Contents
Learn more about mushrooms and their preparation
The benefits of mushrooms
Mushrooms belong to a separate kingdom – this is a completely different form of life than plants. Mushrooms combine the properties of the plant and animal world, which could not but affect their composition.
This product has been eaten since the dawn of civilization for various purposes. After all, there are not only edible mushrooms, but also poisonous ones. They were used by shamans to enter a special state in rituals. The ability to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones has always been appreciated, and is still no less important for amateur mushroom pickers.
This product consists almost entirely of water, so when dried, the mushrooms take up very little space and weigh a little.
Mushrooms are rich in protein, like animal food. Therefore, for vegetarians, this is one of the few replacements for this nutrient. The most nutritious traditional “noble” mushrooms. But in their composition and ability to influence the body, many edible species do not differ much from each other. Often the value of a certain species is greatly exaggerated, for example, because of its rarity and exoticism.
Most useful substances in young fruits, old mushrooms accumulate more and more toxins, and are characterized by increased worminess. Mushrooms also contain a lot of B vitamins, various trace elements: zinc, calcium, magnesium, iodine and others.
Due to the abundance of chitin, which is poorly digested, useful substances are not absorbed very well from mushrooms. But the chitin itself is quite useful. Under the influence of acid in the stomach, it turns into chitosan. This substance is able to lower cholesterol levels by preventing the absorption of fats and binding lipids. Thus, eating mushrooms can help maintain the health of blood vessels and the heart, and reduce blood pressure.
Mushroom damage
Mushrooms are natural “sponges”, accumulators of harmful substances. Therefore, it is very important to collect them away from roads and businesses to avoid poisoning. It is better to take young mushrooms, and only those in which you are one hundred percent sure. At the slightest doubt, you should not take risks – it can be deadly.
– Mushrooms contain the polysaccharide chitin, which belongs to the group of hard-to-digest carbohydrates and is close to fiber in its biological role. It brings great benefits to our body, because it is a sorbent and a source of nutrition for beneficial intestinal microflora. However, in the presence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, especially when eating fried mushrooms in a large amount of oil, they can provoke their exacerbation. At one time, it is recommended to eat no more than 100 – 150 grams of mushrooms, – says nutritionist Yulia Pigareva.
How to choose and store mushrooms
To avoid food poisoning, you need to eat only proven mushrooms. This is possible only when collected by an experienced mushroom picker in ecologically clean remote areas. But even experienced people with a reference book can make mistakes, so it’s better not to take mushrooms at the slightest suspicion.
When collecting, choose young fruits, do not collect completely wormy specimens. Many take similar mushrooms with worms, “it will be digested anyway, protein.” This is not entirely true, since the larvae and insects that have settled in mushrooms secrete their own processed products that are not good for the intestines. You can’t get poisoned by this, but it’s still not enough pleasant. To prevent the mushroom from becoming even more wormy, it must be processed immediately after harvest.
To protect yourself, you can buy mushrooms grown in greenhouses. They are tested for toxins, cleaned of debris, and are available all year round. Although of course their price will be higher, and the benefits will be less.
Fresh mushrooms keep in the refrigerator for several days. To extend the shelf life, they can be frozen or dried – so they lie all year. Storage by salting and marinating is not the best solution, since almost all useful substances are lost in this case, and the risk of poisoning due to a violation of technology increases.