Healthy Matter Raw Materials epsd (week 11)
Enokitake (Enoki
Mushroom)
They are small mushrooms with very small creamy white caps on very long,
thin stems that look a bit like spaghetti. The cap is usually about just 1/4
inch wide (60mm); the stem will be about 3 to 4 inches long (7.5 to 10cm.) They are cultivated in jars on sawdust.Like most mushrooms, they can
decompose material to get their own food out of the material. They grow in bunches and have a mild taste. They can be bought fresh,
canned or in tall bottles. Nametake is the version of these mushrooms that is
harvested from the wild.
How to Select and
Store Enoki Mushroom
choose creamy
white, dry and firm mushrooms and stalks that are free of slime or spots. store
mushrooms in the coldest part of the refrigerator in a plastic bag up to 10
days
Nutrition Facts of
Enoki Mushrom
fat free,
saturated free, cholesterol free, sodium free, and a good source of vitamin B3
Truffles
A truffle is any of several species of fungus that
grows entirely underground. The fungus is a network of threads that wind around
and into the roots of trees like beech, poplar, oak, etc. The trees give the
fungus sugar made from sunlight, the fungus gives the trees minerals and
nutrients it gets out of the soil. Everyone's happy.
In order to reproduce, the fungus threads grow a big smelly underground tuber (shown in the picture). The tuber has such a strong smell animals can smell it underground. They dig up the tuber to eat it, which spreads dirt and spores all over the place. Some of the spores might land next to tree roots and grow into new fungal threads.
Humans like the strong-flavored tuber, too. Even tiny pieces of it are enough to add flavor to food. Dogs and other animals with good senses of smell are used to find it, and then people dig it up.
In order to reproduce, the fungus threads grow a big smelly underground tuber (shown in the picture). The tuber has such a strong smell animals can smell it underground. They dig up the tuber to eat it, which spreads dirt and spores all over the place. Some of the spores might land next to tree roots and grow into new fungal threads.
Humans like the strong-flavored tuber, too. Even tiny pieces of it are enough to add flavor to food. Dogs and other animals with good senses of smell are used to find it, and then people dig it up.
How to Select and Store Truffle
According to the truffle grower Didier Chabert of
the Domaine de Cordis in Grignan, you should look for a truffle with
an undamaged surface. It should sound solid when you knock it and feel heavy
for its size. This means that it hasn't frozen or lost its moisture.
Inside, it should display a fine lacework of
white-on-black veins, as pictured. The less tasty tuber brumale truffle
is also white-veined, but the veins are thicker and further apart.
A winter truffle which is matte white inside is
unripe. And truffles will not mature further once they've been dug out of the
ground, so it's basically useless.
It's common practice to ask a seller to slice off (canifer)
a corner of a truffle with a penknife so that you can inspect the inside - but
you won't be popular at all if you try to do this yourself!
Don't worry about the waste: the seller won't throw
away the precious off-cut slice, but will save it for a bye-product such as
truffle-infused pâté or cheese. A grower might also use scraps or inferior
truffles for fertiliser or to prime truffle oak saplings.
At the wholesale market in Richerenches after
the official opening of the truffle season, we chatted with the broker Denis
Valayer, pictured. He told us that in November you're likely to find
a high proportion (around 30 per cent) of these unripe white truffles. The
percentage will decrease as the season goes on.
Truffles, obviously, vary in size: large ones can
weigh well over 300 grams / 10.5 ounces. It's widely considered that most of
the flavour is concentrated inside the truffle so, from this point of view, the
bigger the better.
On the other hand, truffles are sold whole and never
cut in half. Since most private buyers don't want a huge one, the most popular
truffles weigh between 30 and 80 grams / one and three ounces.
Some people grumble that truffles are sold with an
extra coating of mud just to increase their weight. But in fact they should not
be cleaned until just before use. Rinse them and brush the mud off gently.
Truffles should be eaten within a few days of purchase. Keep them in the
fridge. It's possible to freeze truffles but they will lose a lot of their
taste.
Like so much about trufficulture in Provence, everyone
has his or her passionately held opinion and we heard conflicting, even
directly contradictory advice about the best way to store them.
Christian Allègre, a truffle grower in Richerenches,
recommends wrapping them in a dishcloth and urges against using a sealed jar.
He's also opposed to the common practice of placing the truffles among eggs:
"The eggshells soak up all the flavour, and then you throw them
away."
Nicolas Pailhès, of the restaurant L'Escapade in
Richerenches, disagrees completely. "Eggshells are porous and the eggs
absorb the aroma," says Chef Pailhès, as he fishes a big truffle out of
his eggbox to prepare poached eggs with truffle cream for our supper.
Nutrition Facts of Truffle
The truffle’s strong point is its scent, which comes
from a compound called bis-methyltiomethane, an aromatic hydrocarbon. But
a truffle is not just a scent: it also has nutritional value, a value that is
almost identical for all the different species of truffles, but which varies
depending on the environmental conditions in which the truffle develops.
Truffles contain 72% water, very little vegetable
fat (0.6%) and a decent amount of protein (8.6%). Truffles are some of
the most nutritious mushroom available. Their proteins are intact and
rich in methionine, cysteine, and lysene. Truffles are also rich in
minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron,
sulphur, chlorine, and silicone, as well as amino acids. They also
contain fiber (7.6%), an important component for digestion.
Morchella (Morel Mushroom)
Morels are one of the most desired
wild mushrooms in the world. They are not farmed like most grocery store mushrooms,
Cremini, Portobello, Oyster, etc. but gathered in the wild. The part that we
eat is the fruiting body of the underground organism called mycelium that has a
complex symbiotic relationship with trees. Every spring mushroom enthusiasts,
foraging chefs, and an ever growing group of commercial harvesters hunt the
little forest treasures.
How to Select and Store Morel
‘True morels’, that is all morchella genus are edible
and incredible when cooked. Morels are not to be eaten raw or consumed in large
quantities because they contain a mildly toxic substance, which is destroyed in
cooking. It is possible for some people to have an allergic reaction to morels.
As with all new food, if you are consuming it for the first time a moderate
amount is recommended.
There are also ‘false morels,’ which is a term referring to morel look
alikes such as the verpa genus and the more distant gyromitrae genus. A skilled
mushroom picker could confidently distinguish them as clearly as a cucumbers vs
zucchini. Slicing the specimens in half reveals a lot of helpful information. A
hollow, oblong like interior that sits on top of a hollow stem is the
morchella. A relatively longer stem that carries a cotton like tissue and is
attached interiorly to the ceiling of the cap is the verpa. A stem that is
enveloped by a series of brain-like folds and with an exterior that is less
honeycomb like and more wrinkle like is the gyromitra. There is ongoing concern
and debate about the edibility of ‘false morels’. Verpas are more commonly
considered safe, although must be properly prepared. There have been toxic
reactions and fatalities reported on gyrometrae, which have great regional
variation, but they are considered a delicacy in some countries and consumed
widely with no ill effect. Again, proper preparation is essential.
Fresh morels keep for about a week
refrigerated, depending on the condition you found them in. The wetter and
hotter they are, the more quickly they will deteriorate. Worms can certainly be
an issue. If you don’t pick any wormy ones to begin with you’ll protect the
rest of your haul from getting wormy during storage. Place them in the fridge,
no more than a few layers deep, with plenty of air to circulating around them.
Drying is an excellent storage option.
Nutrition Facts of Morel
Morels are loaded with all kinds of nourishment not
listed by the required nutrition facts table of Canadian Food labels. As morels
tend to grow in rich soils they come packed with vitamins and minerals. While
the nutrition can vary based on the soil they are found in, morels will
generally contain significant amounts of Iron, Copper, Manganese, Phosphorus,
Zinc, Vitamin D, Folate, Niacin, Riboflavin and a decent dose of Potassium,
Magnesium, Calcium, Selenium, Thiamine, Vitamins E and B6.
Morels are also loaded with antioxidants, balance blood sugar, and repair
liver-damage. Plus, they are high in protein and fibre.
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