Mushrooms

Of the 120,000 species of mushrooms recorded only 1,841 are edible, with many being deadly. In Australia button mushrooms can be found nearly everywhere, with other varieties such as cup, swiss brown, portobello, enoki and oyster being available at markets and in some supermarkets. Other varieties such as shiitake, porcini and morels can also be found in their dried form as well. Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years across the world and to the Egyptians, according to hieroglyphics, were considered a plant of immortality. The Pharaohs loved mushrooms so much that they decreed them food for royalty not to be touched by the common man. Many civilizations considered mushrooms to have special qualities that could give one super human strength and bring them closer to God. There is a strong chance that they could have been eating something a little stronger than the common button mushroom! France was the leader in cultivation, growing mushrooms in special caves outside of Paris. Cultivation spread to England and later across the Atlantic to the US. Today, a relatively small variety of mushrooms are commercially produced with wild mushrooms still taking up a share of the market. Flavours of mushrooms vary greatly from the mild button to the stronger Asian varieties, such as shiitake. They can be used widely across many cuisines due to the variety of flavours and textures they offer. Perhaps the king of all edible fungi though is the truffle. Whilst not a mushroom, this highly prized fungi is a feature of haute cuisine and fetches a very high price. The highest price ever paid for a truffle was $330,000 - for a 1.5kg truffle.