5 Surprising Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Mushrooms And Where To Find The Best Local Mushrooms Around!
Here at Two River, we’re definitely mushroom nerds. We love our Certified Organic gourmet mushrooms and we love the customers who make our hyperlocal, sustainable business such a success.
Offering you the healthiest and most delicious mushrooms is serious business. But we also like to have a little fun. So today we’re sharing 5 things you might not know about mushrooms so you can join us on our mushroom-nerd island (It’s pretty delicious here!).
And the next time you want to bring something delectable to the table, be sure to connect with us and pick up your very own Two River Mushrooms.
On to the fun!
Did You Know That Even Our Ancestors Knew Mushrooms We’re a Superfood?
That’s right. There are even hieroglyphics that indicate that mushrooms were seen as a plant of “immortality”. We’re pretty sure that’s a bit of a stretch, but there are lots of things about mushrooms that make them an obvious choice for a healthy diet including the antioxidants, vitamins, and even protein packed into each one. Mushrooms also offer copper which is a mineral that your body needs but can’t produce on their own.
Are Mushrooms A Vegetable? Not Exactly.
In the 1960s Mushrooms were actually classified as funghi, not plants or animals. This is because, as you know, plants make their own food through photosynthesis and animals eat their food to get all of the benefits. Funghi have a more complex process going on. Their mycelium (the vegetative part of the organism) grows outward and around a potential food source. Then they secrete some enzymes that actually allow them to digest the food. Finally, the mushroom absorbs the nutrients once that happens. Fungi differ from plants and animals in the way they obtain their nutrients. Generally, plants make their food using the sun's energy (photosynthesis), while animals eat, then internally digest, their food. So they’re not exactly plants or animals. They’re something totally unique and they do things a bit differently.
Are Mushrooms Human? Nope. But We’ve Got Some Unexpected Things In Common
So, mushrooms aren't plants or animals. But they actually have some pretty cool things in common with humans. Mushrooms take oxygen in an let go of carbon dioxide. They don’t breathe like us but they do have the same oxygen in, carbon dioxide out thing going on. And, just like us, they use sunlight and ultraviolet light to produce Vitamin D. In fact, mushrooms are an awesome source of this vital nutrient!
Mushrooms Offer You A Fifth Flavor
You probably learned salty, bitter, sour, and sweet in grade school. But did you know that mushrooms offer the fifth flavor to your taste buds: Umami. Umami is a flavor that’s savory an kind of flavor. Foods like seaweed, miso, and mushrooms offer us glutamate which offers a unique flavor experience that’s sometimes difficult to define but always delicious. So, if you’re ready to explore your own umami experience, check out our mushrooms and give your tastebuds something new to try.
There Are Mushroom Holidays. But You Can Celebrate Any Day
You’ve probably heard of National Puppy Day, National Margarita Day, and even National Ice Cream Day. Well, mushrooms have a few holidays of their own too!
April 16th is known as the Day of The Mushroom, September is sometimes called National Mushroom Month, and February 4th is National Stuffed Mushroom Day. Since we love mushrooms here at Two River, we’ll honestly take any opportunity to appreciate our favorite fungi!
Delicious Mushrooms Are Great For You And They’re Closer Than You Think
Mushrooms offer our bodies amazing nutrients like Vitamin D, folate, fiber, and protein. This powerhouse funghi can help us do everything from fuel our workouts to boost our immune response.
So, whether you’re ready to add more mushrooms to your restaurant’s menu or serve more of them during your weekly family dinners, you’ll be glad to know amazing, Certified Organic, and locally-grown mushrooms are closer than you might think.
No need to wait in the crazy line at your local supermarket, just head over to see us at your local farmer’s market or reach out to us on Instagram. We’ll connect you to the most decadent and healthy mushrooms there are. And you’ll be supporting a local business with every bite!
So There You Have It!
It’s amazing what we are still learning about the benefits of mushrooms, about how they behave and how we can gain nutrients from them. While research on the benefits and behavior of mushrooms is still on-going, now you’ve got some awesome mushroom trivia in your back pocket now and we hope you’ll have some of our Two River Mushrooms on your plate soon as well!