Among the great variety of plants and organisms on our planet, a significant place is occupied by mushrooms, there are about a hundred thousand species, and they grow literally everywhere. Perhaps, there is no such place on Earth where mushrooms would not find conditions for their development. Mushrooms grow in forests and fields, in gardens and meadows, in mountains and deserts, in soil and water.
Man began to show interest in mushrooms from very ancient times. Mushrooms were divided into edible, conditionally edible and inedible (toadstools), poisonous. There is even a science of mushrooms – mycology – but even she could not answer the question for a long time: what place do mushrooms occupy in the system of the organic world? And only at the end of the 18th century their belonging to spore plants was finally fixed. But are mushrooms really plants? Indeed, unlike plants, they lack chlorophyll, are not able to absorb carbon dioxide from the air on their own, and therefore feed on ready-made organic matter. In addition, the composition of the cell tissue of many fungi includes chitin, which also brings them closer to animals.
Most modern biologists distinguish mushrooms as a separate species that exists along with plants and animals. Mushrooms are of great importance in nature and for human economic activity.
Many hat mushrooms (there are about 200 species) are edible and are a human food product. Mushrooms have been eaten for almost the entire history of mankind. In terms of their chemical composition and protein content, mushrooms are closer to meat than to plant products. And in terms of the amount and composition of carbohydrates and minerals, they are still closer to vegetables and fruits.
The nutritional value of mushrooms is determined by the presence of various organic compounds and mineral salts in them. Mushrooms are rich in various enzymes that promote the breakdown of fats and fiber. This feature characterizes mushrooms as a necessary and useful additional product in the daily diet. The content of various sugars in mushrooms significantly increases their nutritional value and gives a pleasant sweetish taste. Mushrooms also contain valuable fats, their digestibility is almost equal to that of animal fats. Essential oils give the mushrooms a certain aroma, and resins give them a characteristic ductility (milks, some russula). Mushrooms are also rich in valuable trace elements.
Fresh mushrooms can be stored for only a few hours, so for harvesting for the future they are dried, salted, pickled, canned.