5 minute read
Mushroom Magic
By Muriel Cooper Photos Yanni
There’s more than one kind of magic you get from mushrooms. The hallucinogenic kind has been in the news lately for both the hazards and the therapeutic effects (psilocybin is being used for the treatment of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). But Tania Brennan is more interested in the health benefits of mushrooms and their unique and marvellous taste.
Tania and her husband Terry's journey with McCrae Gourmet Mushrooms is a testament to the unexpected paths life can take. Originally, they were researching how to grow chillis for a small business venture. However, their path took a turn when they stumbled upon the world of mushroom cultivation.
“We thought, ‘This is amazing – let’s do the mushrooms!’ We decided to start with 'Oyster' mushrooms since that seemed the easiest one to try at first. Then we went on to 'Shitake' and 'Lions Mane'. We’ve had a go at 'Turkey’s Tail', but we don’t have the space for those at the moment. They fan out like a real turkey tail, and they don’t have gills; they look like a sponge and have amazing medicinal properties. They help people having cancer treatment to be able to absorb their medications. We’ll grow them soon.”
'Lions Mane' is another medicinal mushroom which has been used in traditional remedies for millennia to help brain health. It’s thought they may help fight dementia, help with nerve damage and prevent diabetes. Tania loves 'Lions Mane' sliced into steaks and sautéed with a little turmeric and sweet paprika.
It has a crab-meat texture. To make it more meat-like, it’s popular to weigh it down in a pan with a heavy pot and cook it that way.
Mushrooms contain considerable amounts of selenium, vitamin D, and vitamin B6. Selenium can help prevent cell damage in our bodies, vitamin D helps with cell growth, and vitamin B6 helps form red blood cells. All these nutrients help maintain a healthy gut and immune system. Tania says that you must cook them, though. Raw mushrooms don’t have the same nutritional properties.
Since the mushrooms are grown vertically, it’s an ideal home enterprise for their existing space. However, Tania says they may have to look for larger premises soon because of the popularity of their product. Even if they were able to supply to supermarkets, Tania confirms their mushrooms would still have that exceptional taste, “Otherwise,” she says,” we wouldn’t do it.”
At first Tania and Terry thought that they would grow for chefs on the peninsula, but they found that their retail business was growing. They are at markets every weekend and sell at the farm gate on Thursdays or by appointment.
“I love cooking and food,” says Tania, “so to be able to play with them is fantastic. The flavours are so different (from ordinary supermarket mushrooms). They’re earthy and they have a nuttier taste. They’re so much more complex, and their texture is different. Some can be quite meaty. Some, like the yellow mushrooms, are very delicate but still hold their own in a curry.
They help people having cancer treatment to be able to absorb their medications
When they first started, Tania and Terry discovered that it was necessary to be extremely clean around them. If you breathe on the substrate while inoculating it with the spores, you can contaminate it. Terry wears a mask and uses alcohol spray to make sure that anything being touched is disinfected. It was also necessary to get a flow hood, which is a special filter and fans that create negative pressure, pushing all the air out and only letting in clean air.
What happens when they're growing in the wild?
“They’re obviously not as precious.” Tania laughs. “Mushrooms are good for gut health and the immune system. In the wild, they only grow on decaying wood and leaf litter. We rehydrate chips of wood and then mix them with soy hulls in a unique concoction. However, mushrooms are very important for the environment, as they help to get rid of undergrowth and fallen trees.
“We even found out fungi are helping to clean the oceans, and they’re even making leather out of them.”
If you’re keen to try growing them yourself, Tania will supply you with a growing kit. “We have a couple of ten-year-old kids who live around the corner who are just obsessed with growing mushrooms. They’re so good at growing them that we actually get them to test our grow kits. It’s a fun project for kids to do because it's quick and it keeps their attention.
“The best condition for growing is a temperature of around 16 to 18 degrees, so a good spot is on your kitchen bench or in your bathroom. In summer, probably your laundry because laundries
seem to be cooler in summer. You just need to cut open the hole, spray it with water, and in two weeks, you have mushrooms. You can get two to three flushes from them.”
What about those kids that don’t like mushrooms? Tania says, “If you cook them so they’re golden and a little bit crispy on the edges, the kids are more likely to like them. It’s a texture thing.”
Mushrooms really are magical.
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