Mushroom Me
There are around 10,000 types of mushrooms that we know of and only around 100 of them are poisonous. Which leads me the question… how am I going to taste them all? The mushroom is storied and magical. They have been used for cooking and for religious ceremony for as long as man has walked the forests and meadows. Their ability to bring flavor to a dish may only be out performed by their many health benefits. Yea Mushrooms!
Mushrooms are a natural glutamate. We have all heard of MSG, an additive famous in Chinese food that will make you doze off in the first quarter of the big game. The G stands for glutamate and it enhances food flavor and gives food a fantastic mouth feel. Well our friend the mushroom is a natural glutamate and not only enhances other flavors and provides silky mouth feel, mushrooms add an earthy flavor profile like nothing else.
The medicinal benefits are still being discovered but what is known is mushrooms are great for you. From their anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal to cholesterol lowering, immune boosting properties, mushrooms should be on your diet’s starting line-up.
Mushrooms are packed with numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide outstanding health benefits. Discover more about this through this infographic.
Many native cultures use mind enhancing mushrooms for spiritual enlightenment. A campfire never said so much if you listen on mushrooms.
Mushrooms can even be used in industry from cleaning up toxic waste (even radio-active) to making a bio friendly form of plastic.
We have been busy in the Mangia kitchen and have been using pulverized dry mushrooms for our new steak rub. Here is the recipe we have been using.
- 1 bag Mangia Cajun Dry Rub
- .5 oz dried mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, shiitake..) pulverized in a bullet or other food processor
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary
Mix all ingredients and rub your favorite cut of beef, lamb, goat, even pork and chicken.
Now this is just one application, and the cooking uses for mushrooms are endless. The point is as good as mushrooms are for you, you should be finding more and more ways to incorporate mushrooms into your diet.
