Nutritional Information About Straw Mushrooms

The edible and non-poisonous straw mushrooms are easily mistaken for the poisonous death cap mushrooms, because they are similar in shape, color, and size. The only difference being that death caps have a white spore print, while straw mushrooms have a pink spore print.

Straw mushrooms are a species of edible mushrooms cultivated all over East and Southeast Asia. This mushroom forms an integral part of almost all Asian cuisines and is cultivated extensively for food and export. The fresh varieties of these mushrooms have a relatively small shelf life, and are thus usually available in dried or canned forms.

They are about 1.5 inches in diameter and egg-shaped when immature and are pale tan in color. The matured mushrooms have a bulbous base, long stem, and caps with drooping veils that are brown to almost charcoal gray in color. These are usually picked in the immature egg-like phase and take about four to five days to mature.

These mushrooms have a very delicate, earthy, and musty flavor that echoes with the aromas of the paddy. It makes an excellent addition to soups, stir fries, gravies as well as stuffing. These mushrooms absorb a lot of flavor from the medium that they are cooked in and every bite of it is scrumptious.

If that reason wasn't good enough, straw mushrooms provide excellent nutrition too! We now elaborate on the health benefits of consuming these mushrooms.

▶ We could call these mushrooms a Weight Watcher's dream food, packed with flavors and low in calories, they can surely works wonders on your hips as well as your tongue. 100 g of dried straw mushrooms contain only about 32 calories. These mushrooms can be easily rehydrated with some hot water and will yield you a good quantity.

▶ A downside to canned straw mushrooms is that they have higher sodium content, about 384 mg per 100 g., though some manufacturers of the dried varieties claim to produce sodium-free canned mushrooms. Another difference between the canned and dried varieties is that while canned mushrooms contain good amount of calcium, the dried ones contain none.

100 g of canned mushrooms contain around 10 g of calcium. Other nutrients remain almost the same in both varieties.

▶ These mushroom are a good source of iron, they contain about 1.43 mg of iron per 100 g of mushroom, and help in the formation of hemoglobin in the red blood cells of our body. This improves the oxygen carrying capacity of blood and increases our stamina. These mushrooms are also rich in riboflavin, thiamin, folate, and vitamin B6.

We can call it an excellent source of vitamin B complex. It aids in breaking down the glycogen stored in our body. These vitamins are required for the maintenance of healthy eyes and skin. Folate is also needed in the formation of red blood cells, development of the fetal nervous system, and regular cell growth.

▶ These mushrooms are not only a good source of proteins (3.83 g for 100 g), but also assist in the uptake of proteins by the body. These are loaded with selenium and antioxidants, like L-ergothioneine, which help to fight cancer and prevent premature aging.

▶ In addition to these, straw mushrooms contain minerals like phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium that are required for the normal functioning of various metabolic processes of the body. Another good thing about these mushrooms (like other mushrooms) is that they contain no cholesterol and almost negligible amount of fats.

▶ It is also believed that these mushrooms help remove excess heat from the body. They are believed to have blood thinning qualities and may function in lowering high blood pressure. They have also been observed to help in the treatment of cancer and diabetes. Some claim that these mushrooms helps in managing various autoimmune diseases.

Source: USDA

Straw mushrooms can be an ideal source of nutrition (taste wise as well as health wise) not only to vegans, vegetarians, and those following a restricted diet, but even for hardcore carnivores.