Medicinal Species
Lions Mane (Hericium Erinaceous)
Origin: North America, Asia, Europe
Lion’s mane mushrooms, also known as hou tou gu or yamabushitake, are large, white, shaggy mushrooms that resemble a lion’s mane as they grow.
Research suggests that they may offer a range of health benefits, including reduced inflammation and improved cognitive and heart health. The ability of lion’s mane mushroom to promote nerve growth and protect the brain from Alzheimer’s-related damage may explain some of its beneficial effects on brain health.
Other health benefits include: Anxiety & depression mild symptom relief; increased recovery from nervous system injuries; protects against ulcers; reduces inflammation; boosting the immune system; and may even help fight cancer.
Taste: Their meaty texture is often used as a substitute for meat and can be served as a replacement for seafood, lamb, and pork.
Reishi (Ganoderma Rucioum)
Origin: Europe, Asia, North America
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) has been called the mushroom of immortality.
Reishi can be found in varying climates throughout the world, preferring tropical, sub-tropical and temperate climates where deciduous hardwood trees are abundant.
Reishi mushroom contains chemicals that seem to have activity against tumors (cancer) and beneficial effects on the immune system.
For many years, this fungus has been a staple in Eastern medicine. One of the most important effects of the reishi mushroom is that it can boost your immune system.
This mushroom is considered a tonic for Qi, or vital energy. Other benefits include use for: cardiovascular support; a healthy stress response; healthy energy/stamina; overall wellness; and immune health.
Taste: Reishi doesn’t taste like the mushrooms you eat—it is still earthy, but has a more bitter and raw flavor. The most common form of consumption is by adding it to tea that has other flavorings, or even a hot chocolate before bed.
Turkey Tail (Trametes Versicolor)
Origin: Europe, Asia, North America
Commonly called turkey tail due to its striking colors, Trametes versicolor has been used around the world for centuries to treat various conditions. The bands can come in an array of all kinds of colors, but they tend to be grey or brown, and they are always covered with small, velvety hairs.
Perhaps the most impressive quality of the turkey tail mushroom is its ability to enhance the health of your immune system.
It is packed with anti-oxidants, can aid chemotherapy response whilst containing immune-boosting polysacchartopeptides and may enhance gut health. Other benefits include potentially combating HPV, reducing inflammation, improving athletic performance and even contains anti-bacterial properties.
Taste: Turkey Tail Mushrooms have a very subtle flavour, making them the perfect addition to your favourite recipes, from coffee to yoghurt or even just stirred into hot water for the ultimate immune-boosting cuppa.
Gourmet Species
Chestnut (Pholiota Adiposa)
Origin: Japan
Pholiota adiposa is an edible as well as a medicinal mushroom cultured in China and Japan. It belongs to Agaricales fungal order (Strophariaceae family), and has antitumor, antimicrobial, antihypertensive and antihyperlipidemic activities.
This wonderful clustering, wood loving mushroom forms dense clusters of beautiful, dark orange gilled mushrooms with a slightly shaggy cap.
Chestnuts add an excellent flare to any stir-fry, with that perfect mushroom shape, color and texture.
Taste: The flavor of this mushroom is nutty and the texture is a little crunchy when flash sautéed.
Nameko (Pholiota Nameko)
Origin: Japan
Nameko is the most cultivated mushroom by volume in Japan, for a reason. It is considered a valuable medicinal mushroom with cancer fighting properties, and the traditional recipe for Miso soup is generously filled with chopped pieces.
They have an earthy flavor and a subtle fruit-like taste, but they smell more like butterscotch or cashews. (This aroma is why nameko mushrooms are sometimes called “butterscotch mushrooms” in English.)
Taste: They have an earthy flavor and a subtle fruit-like taste, but they smell more like butterscotch or cashews. (This aroma is why nameko mushrooms are sometimes called “butterscotch mushrooms” in English.)
Shiitake (Lentinula Edodes)
Origin: China
First cultivated in China between 1000 and 1100 A.D., the shiitake is revered in Asia for its culinary and reputed medicinal qualities. It’s the second most cultivated mushroom in the world.
They are prized for their rich, savory taste and diverse health benefits.
Compounds in shiitake may help fight cancer, boost immunity, and support heart health. Shiitake are low in calories. They also offer good amounts of fiber, as well as B vitamins and some minerals.
Taste: Dried shiitake have an umami flavor that’s even more intense than when fresh. Umami flavor can be described as savory or meaty. It’s often considered the fifth taste, alongside sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.
Wine Cap (Stropharia Rugosoannucata)
Origin: Russia
Wine Cap mushrooms contain fiber, vitamin D, amino acids, protein, iron, copper, and some calcium.
The wine cap is characterized by its medium size, though oftentimes you’ll find rather large specimens with caps up to 6 inches or more in diameter. The caps are wine-red at first and fade to duller shades with age. In maturity, the caps will be straw-colored or tan. The gills are crowded and attached to the stem, starting out white and eventually turning dark purple/black in maturity.
Taste: Favored by home chefs for their unusual flavor, Wine Cap mushrooms are versatile and are used in many different culinary applications.
Oyster Species
Oyster mushrooms also contain a plethora of valuable constituents, like proteins, amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. They are rich in vitamin B and vitamin D. Iron and potassium are also present in these mushrooms.
Another test-tube study showed that oyster mushrooms helped reduce the secretion of inflammation markers throughout the body.
Black Abalone
Origin: China
Black Abalone mushrooms are medium to large in size and are irregular in shape with a flat, fan-like cap with curved and rippled edges.
The surface of the cap is smooth, silky, plump and firm with light brown hues and dark brown trim. On the underside, there are many cream-colored gills that are soft and spongy.
Black abalone mushrooms contain niacin which keeps the skin, hair, eyes and liver healthy.
They also contain Pantothenic acid which produces energy in the body.
Taste: When cooked, Black Abalone mushrooms are velvety, meaty, and crunchy with an earthy, buttery flavor.
Blue Oyster
Origin: Germany
Pleurotus ostreatus, the blue oyster mushroom, is a lovely mushroom to watch grow and to eat. This mushroom’s name comes from the resemblance it has to bivalve mollusk found in the ocean.
Taste: The earthy, rich, and tensile texture is the perfect addition to your favorite dishes and can be used in a variety of dishes, especially soups and pastas. The flavor is unique and delicious.
The stems can be chewy, and you may want to avoid using the stems in most dishes. Dried mushrooms can be re-hydrated in water or directly placed in soups and stews.
Brown Oyster
Origin: Germany
Brown oysters provide that umami flavor many seek. Mushrooms in general provide this taste, browns and shiitakes tend to score higher in this department. Although browns could be used in any application, they work very well in any dish where one seeks a stronger, more earthy flavor.
Taste: Not as sweet as the blue or elm oyster, this one is the best meat substitute we have, and can be oiled and grilled whole for oyster sandwiches or cubed up and threaded onto kabobs.
Golden Oyster
Origin: Eastern Russian, Northern China & Japan
Also known as yellow oyster mushrooms, Il’mak in Russian, and Tamgitake in Japanese, Yellow oyster mushrooms grow in tightly layered, non-uniformed clumps on hardwood trees such as beech, oak, and elm in warm climates.
Golden oysters are a beautiful gold with a thinner, more delicate cap. Despite the fact that it can be fragile when raw, they are sturdy and keep their shape when cooking.
Yellow oysters contain copper, zinc, and essential amino acids in varying amounts including folic acid, lovastatin, and carotenoids, which also gives the mushroom its vivid yellow color.
Taste: Yellow oyster mushrooms have a fruity aroma reminiscent of an aged red wine and are velvety, crisp, and chewy. When raw, Yellow oyster mushrooms can be somewhat bitter, but when cooked, they developed a balanced, nutty flavor similar to the flavor of cashews.
Grey Oyster
Origin: Germany
Their natural habitat are deciduous trees, particularly beech. Grows in large shelf-like clusters on stumps and fallen wood.
The Oyster mushroom has some amazing properties one of which is that it is a carnivorous mushroom which traps and ingests nematode worms to provide it with nitrogen and other useful chemicals.
The Pleurotus family contain statins which are thought to help reduce cholesterol.
Another is the fact that they have the ability to clean up pollution by hydrocarbons like petrol and oil which is quite incredible.
Taste: The taste of oyster mushrooms is very mild, and some describe it as subtly woody or like seafood. What makes this mushroom so unique is their texture.
King Oyster
Origin: Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa & Asia
The king oyster is the largest of all the oyster mushrooms, and they look very different than other pleurotus mushrooms. They grow individually with thick and meaty white stems and tan-colored caps.
They grow individually, instead of clusters like the pearl oyster. Native to the Mediterranean, they’re commonly used in Chinese, Korean and Japanese cooking.
Oyster mushrooms are loaded with other antioxidants to help prevent free radical damage and oxidative stress so your immune system can defend itself against aging.
Taste: King oyster mushrooms have a deliciously meaty texture and savory flavor. The flavor is earthy, aromatic, and very savory. This variety of mushroom is known for its intense umami flavor. Some people say they have a subtle flavor
Pink Oyster
Origin: India & South Asia
They can be cooked to take on the flavor of bacon, and serve as a good substitute for bacon bits.
Its vibrant, bivalve-like fruiting bodies are attractive while developing but lose colour quickly upon maturity or when cooked.
Pink oyster mushrooms will grow on a wide range of materials including sugar cane mulch, straw, hardwood, paper and coffee grounds.
Taste: Pink oyster mushrooms have a rich and deep flavour. The pink oyster mushroom is chewier and ideal for adding to a stir-fry or soup for that extra umami kick. They can be cooked to take on the flavor of bacon, and serve as a good substitute for bacon bits.
White Oyster
Origin: Germany
White oyster mushroom is an easily cultivated mushroom appropriate for the beginners, because of its vigorous mycelium growth. The mushroom can efficiently compete with other fungi while growing on a substrate and is thus resistant to moulds.
White oyster mushrooms will grow on a wide range of materials including sugar cane mulch, straw, hardwood, paper and coffee grounds
Taste: White oyster mushrooms pack a big umami punch with every mouthful. More subtle in flavour than pink oyster mushrooms but with a thicker and meatier texture. Ideal for soups, stir-fries and deep-frying.