For common mushrooms, choose those with a firm texture and even colour with tightly-closed caps. If the gills are showing, it's an indication of age, and they are probably past their prime. Discoloured, broken and damaged mushrooms with soft spots should be avoided.
If you are cooking mushrooms whole, choose those that are uniform in size to promote even cooking.
Storage :
Store mushrooms in your refrigerator crisper where they can benefit from cool air circulation. Keep partially covered to prevent them from drying out, but never store packaged mushrooms without venting. Paper bags are a good storage alternative.
Most fresh mushrooms should be used within three days.
Dried mushrooms should be soaked in hot water or part of the recipe cooking liquid for about an hour before using. Let debris sink to the bottom and use the clear remaining liquid in the recipe for additional flavour.
Cholesterol Levels :Mushrooms themselves provide you with lean proteins since they have no cholesterol or fat and are very low carbohydrates. The fiber and certain enzymes in mushrooms also help lower cholesterol levels. Moreover, the high lean protein content in mushrooms helps burn cholesterol when they are digested. Balancing levels of cholesterol between LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) and HDL (“good” cholesterol) is essential in the prevention of various cardiovascular diseases like artherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.
Anemia : Anemic patients are characterized by having low levels of iron in their blood, resulting in fatigue, headaches, reduced neural function, and digestive issues. Mushrooms are a good source of iron, and over 90% of the nutritive iron value can be absorbed by the body, which promotes the formation of red blood cells and keeps people healthy and functioning at their full potential.
Breast Cancer & Prostate Cancer :Mushrooms are very effective in preventing breast and prostate cancer due to the significant presence of various polysaccharides, like Beta-Glucans and conjugated Linoleic Acid, which both have anti-carcinogenic effects. Out of these two, linoleic acid is particularly helpful in suppressing the harmful effects of excess estrogen. This increase in estrogen is one of the prime causes for breast cancer in women after menopause. The Beta-Glucans, on the other hand, inhibit the growth of cancerous cells in cases of prostate cancer, and numerous studies have shown the anti-tumour properties of mushrooms when applied medicinally.
Diabetes:Mushrooms are an ideal low-energy diet for diabetics. They have no fats, no cholesterol, very low levels of carbohydrates, high protein content, and a wealth of vitamins and minerals. They also contain a lot of water and fiber. Moreover, they contain natural insulin and enzymes which help the breaking down of sugar or starch in food. They are also known to contain certain compounds which help proper functioning of the liver, pancreas and other endocrine glands, thereby promoting the formation of insulin and its proper regulation throughout the body. Diabetics often suffer from infections, particularly in their limbs, which tend to continue for long periods of time. The natural antibiotics in mushrooms can help protect diabetics from these painful and potentially life-threatening conditions.
Low Calories :Fat free,Saturated fat free,very low sodium,cholesterol free,low calorie,high in Riboflavin, good source ofniacin, good source of copper,good source of pantothenate.
Increases Immune system activity:Mushroom extracts have been demonstrated to have anti-tumour activity—at least in test tubes. In humans, mushroom extracts have been shown to increase immune system activity.
Bone Health:Mushrooms are a rich source of calcium, which is an essential nutrient in the formation and strength of bones. A steady supply of calcium in the diet can reduce your chances of developing conditions like osteoporosis, and can also reduce joint pain and general lack of mobility that is associated with bone degradation.
Nutrient Absorption :Vitamin D is a relatively rare vitamin to find in vegetables, and in fact, edible forms in general are not particularly common. However, mushrooms have it, and this essential vitamin can facilitate the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. Mushrooms also contains levels of these two nutrients, so the combined effects of having all of these nutrients in one powerful source, mushrooms, makes it a good idea to eat them whenever possible.
Immune System Strength : Ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant present in mushrooms, is very effective in providing protection from free radicals as well as boosting the immune system. It is actually an amino acid that contains sulfur, which is something that many people are deficient in, despite not knowing it or seeing its effects. That being said, the presence of this “master antioxidant” which is unique to mushrooms, can give you a major boost to immune system health. It helps to eliminate free radicals, which are the dangerous compounds that are released during the metabolic processes of cells, and can float throughout the body and cause significant damage and disease, so antioxidants, like ergothioneine, are vital elements for overall health.
Blood Pressure: :Studies of various types of mushrooms, including shitake and maitake mushrooms, have shown them to be high in potassium content. Potassium acts as a vasodilator, relaxing tension in blood vessels and therefore reducing blood pressure. High blood pressure is connected to a number of deadly conditions, particularly heart attacks and strokes. Potassium also increases cognitive function, because increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain stimulates neural activity. Studies have shown that increased levels of potassium improve memory and knowledge retention
Copper Content : Copper has a number of beneficial effects on the body, and can be found in mushrooms. Calcium can regulate and stimulate the absorption of iron from food, and properly utilize it by getting it released from primary storage spots in the body like the liver. Mushrooms also have high levels of iron, so the two work together for healthy bones and preventing anemia.
Selenium Content :The selenium content in mushrooms is one of the most beneficial elements that is often overlooked. The primary source of selenium is in animal proteins; however, due to their classification as fungi that feed off animal and plant matter, mushrooms are the best way for vegetarians to obtain the necessary amount of selenium.. Selenium is found in large quantities in mushrooms, and can benefit bone health by adding to bone strength and increasing durability. It also strengthens the teeth, hair, and nails. Furthermore, this essential nutrient is a powerful antioxidant, which rids the body of free radicals and generally strengthens the immune system. The bio-availability of selenium in mushrooms differs on species, but the majority of commonly consumed mushrooms have significant levels of this important mineral.
Weight Loss : Most fats are burnt to digest proteins found in our food, more so when the protein is accompanied by a very low carbohydrate count, no fat or cholesterol, and a good amount of fiber. This is exactly the combination that mushrooms offer to help in losing weight! Due to their nutrient density, they actually rank higher than most fruits and vegetables, and some researchers say that mushrooms are one of the rare foods that people can eat as often as possible, with no side effects.
Exclusive note :In general, no one will opt mushrooms for outer or external beauty.Hence eating mushrooms is the best option rather applying as a mask or in any other form.
Side effects : On a much more serious note, mushrooms can be very dangerous! Most species of mushrooms are not edible, are highly poisonous and look strikingly similar to their edible counterparts. Don’t ever try picking mushrooms for consumption from the woods unless you have been trained to identify them very well. Mushrooms have the unique ability to absorb the material that they grow on, either good or bad. This quality is what gives mushrooms so much of their beneficial power, but also their dangerous aspects. Many mushrooms, when picked in the wild, contain heavy metals, which can be very toxic, as well as air and water pollutants.
Words of Caution to choose a mushroom :A single poisonous mushroom among others in a dish can threaten a large amount of people’s health, resulting in comas, severe poison symptoms, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, cramps, insanity. Many species can even be fatal if ingested. Always avoid eating discoloured mushrooms or those which are different in colour than the typically accepted colour of their species.
About the Vegetable :A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source."Mushroom" describes a variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems, and the term is used even more generally, to describe both the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota and the woody or leathery fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, depending upon the context of the word.Typical mushrooms are the fruit bodies of members of the order Agaricales, whose type genus is Agaricus and type species is the field mushroom, Agaricus campestris. However, in modern molecularly defined classifications, not all members of the order Agaricales produce mushroom fruit bodies, and many other gilled fungi, collectively called mushrooms, occur in other orders of the class Agaricomycetes. For example, chanterelles are in the Cantharellales, false chanterelles such as Gomphus are in the Gomphales, milk mushrooms (Lactarius) and russulas (Russula), as well as Lentinellus, are in the Russulales, while the tough, leathery genera Lentinus and Panus are among the Polyporales, but Neolentinus is in the Gloeophyllales, and the little pin-mushroom genus, Rickenella, along with similar genera, are in the Hymenochaetales.
Scientific / Binomial name : Agaricus bisporus
Popularly Known as :Toadstool, Putta godugulu
Usage :
Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in many cuisines. They are known as the "meat" of the vegetable world.
Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibres. The chromophores of mushroom dyes are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colours, and all colours of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dyes, mushrooms were the source of many textile dyes.
Some fungi, types of polypores loosely called mushrooms, have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi).
Mushrooms and other fungi play a role in the development of new biological remediation techniques (e.g., using mycorrhizae to spur plant growth) and filtration technologies (e.g. using fungi to lower bacterial levels in contaminated water).
Culinary Used Areas :Notably Chinese, Korean, European, and Japanese.People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as mycophagists,and the act of collecting them for such is known as mushroom hunting, or simply "mushrooming".
