1 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm any Rees and 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren vocal Baum And okay, we've got to We've 3 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: got a pop quiz the top of the episode here. Yeah, yeah, 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: what is the largest organism on Earth? Dude? Do do do? Do? 5 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: Do do you? Actually you probably knew the answer right 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: away based on what we're talking about. It is a 7 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: humongous honey fungus. Actually, I would not have guessed that 8 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: just from mushrooms being the title of the episode. That's true. 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: I knew it was a mushroom, but I didn't know 10 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: it was a honey fungus specifically. That's a different thing totally. 11 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: I Well, it's located in Oregon, it's about two point 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: four miles long, what three point five kilometers? And uh, 13 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: that is one random fact of the episode that you 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: probably already knew. And one other trivia note. A fungus 15 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: aged four boardy million years is currently known as the 16 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: oldest organism to live on dry land. Yeah, a scientist 17 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: said in the Daily Mail article I read about it. 18 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 1: It fills an important gap in the evolution of life 19 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: on land and that it may have kickstarted life on earth. What. Yeah, 20 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: as this is a food show. We're going to be 21 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: talking about edible mushrooms today. Yes, if you if you 22 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: want to hear more about the psychedelic varieties. I believe 23 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: that both stuff you should know and also stuff to 24 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: blow your mind have episodes about those. I do not 25 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: doubt it. So, okay, mushrooms, what is it? I love 26 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: this code about them from edible mushrooms in their creation 27 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: without leaves, without buds, without flowers, yet they form fruit 28 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: as a food, as a tonic, as a medicine, and 29 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: the entire creation is precious. That sounds very lovely. Yeah, 30 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: and or like a Tolkien like riddle. Uh okay, but yeah, 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: so yes. Mushrooms are a type of fungus, neither animal 32 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: nor plant. They breathe oxygen and release carbon dioxide like 33 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: we do. They can grow above or in the ground, 34 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,639 Speaker 1: with or without sunlight. They can't photosynthesize. They eat by 35 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: excreting digestive enzymes and then absorbing nutrients from the compounds 36 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: that those enzymes break down, But they don't have vascular systems. 37 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: They grow similar to the way that plants do, with 38 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: new cells propagating out from developed cells, each with its 39 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: own cell wall, but those cell walls contain kitan like 40 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: animal cell walls. Do huh, basically like wtf nature? Mushrooms, 41 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: what's going on right? More specifically, mushrooms are the edible 42 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: fruit of a larger fungus structure. Mush Rooms produce spores 43 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: that a sort of sort of like seeds, can spread 44 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,519 Speaker 1: on air or water or moving creatures and grow into 45 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: a new fungus. They produce the spores and those kind 46 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: of gill looking structures on the underside of the cap. 47 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: When a spore lands in a suitably moist and nutritious 48 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: area you know, nice rotting bit of tree or a 49 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: heap of manure, I know, delicious, right, um, it'll germinate 50 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: and begin radiating new cells outward from its central point. 51 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: New cells only grow on the tips of the older ones, 52 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: so left to its own devices, the fungus will usually 53 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: grow out from the center into this like flat circle 54 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: of branched threads, which over time can kind of cluster 55 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: up into ropes. Think of like a like a drink 56 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: coaster made from from lace or or crocheted doily. Okay, 57 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: if your grandmother had those, that's kind of sort of 58 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: what this this root system of of a of a mushroom. 59 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: It's like um like your grandmother's do, on a slightly 60 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: larger scale. Generally um that that sort of root system 61 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: is called him mycelium, and it'll spread out underground or 62 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: you know, through whatever growth medium it's working with, and 63 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: when it's developed enough and the conditions are right, when 64 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: the stars are right, it'll shoot out fruit mushrooms to 65 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: create spores and to begin the life cycle again. By 66 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: the way, the growth pattern of fungi cells, you know, 67 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: from the tips radiating outward like I described, is why 68 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,679 Speaker 1: mushroom fairy circles form. Oh, the mushrooms pop up along 69 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: the outer edges of the underground circular mycelium, and grass 70 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: tends to be greener on the inside of these circles 71 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: than on the outside because the mycelium is breaking down 72 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: compounds and the soil giving the grass that grows above 73 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: it more available nutrients. I was so in two fairy 74 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: circles when I was a kid, Right, aren't they great? 75 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: They're so cute. Yeah, I had a fairy house. I 76 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: had this little bell to try to attract them. Did 77 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: you see that movie that they proved the photographs? Okay, anyway, 78 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: point being, this was a lovely unexpected throwback. So if 79 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: we look at the types of mushrooms that you're likely 80 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: to find in stores, the button mushroom is the most cultivated, 81 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: but there are so many types, more than I realized technically. 82 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: Oh man, me too, you've got truffles was probably one 83 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: of the first ones few foodie's thought of. I don't know, 84 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: um which Brilliot Severan we've mentioned him before, he named 85 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: them the diamond in the aught of cookery, and I 86 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: had a question why truffles be so expensive. I don't know, 87 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: Well I do. It's because there's a lot of work involved. 88 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,159 Speaker 1: Shuffle foragers use dogs and pigs that are trained to 89 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: recognize the smell of truffles, and when they find them, 90 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: a truffle farmer sort of treats it like someone who 91 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: has found a fossil, very carefully examining the surroundings, cleaning, 92 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: and then checking to see if it's ripe. The farmer 93 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: can't or shouldn't really touch them either, because it might 94 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: make it rot if it isn't ready. Oh yeah, and 95 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: they're underground in case you didn't gather that. Gather that 96 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:21,919 Speaker 1: from what I was saying, Oh truffle aside you've got portobello, chautaki, carmini, porcini, morals, oyster, button, 97 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: king trumpet, chanterelles, and oki, caulifire mushrooms, on and on 98 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: and on and on. Do you have a favorite type 99 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: of mushroom? More? Oh? All, all of the above. Maybe 100 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: maybe maybe good good old like baby port of bellos, Yeah, 101 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: which which I guess is sometimes also called criminis. Yes, 102 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: I think so. Okay. There are over two thousand known species, 103 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: but it could be way more, and it's generally agreed upon. 104 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: We haven't found them all. I would say, definitely, we 105 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: haven't found them all. Yeah. Yeah, of those we widely 106 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 1: eat only about twenty five of them. Yeah. But but 107 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,279 Speaker 1: one thing I read from Oxford Research, Encyclopedias cited estimates 108 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: of up to five million five million fecis of fun 109 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: guy on Earth. The most accepted estimate is one point 110 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: five million. From that, scientists suspect that mushrooms would make 111 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: up about one hundred and sixty thousand of that number, 112 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: which means we only know about ten of them. And 113 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: I love this. Using our current discovery rate, it would 114 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: take about four thousand years for us to discover them all. 115 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: That's a lot tasty, beautiful, long discovery process. However, important 116 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 1: to this show. Only about seven thousand of that one 117 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: D sixty thousand number are believed to be mushrooms that 118 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: are edible, but it's still quite a bit. I would say, yeah, okay, 119 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: So while mushrooms do grow in the wild, for something 120 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: that just grows right on poop, industrial mushroom farming is 121 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: a serious technological undertaking. Farmers create these indoor environments that 122 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: they can control to best benefit their crops in terms 123 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: of temperature, humidity, light, growth media, and potential pests. First, 124 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: such a farmer might try to create a pure fungal 125 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: culture for a particular type of mushroom by germinating spores 126 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: um on on agar in vitro like in dishes and labs, 127 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: and then culturing the resulting threads in sterilized medium and 128 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: then further developing uh, those those that that that growing 129 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,839 Speaker 1: fungus in a in a growth medium, and that growth 130 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: medium thing all right, So creating the best dirt or 131 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: would for mushrooms to grow in is a perhaps shockingly 132 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: complex process. As I was reading the research for it, 133 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: it's very specific and very industrial as everything is. But 134 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,559 Speaker 1: I was just like, oh, mushrooms they grow on dirt. 135 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: Now the dart of story that it is super specific. 136 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,760 Speaker 1: Mushroom farmers have always depended on other producers by products 137 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: to create their growth material. You know, plant and animal 138 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: waste composted to perfection delicious. UH. For mushrooms that grow 139 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: naturally on trees or logs like the chattake, farmers might 140 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: prepare actual logs or create synthetic logs, which are basically 141 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: bags packed with a mixture of sawdust and then supplements 142 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: like a wheat brand or spent coffee grounds or powdered 143 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: corn cobs, or on and on um. Different types of 144 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: mushrooms bear different enzymes for breaking down specific substances, so 145 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: lots of different composting material could be used depending on 146 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: these species that you are growing. This media or these 147 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: media rather are often kept in blocks like crates, kind 148 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: of with these clear side panels that you can keep 149 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: track of the growing mycelium. And these crates can be 150 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 1: stacked into these huge tall shelving units and then moved 151 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: in different areas of your of your indoor mushroom farm 152 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,119 Speaker 1: at different stages of development. UH. Part of some mushrooms 153 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,679 Speaker 1: development involves picking up hormonal cues from nearby fung guy. 154 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: It's sort of like, oh, oh, hey, you're you're making 155 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 1: this type of cell. I'm gonna go ahead and make 156 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: this complimentary type of cell, and then they can have 157 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: beautiful mushroom babies together inter mushroom communication. Who knew, not me? 158 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: Not me? Uh so, Yeah, it can be really important 159 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: to be able to move these crates um. These crates 160 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: are blocks of media plus mycelium are sometimes called spawn 161 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: in the industry. By the way, spawn, Yeah, they probably 162 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,439 Speaker 1: each have really awesome little capes. I don't know enough 163 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: about the horror movie spawn to make a joke about it, 164 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 1: but there's some joke there somebody for us. Please yeah, 165 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: right right in and let us know what you got. 166 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: The resulting mushrooms that um spawn from the spawn are 167 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: typically harvested by end like. Each mushroom is gently twisted 168 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: and popped from the mycelium and then packed up once 169 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: they get to you. Mushrooms are best stored in a 170 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: paper bag or loosely wrapped in paper towels that are 171 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: then loosely wrapped in plastic. It's best not to wash 172 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: them because they soak up moisture and might get all soggy, 173 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: but if that makes you twitchy, you can scrub them 174 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,079 Speaker 1: with a damp paper towel or prints quickly with cold 175 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 1: water in a colander. That's what I do. I'm very 176 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: glad to have read this, because I always, like my 177 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: mushrooms always get that gross, slimy kind of Yeah, now 178 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: I know. Do you have a favorite type of mushroom? 179 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: I didn't ask you. In return, I do, and is 180 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: cha there's a place in Georgia that they're usually at 181 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: every farmer's market. Mushrooms man m hmmm uh and Mushrooms 182 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: are cultivated in over sixty countries, and the year two thousand, 183 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: the top producers were China, the US, France, Poland, and 184 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: the Netherlands. You can find mushrooms in places that otherwise 185 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 1: don't have much else, growing in parts of Africa and Asia. 186 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 1: Asian countries make use of a wider variety of mushrooms 187 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: accepted for eating. Yeah, and China they eat up to 188 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: seven hundred wild and domesticated varieties. For the French, that 189 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: number is closer to two hundred types. The largest producer 190 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: of commercial mushrooms, China produced twenty eight points three million tons. 191 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: That's about eight seven of the global market. The industry 192 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: in China employs thirty five million people. I'm just shaking 193 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: my head, which is working great on radio, I'm sure, 194 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: but yes, that's a that's gigantic. I love it. Worldwide, 195 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: total mushroom production in twelve was estimated at thirty one 196 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: million tons, valued at over twenty billion dollars US and 197 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 1: mushrooms have been getting more popular in the past few decades, 198 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,439 Speaker 1: with total global production increasing annually at an average of 199 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: like thirt pent every year. During this whole time, crops 200 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: of the everyday button mushroom have decreased as other varieties 201 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: have become more popular and available. Yeah. One of the 202 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: reasons they're so popular is they're used both as a 203 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: food and a medicinal product. Surprise, surprise. Mushrooms are high 204 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: in protein, fiber, and a whole bunch of nutrients while 205 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: being low and fat, so they're pretty good food choice 206 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: in general. They can be a non animal source of 207 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,839 Speaker 1: vitamin D two, which makes them a particularly good choice 208 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: for vegetarians, and like many foods that we talk about, 209 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,839 Speaker 1: they have a long history of being used as a 210 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 1: preventatives and remedies for any number of conditions. Various species 211 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: and extracts of mushrooms are being studied for just all 212 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: all kinds of potential benefits, including improving the immune system, 213 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: improving the gut mic or biome, inhibiting the growth of cancer, 214 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: protecting against neurodegeneration as usual, though a research is still 215 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: preliminary and has not produced solid evidence about any of 216 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: these benefits yet. Eating mushrooms as part of your diet 217 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,599 Speaker 1: certainly won't hurt and may help, but talk to a 218 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: doctor before trying extracts, and don't buy into claims, especially 219 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: like expensive claims that some particular type of mushroom is 220 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: going to be a magic fix for whatever issue. Magic 221 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: mushrooms are a separate thing. I was about to say. 222 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,800 Speaker 1: I recently NPR had a story about um countries that 223 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 1: still use mushrooms medicinally, So if you're interested, you can 224 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,119 Speaker 1: go you can go check that out. But in the meantime, 225 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: we have a lot of history to cover when it 226 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 1: comes to mushrooms. But first let's take a quick break 227 00:14:52,480 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, 228 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: thank you. Humans have been eating mushrooms for a long time, 229 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: probably back to prehistoric folks. And our hunter gatherer ancestors. 230 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 1: This is speculation, but generally agreed upon speculation. The world's 231 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: oldest human mummy, Otzi, the iceman of brad Pitt Tattoo fame, 232 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: about five thousand years old, had two types of mushrooms 233 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,800 Speaker 1: on him that he was probably using one of them 234 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: medicinally and the other was included in a sort of 235 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: highly advanced for the time fire starting kit. Yeah. Part 236 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: of the reason why this is all speculation is that 237 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: mushrooms don't leave of fossil evidence or not fossil. They 238 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: don't leave evidence the way that a lot of other 239 00:15:54,160 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: vegetative systems do. Yes. But by the Neolithic times, fungi 240 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: were used to make mead and other fermented beverages like 241 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: beer or wine. Mushroom meade. I want to drink that immediately, 242 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: mushroom meade new cocktail hour. Yes. Similarly, analysis of yeast 243 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: residue and drinking and or brewing vessels in ancient Egypt 244 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: seemed to indicate that, whether accidentally or on purpose, fungi 245 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: were used in beer and wine making as far back 246 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: as three thousand, six hundred fifty BC. Some of this 247 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: evidence was found in the tomb of a queen containing 248 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: a jar of beer. Higher glyphs from around that time 249 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 1: called mushrooms of plants of immortality. Because of this, they 250 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: were largely reserved for royalty. We don't need our our 251 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: poor people being immortal all us. Other things I read 252 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: about beliefs pen to mushrooms labeled them as granting superhuman strength, 253 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 1: like super Mario. Do you think that's where they got 254 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: it from. I don't think so at all, Probably not, 255 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,120 Speaker 1: but still, yeah, that's exciting. Um that they could aid 256 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: in the search for something lost. So you eat mushroom, 257 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: you're like, uh, they could lead to your lost soul, 258 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: to the godly realm. Yeah. Up to seven thousand years ago, 259 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: the ancient Chinese knew about fun guy. But it's more 260 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: likely they used mushrooms again for medicinal purposes rather than food. 261 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 1: Some evidence indicates that the Chinese started consuming mushrooms in 262 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: nine hundred BC. A lot of mushroom varieties were first 263 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: cultivated in China, certainly by the time the Han dynasty 264 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: came along. Around the Book of Songs listed several edible mushrooms. 265 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:53,640 Speaker 1: In a Japanese emperor visiting China was offered edible mushrooms 266 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: as as a welcoming gift. Chinese physician wrote that the 267 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: chitake was the elixir of life around to sixteen hundred dates, 268 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: so hard to pin down. Around the same period you 269 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: could find written instructions for cultivating mushrooms. The ancient Greeks 270 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: used them, I suppose, alongside garlic to give strength to 271 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: their warriors. Delicious strength. I know, you get mushrooms and garlic. Perfect. However, 272 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: mushroom consumption was not without its problems. Both Euripides and 273 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:34,359 Speaker 1: Hippocrates wrote about accidental mushroom poisoning in the fifth century BC. 274 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 1: And at last we're talking about a food the ancient 275 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 1: Romans liked, what is it possible? Are we in the 276 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: olive oil episode? And I'm just confused. They called mushrooms 277 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: the food of the gods. They even had a designated 278 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 1: cooking vessel for them, and the legend goes a Grippa 279 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: used this vessel to feed poisonous mushrooms to kill her husband, 280 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: Emperor Claudius, to clear the path for her son Nero 281 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: to become Rome's emperor. Wo Horace wrote around if they 282 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: were expensive delicacies, and Romans had integrated truffles into their 283 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: cuisine by the first century CE. My favorite part about 284 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: it is that they've believed that the answer to where 285 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 1: do truffles come from? Was a lightning strike hitting the 286 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: ground during thunderstorms. Wow, that's awesome. That's that's way more 287 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 1: metal than I think it actually is. But great. The 288 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: oldest cookbook we know of, dating back to third century CE, 289 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,640 Speaker 1: had a handful of bristbees using mushrooms. As for Japan, 290 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: mushrooms appear in text around seven, referring to much earlier 291 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: encounters with mushrooms like the one in China mentioned above. 292 00:19:55,040 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: Jumping Jumpinging wa ahead to the sixteenth century, two verses 293 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: had been composed about mushrooms and mushroom gathering. The way 294 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: these mushrooms were being cultivated by the way was on 295 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: rotting logs. In the case of ancient Rome and Greece, 296 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: they used slices of poplar tree trunk. This kind of 297 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: reminds me those mushrooms. Did you do this as a 298 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: kid that would grow on the logs and need to 299 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: stomp on and not like that fog would come out? 300 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: Was that doing something potentially deadly? I would do it 301 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 1: to create dramatic effect in the stories and I was 302 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 1: telling to no one in the woods but myself. I 303 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: grew up in in Ohio, so so we might have 304 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: had a different mushroom culture. Who didn't have smokey mushrooms occa. 305 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: All right, Well, back to history at records show that 306 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: the Vikings and Siberian Shamans used hallucinogenic mushrooms and religious 307 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: ceremonies circa one thousand CE, and at least one thousand 308 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: years ago records exist. That's several types of fun guy, 309 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:06,440 Speaker 1: including truffles, were being eaten in North Africa. When the 310 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: Spanish arrived in Mexico in the sixteenth century, they wrote 311 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: that the Aztecs used a mushroom, the name of which 312 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: translated to God's flesh. A book by an herbalist in 313 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,359 Speaker 1: fifty two noted the Mayans used the same mushroom for 314 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 1: pain management. Some surviving Mayan manuscripts depicted mushrooms as sacred. 315 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: That same mushroom, God's Flesh later pops up in Bernardino 316 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,919 Speaker 1: does the Hagoon's sixteenth century book General History of the 317 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 1: Things in New Spain as a hallucinogenic employed by the Aztecs. 318 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: He wrote that it incited luxury, goodness, I know the 319 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: first reference book dedicated to mushrooms came out around this 320 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: time as well. And if we're talking straight up mushroom 321 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: culture nation, we've got to talk about the French. Oh 322 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: of course, yes, yes, yes, Thise Renaissance era France enjoyed 323 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 1: at truffles, and their food sometimes pickled or in sauces, 324 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: are served with butter. I know you're wondering, and yes, 325 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: they were seen as an affrodusiac question, answered Louis Is 326 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: the fourteenth and Napoleon adored them. France had a habit 327 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: of running a string through mushrooms and hanging them in 328 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:32,160 Speaker 1: his room because he loved them so much he wants 329 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: to smell. Yeah, at first I was confused to yeah, 330 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,199 Speaker 1: I was like, right, that was for the smell, and 331 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: he would just like grab one in his mouth and go. 332 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: They even had a way of transplanting them by these 333 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: by being super careful when handling and moving them. France 334 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: exported mushrooms to England beginning with the eighteenth century, and 335 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: the English also used horse maneuver, which I should have mentioned. 336 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: That's what the French were doing um in their mushroom cultivation, 337 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: but they went a step further by stacking and composting. Yeah, 338 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:11,359 Speaker 1: so similar to what we do today. The word mushroom 339 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: itself probably comes from an old French word musson from 340 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: the early fifteenth century, which may itself have been borrowed 341 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,119 Speaker 1: from the Latin word musterio. But we don't know what 342 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 1: that means. Apparently it might just mean mushroom. It might 343 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:32,199 Speaker 1: just be a label for hey, that thing, mushroom, I 344 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: love it. It could be this word, and we don't 345 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: know exactly which it means. I love this too. In 346 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: the eighteenth century, Voltaire wrote a dish of mushrooms changed 347 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: the destiny of Europe. What Yes, he was referring to 348 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: the seventy death of the Holy Roman Roman emperor Charles 349 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:59,120 Speaker 1: the six The death cap mushroom was and is thought 350 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,479 Speaker 1: to be the culprit of his demise, and in the 351 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: wake of it came the War of Austrian succession. Half 352 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,720 Speaker 1: a death cap is toxic enough to kill a grown human. 353 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: Cooking does not reduce the toxicity, and they look like 354 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: other mushrooms you can eat, so look out. Do not 355 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: eat mushrooms that you find in the wild unless you 356 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: are an absolute expert in not dying from eating mushrooms 357 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: that you have found in the wild. More more on 358 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: that later, but words to live by, Yes, just wanted 359 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 1: to put it in here now in case, for some 360 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: reason you stop listening to this episode. Hey, I'm gonna 361 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,879 Speaker 1: go outside see if I can find some mushrooms. Now. 362 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: So that's mushrooms in Europe and Asia. But what about 363 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,639 Speaker 1: mushrooms in the US. M Well, we'll tell you all 364 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: about it after one last quick break for a word 365 00:24:49,840 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, and we're back, Thank you sponsor. So 366 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: it took a minute for America to start using mushrooms 367 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: like cooking wise specifically, and actually at first they were 368 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: mostly used in those recipes we talked about in the 369 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: catchup episode and condiment type recipes. Yes, uh, this could 370 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: be because a lot of cookbooks available at the time 371 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: warned that some mushrooms were quote very poisonous, but didn't 372 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: really give any clarification on which ones That would keep 373 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,960 Speaker 1: me away from them as well. However, once France got 374 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,920 Speaker 1: a handle on mushroom cultivation in the eight seventies, America 375 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: wanted to emulate their cuisine, and we were all about 376 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: some mushrooms by the eighteen nineties, wonderfully called by some 377 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: sources a fungus frenzy. They became a bit of a fad. 378 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,639 Speaker 1: One might join a mushrooming club. I would join a 379 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: mushrooming club. Info on recognizing mushroom types and how to 380 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: cook them was published to help Americans understand and utilize 381 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: the new to them ingredients. An entire cookbook devoted to 382 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,400 Speaker 1: mushroom recipes was published in eight The forward read, Thus, 383 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,399 Speaker 1: the general opinion in this country regarding mushrooms has been that, 384 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,719 Speaker 1: with one or two exceptions, all forms of fungus growth 385 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: are either poisonous or unwholesome. Unwholesome, but it is very 386 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: gratifying to observe the change that is rapidly taking place 387 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: in the public mind. Soon public opinion will acknowledge that 388 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,359 Speaker 1: it is an established fact that the great majority of 389 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: the larger funguses, especially of those that grow on fields 390 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 1: and other open places, is not only wholesome, but highly nutritious, 391 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 1: highly nutritious. As mushrooms were catching on in the US, 392 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: shuffle demand was skyrocketing. In France, the demand and the 393 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,880 Speaker 1: price tripled up until about this point. Mushroom Spawn that 394 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,439 Speaker 1: that root like myceleum system, that mushrooms grow from was 395 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: collected it from wild growing specimen rather than grown like 396 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: farmed purposefully. But in eighteen ninety four to French scientists 397 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: at the Pasteur Institute developed the first pure culture spawn 398 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: from spores they germinated in labs and grew in sterile 399 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: horse manure sterile horse. I know right. By nineteen o two, 400 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: a method for creating pure culture spawn had been published 401 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: and folks in the industry started working with it to 402 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: develop lots of different particular strains. In the United States, 403 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 1: one of the big players was Lambert's American Spawn Company. 404 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: It's a great name for a company and was marketing 405 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: seven distinct pure strains of button mushrooms by nineteen o seven. 406 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: They would move from Minnesota to Pennsylvania around nineteen fifteen, 407 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,960 Speaker 1: which was the established heart of the American mushroom industry. Yes, 408 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:58,440 Speaker 1: the U S Census listed five hundred sixteen mushroom cultivators 409 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: and three hundred and fifty were in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 410 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,120 Speaker 1: Nineteen thirty was the same year that the Mushroom Growers 411 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,640 Speaker 1: Cooperative Association was founded. Pennsylvania State University would later get 412 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,360 Speaker 1: in the game, researching ways from mushroom growers to increase productivity. 413 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: One of the inventions out of Penn State was mushroom 414 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: spawn grown with grain instead of manure. Chester County is 415 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,160 Speaker 1: also home to the American Mushroom Institute, the first meeting 416 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:32,440 Speaker 1: of which took place on December four nine. Bad timing, 417 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,880 Speaker 1: but after World War Two they started doing everything they 418 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: could to promote mushrooms, as in TV, radio, newspaper magazine. Meanwhile, 419 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: some of these uh culture spawn companies were having a 420 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: direct hand in the growing antibiotic industry because of the 421 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: because of the development of penicillin, these companies already were 422 00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 1: working with fungus in labs and so therefore they were 423 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: able to help the medical industry create all of these 424 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: new curatives. In the nineteen sixties, the production of grain 425 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: based spawn was further developed into essentially the process that's 426 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: used today. And this artificial manure can be more nutritionally 427 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: complete than natural manure. It could provide better natural structures 428 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: for the growing fungus, and most importantly, is more easy 429 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: to scale up industrially than a natural manure. I could 430 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,960 Speaker 1: see that artificial manure the phrase that I never thought 431 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: I would be saying out loud, for even to myself 432 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: that's just I have not conceived of that phrase. Well, 433 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: making dreams come true on this podcast. From one to six, 434 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: there was a seventy three point six percent increase in 435 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: mushroom production. What Yeah. In the nineteen eighties, The New 436 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: York Times is the first write about kremini and portobella mushrooms, 437 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 1: both of which got a boost from some serious marketing 438 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: power previous to this. The portobello, which wasn't called the 439 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: porto bello and is actually just an adult cremini, which 440 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: is an adult white button mushroom. Yes, we need to 441 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: make it charps um. It was a hard sell to 442 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: the American public and generally ended up getting tossed. Farmers 443 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,160 Speaker 1: didn't like them either. One guy who grew them almost 444 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:31,240 Speaker 1: got fired by his boss just for growing them. So 445 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: marketers changed the name to portobello and it went from 446 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: zero to hiero no sales to thirty million pounds in 447 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: And this is one of my favorite facts of the episode. 448 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: No one is sure where the name comes from, but 449 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: the popular story is some ads person made it up 450 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: by coming up by combining the words for beautiful and door, 451 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: the Italian words or depending on the spelling, beautiful port 452 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: but the Porto Bella mushroom has no agreed upon spelling 453 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: what it's mushroom chaos it is. I was staring at 454 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: my computer furiously as if it could give me answers. 455 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: You're telling me if I was in a spelling bee. 456 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: There are multiple answers. I think there's four four different 457 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: spellings that people use. Goodness, get get, get your stuff together, portobello. 458 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: See you said, I said, Oh, if my breed cannot 459 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: grapple with this, it's going to be okay, all right, Okay, 460 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: I'm out, are you no? But I'll put on a 461 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: brave face. Okay, all right? Um. In legislation was submitted 462 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,320 Speaker 1: to Congress in the United States to create better marketing 463 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 1: for for the increasingly valuable mushroom industry, the Mushroom Promotion, 464 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 1: Research and Consumer Information Act, That is quite the title. 465 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: This act eventually spawned, uh sorry, the Mushroom Council, an 466 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: organization that pulls funds from mushroom producers and uses those 467 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: funds to promote mushrooms generically. And if I may quote 468 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 1: from their website because I'm kind of delighted by marketing verbiage. 469 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: Many different venues are used to promote fresh mushrooms to consumers, 470 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: such as working with professional chefs and developing and promoting 471 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: new recipes, working with produced department managers to maintain the 472 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: highest quality mushroom product for customers, and sending out thousands 473 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: of for shures each year to customers hungry for new 474 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: mushroom ideas. Thanks to the Mushroom Council, mushrooms have their 475 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 1: own month to be honored and eaten. September is National 476 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 1: Mushroom Month, National Mushroom, National room, Mushroom, Yeah, mush mushroom, 477 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: mush all of that. One of their current promotions is 478 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: called the Blend. It encourages food service industry folks to 479 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: try blending ground meat with ground mushrooms for products like 480 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 1: tacos and meatballs to save money and calories. Oh I see. 481 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 1: And In the two thousands, a research at a Penn 482 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 1: State demonstrated that growers can increase one form of vitamin 483 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,360 Speaker 1: D that vitamin D two in their mushrooms by subjecting 484 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: the growing fungus to bursts of UV radiation, thus making 485 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: their products such a good choice for vegetarians who would 486 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: otherwise miss out on this nutrient through their diet. It's 487 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: really only found in meat other than mushrooms that have 488 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: been exposed to UV radiation. Um, And it's different from 489 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,479 Speaker 1: vitamin D three, which is the one that our bodies 490 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: produced from sunlight exposure to the skin. So yeah, I 491 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:41,000 Speaker 1: imagine the Mushroom Council is like a bunch of toads 492 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: from Mario sitting around this round table and talking about whether, 493 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,120 Speaker 1: like what type of mushroom they need to promote next. Well, there, there, 494 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: there are. There are nine council members. I can't Oh 495 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: my goodness, I think we've stumbled onto something here. Lauren, 496 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:04,920 Speaker 1: does any have any pictures of these council members? Well, 497 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: we'll put a pin to come back to that later. 498 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:12,360 Speaker 1: For now, let's talk about the environment. Yeah. One of 499 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,319 Speaker 1: the cool things about mushroom farming is that it can 500 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,120 Speaker 1: be a really great way to put agricultural waste to 501 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: use instead of having to dump it or burn it. 502 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: I mean, of course, mushrooms do leave some waste themselves. 503 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 1: They don't like, completely destroy anything that you put in 504 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 1: their path. That's a different horror movie entirely. Yeah. Um 505 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:36,759 Speaker 1: and industry researchers recently coined the term micro restoration, meaning uh, 506 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:41,840 Speaker 1: using mushrooms greater fungal structures to help restore damaged environments 507 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 1: by filtering talks, waste, and microorganisms from the soil or 508 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:49,200 Speaker 1: the air, by controlling insect populations, or by just creating 509 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: more nutrients for plant life. Well, now you might be thinking, 510 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,480 Speaker 1: these mushroom things sound pretty cool. Maybe all let's go out, 511 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: let's go get some right now, let's go full from 512 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: the ground. Hold up a minute. So you might have 513 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,319 Speaker 1: heard a thing or two recently about mushroom foraging. I 514 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,240 Speaker 1: know it has come up several times around the office 515 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 1: here when we were discussing videos we could do for 516 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 1: food stuff. Apparently there's a big group in Atlanta that yes, 517 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: And it's this thing where people sometimes in groups are 518 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,439 Speaker 1: as part of mushroom clubs, go out and look for 519 00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:30,600 Speaker 1: eduble mushrooms and cities in the woods, in the backyard wherever. Um. 520 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: I feel like it's gotten pretty popular over the past 521 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:36,800 Speaker 1: couple of years. But this is not something you should 522 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,480 Speaker 1: just pick up. UM. You need to be informed about 523 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: the mushrooms in your area, really informed. Yes, if this 524 00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:47,880 Speaker 1: is something you're interested in, totally pursue it. See if 525 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:49,919 Speaker 1: there's a club or a my collogists in your area. 526 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,800 Speaker 1: But do not do this just looking at your phone 527 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: like this is like this mushroom here, I think I 528 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,000 Speaker 1: can eat it. No, no, no, no, because some some 529 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: things that look like little harmless white button mushrooms will 530 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:03,880 Speaker 1: kill you. Yes, So don't do that. It is dangerous. Um. 531 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,799 Speaker 1: There are several when I was looking into this, there 532 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 1: are several that look like kinds that you can't eat, 533 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:14,319 Speaker 1: that you cannot eat. Um. So I mean, if you're 534 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: just looking at picking them up, I don't know, you 535 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:18,239 Speaker 1: just want to, if you just want to find them, 536 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: if you just want to like poke them, yeah, that's fine. 537 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:25,360 Speaker 1: But he's planning on eating them. Yeah, take percaution because 538 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 1: if you're asking yourself if there's a way to tell 539 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:33,440 Speaker 1: if a mushroom is poisonous, no, nope, unless you're beyond 540 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,200 Speaker 1: the shadow of a shadow of a doubt, you know 541 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: what you're doing. Don't eat a strange mushroom. Further, yeah, 542 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:42,319 Speaker 1: a lot of anecdotal rules about the mushrooms you can 543 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 1: and cannot eat are not true. So yeah, no, no, 544 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,479 Speaker 1: I love this. I don't know if it's true, but 545 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: according to some things are on the internet. There's an 546 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,680 Speaker 1: adage out of the Czech Republic saying that goes every 547 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,960 Speaker 1: mushroom is edible, but some only one. It sounds like 548 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:07,719 Speaker 1: something my dad would say, and uh yeah, that's that's 549 00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:11,720 Speaker 1: our story of mushrooms, the story of mushrooms, mushroom episode, 550 00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:22,400 Speaker 1: and it brings us to listener. Miranda wrote, after high school, 551 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: I went to the United States Coast Guard Academy. Every 552 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 1: year we had ship navigation classes where we learned how 553 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,240 Speaker 1: to safely drive and navigate a ship from the bridge 554 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:34,439 Speaker 1: through the use of a full room simulator. The first 555 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:36,200 Speaker 1: day of my junior year, a friend of mine was 556 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:38,839 Speaker 1: eating a banana before the class was about to start. 557 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,920 Speaker 1: When the instructor, was a former Coastguard cutter commanding officer, 558 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 1: walked in and saw the banana, heeled no bananas on 559 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 1: the bridge and kicked my friend out of the simulator. 560 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: He proceeded to tell us that bananas were considered bad 561 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,880 Speaker 1: luck on ships and to never bring them to class 562 00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:00,799 Speaker 1: unless we wanted to fail. Fast sword to the end 563 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 1: of the semester and one of our simulated voyages was 564 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,560 Speaker 1: going terribly. No one could figure out what was wrong 565 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: and why our navigation was so off the mark. At 566 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,359 Speaker 1: the end of class, the same friend opened his book 567 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,160 Speaker 1: bag and had a horrified look on his face. We 568 00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:17,759 Speaker 1: asked him what was wrong, and he pulled out a 569 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: banana from his bag that he had forgotten about. We 570 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,920 Speaker 1: figured out why our simulation went awry, and we all 571 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,600 Speaker 1: had a good laugh about it. I did not realize 572 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 1: bananas were such bad luck. Yeah, Yeah, Aaron wrote in 573 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,359 Speaker 1: about our cupcake episode. As a child growing up in 574 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: Panama City, Florida, we would often go to a family 575 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:42,160 Speaker 1: friend's cupcake shop downtown. They sold massive cupcakes and all 576 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: sorts of flavors, one of my favorites being pickle cupcakes. 577 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:47,759 Speaker 1: I will never forget the day our friends at the 578 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:51,000 Speaker 1: shop told us about their new addition. I capitalized on 579 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:53,720 Speaker 1: the look of horror on my mother's face even hearing 580 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,440 Speaker 1: the words, and asked for one, just to watch her 581 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,080 Speaker 1: cringe even more as I ate it. What I had 582 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 1: planned as a necess sarah evil just to mess with 583 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,600 Speaker 1: her turned into a love for this odd combination. Something 584 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,160 Speaker 1: about these sour and sweet mix made for a unique 585 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:10,440 Speaker 1: cupcake that kept me coming back for years. If anyone 586 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,279 Speaker 1: has ever run across one of these and turned it down, 587 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:17,360 Speaker 1: they should definitely rethink that decision and this. This email 588 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,439 Speaker 1: came in on the day that I had just come 589 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:23,680 Speaker 1: across a recipe for pickle cupcakes. Yeah, so so maybe 590 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:28,200 Speaker 1: maybe we need to Yeah. I have a friend who, um, 591 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 1: she loves the combination of chocolate cake and pickles, and 592 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,000 Speaker 1: whenever she has it in public or around someone that 593 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:38,359 Speaker 1: doesn't know or very well, they always ask if she's 594 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:42,520 Speaker 1: pregnant or like on her period? Right right, Like you 595 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,000 Speaker 1: can't just like your combination. Clearly some girl things wrong 596 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:51,399 Speaker 1: with you. Yeah. Yeah, But thank you all so much 597 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:54,279 Speaker 1: for writing in. Yes, um, and if you would like 598 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,920 Speaker 1: to write in, you can do so. Tell us what 599 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:01,440 Speaker 1: your favorite mushroom is. Our email addresses food Stuff at 600 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,280 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. We're also on social media. 601 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,320 Speaker 1: You can find us on Twitter and Facebook at food 602 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:11,640 Speaker 1: stuff hs W. We're also on Instagram at food stuff. 603 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:13,960 Speaker 1: We hope to hear from you. Thank you to our 604 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 1: amazing producer, Dylan Fagan. Thanks to y'all for listening, and 605 00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 1: we hope that lots more good things are coming your way.