really interesting, Ann.

Amazing that one can increase vitamin D content simply by leaving the mushrooms exposed like that.
I have always more or less thought of them as a tasty extra, but haven't given much thought to nutritional value.

As a teenager, I remember finding a field of wild mushrooms growing on Portsdown Hill. I was used to finding them growing in grassland on a relative's farm, but the later find was amongst harvested corn stubble.
My brother picked pounds of them that season and a local shopkeeper was happy to take as many as he could supply.

Gwyn it was not until I was 16/17 that I even tasted a mushroom, that would have been too exotic for my Mum's cooking abilities (which were great but basic). Even though living near fields and farms I don't remember seeing mushrooms growing. My first taste of them was when my boyfriend (now OH) took me to a cafe called Corbetts cafe in Fareham for steak, egg and chips with mushrooms. the only things I had eaten before on that plate were the egg and chips but I loved both steak and mushrooms and always remember that meal.

Farmer Maggots mushrooms on toast

http://www.feastofstarlight.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-farmer-maggots-mushroom-toast/

mmmm

There are dozens of varieties of tasty fungus.
Autumn is a good time for picking but take somebody knowledgeable with you or purchase from shops.

It is just such a shame they taste horrible.

I will eat them if they are on the plate but always swallow them down first to get rid of them. Bleh!

Ann,
I don't remember Mum buying mushrooms, when we were children. They were a foraged seasonal addition.

Sharron
Is that the shop-bought one's or just any?
Field mushrooms have more taste.

My daughter would agree with you though and says they are like slugs on the plate, but will eat them if they are in eg bolognese sauce.

We all have likes and dislikes Sharron I love the taste, but they actually also soak up the taste of other things they are cooked with like butter, garlic, olive oil, herbs.

rollo as you say mmmmm!

They're just as nice with a creamy garlic sauce as they are fried (in butter, like Ann says) with bacon and onions for breakfast.

I am with your daughter, Gwyn, and they get cold very quickly too.

It is interesting that you should say that you had never had some of those things. Ann.

I was only thinking about when I first had school dinners after my nan died when I was five. I knew I didn't like fish but would eat white fish which she had cooked in milk and served with potatoes and veg from the garden.. Having had salad and dog meat for the first lunch, we had had corned beef at home but I had not encountered Spam before, I was equally perplexed by the brown object on the plate with the chips which were what you ate with egg.

It was battered fish but, living jut past the back of Beyond, I had never encountered a fish and chip shop, that was for town folk, so had never come across fish and chips.

I like Spam too!

How could I not like it when Mum told me she lived on Spam when she was pregnant with me - during wartime! <3

I never had Spam very often, no meat at all since 1975, but I don't think I particularly disliked it. From what I remember of that first school lunch, the only thing I had seen that resembled what was on my plate was Chappie that the dog had.

I liked all of my school lunches but for two or three years during summer terms my friends and I used to take packed lunches.

One year Mars Bar sandwiches were the rage, sometimes Mars Bar and sliced banana sandwiches; another year it was beef crisp sandwiches.

Our tastes knew no bounds! :-D

I’m with your daughter Gwyn. It’s not the taste so much as the disgusting slimy texture. If I am given a meal in someone else’s house I try to quickly swallow a few mushrooms down but I would never have them from choice. My mum didn’t buy mushrooms so I didn’t try them till I was an adult. She didn’t buy shellfish either so II didn’t discover I was allergic to it till I was 19. I can remember coming home from school, aged about 5, and telling my mother that we had eaten stew with horrible white bits in it. It was years before I discovered it was pearl barley which I still hate.

I have to confess to eating raw mushrooms, as a child.
Actually, I've realised, a lot of my time as a child, spent playing, was foraging - and my mum wondered why I never finished my meals :-D
I blame my dad. I was about 3 when my dad showed me how to get to the centre of the prickly pears that grew in Malta, without using a knife, and without ending up with thorn holes in my hands. A bit of practice, and I was an expert! :-D

I remember in the 60s when parties on housing estates seemed to be all the rage with buffet suppers. We used to make a cold rice dish with sweet corn, peas, nuts and raw mushrooms chopped into it to eat with salad. Nobody ever had food poisening and the cold rice would be eatenup next day too. (we did have a fridge.

Maggie
That must have been quite a challenge, eating prickly pear without being pierced.
I saw plenty in Gozo, but never saw anyone tackling them.

Like your family, we ate foraged food. Mum had been brought up in the country, so blackberry picking , wild strawberry finding and chestnut collecting were annual events for us.

When staying , as a child, with relatives in South Wales we once went picking laverbread from the rocks on the beach. The collecting was OK, as long as we watched the tide, but then it had to be washed several times in separate rock pools to rid it of as much sand as possible. It was then carried in baskets across the fields to home, where it was washed many more times before being cooked in a large pan. The smell was dreadful, but when cooled the result was ready to be used for frying in small pats as part of a cooked breakfast.
The present day equivalent, available in South Wales markets doesn't compare and is much more sloppy.

I'm not so keen on the button mushrooms, which I think are tasteless, but I love field mushrooms and eat them every week.

Gwyn, my foraging days are long over, but I can buy field mushrooms in the local supermarket.

I prefer chestnut mushrooms to the bog standard supermarket white ones. Apparently the chestnut ones have more vitamin D. My sister forages for mushrooms, but she knows what she is doing. Properly cooked the wild ones are lovely

What a coincidence your post is Ann

Only last night, Grandson 1 (who as you know has suffered from serious health issues including fits and seizures for many years now) phoned and told me that he'd been looking into ways to help himself, including going down the natural route.

He's been eating various kinds of mushrooms and says he's noticing a difference in his general health. In particular his joint pain resulting from all the falls he's had due to his fits.

He is also seeing a reduction in his fits too! :-)

I do love mushrooms and generally use them in a stir fry or veggie stew etc.but the secret is not to overcook them so they go all slimey. They dont need that much time to cook so add them last to cooking.

A friend years ago took me to gather fresh mushrooms as they knew what they were doing and i didnt. they were in a field where there had been sheep.
We filled 2 large carrier bags and went to the local pub in the evening and gave some away. They were so delicious.

And i always chop the stalks too.

Florence in the hebrides