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Mushrooms
Every knowledge on vegetables, health and nutrition.
Scientific Name
Agaricus bisporus (Agaricaceae family)Common name
Cultivated mushrooms, button mushrooms
Varieties ans seasons
Cultivated mushrooms have a fleshy whitish head measuring up to 10 cm in diameter. It stands on a white foot measuring 2 to 5 cm.
A cultivated mushroom less commonly found in stores is brown in colour; it is sometimes called a “coffee mushroom”.
Among the most commonly cultivated varieties of mushroom, one of the most popular in the US is the imposingly large “portobello”, which enjoys an exceptional flavour and a strong scent, which recalls wild mushrooms. Portobellos are delicious grilled and served with sauce-based dishes.
Vegetable garden: growing mushroom
Cultivated mushrooms have been grown intensively in former quarries in the Paris region for almost 200 years.
Mushrooms need strictly controlled atmospheric conditions to grow.
Producers spread mycelium onto natural manure (fermented and pasturised horse manure) or synthetic manure (including hay, straw, bark, gypsum, potassium and corn cobs). Mycelium is composed of very fine filaments that come from tiny single-cell spores.
Production
Mushrooms are growing in numerous regions of the world, particularly in North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Consumption
Adding up fresh and processed consumption per capita per year, the result in Western Europe is a consumption of around 3 kilos per capita per year. To go further, we can find a large difference per country. In the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands consumption is mainly fresh (> 75%). In France and Germany this figure is under 50%. Despite these differences, the consumption of both processed and fresh mushrooms is increasing.
Nutritional values (per 100 g)
Raw* | Tinned* | RDI** | |
|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 15 kcal | 16 kcal | |
Proteins | 2.1 g | 2.3 g | |
Carbohydrates | 0.5 g | 0.5 g | |
Fat | 0.5 g | 0.5 g | |
Fibres | 2.5 g | 2.5 g | 30 g |
Sodium | 6 mg | 344 mg | |
Potassium | 372 mg | 116 mg | 2,000 mg |
Phosphorus | 105 mg | 69 mg | 700 mg |
Vitamin B2 | 0.45 mg | 0.19 mg | 1.4 mg |
Vitamin B5 | 2.2 mg | 2 mg | 6 mg |
Vitamin B9 | 30 µg | 10 µg | 200 µg |
Vitamin B3 - PP | 4 mg | 1.3 mg | 16 mg |
* Ciqual 1995 ** Recommended Daily Intake |
Nutritionist’s advice
Cultivated mushrooms are an excellent source of fibre and group B vitamins: B2, B5 and B9. That’s why mushrooms have a reputation for helping people feel calmer and more serene.
Mushroom and low-sodium diets : Extremely low in sodium (8 mg for 100 g), cultivated mushrooms are widely used in low sodium diets. It adds flavour and aroma to dishes prepared without salt, in particular meat, rice, pasta and potato dishes, and allows you to eat interesting food while keeping within the limitations of the diet.
What is about portions...?
-a child portion : two fistfuls
-an adult portion : three fistfuls
Cooking and nutrition: tasty combinations
-Mushroom salad: Rinse and dry the raw mushrooms before chopping them and mixing them into a “vitamin dressing” of olive oil, lemon, parsley, salt and pepper. An ideal way to benefit from vitamins B2, B5 and B9 and the refined flavour of mushrooms.
-Mushroom sauce: Chop some button mushrooms and fry them in a non-stick pan. Remove from the heat, season with one or two spoonfuls of full fat or light crème fraîche, and enjoy as a sauce with an escalope or with pasta to benefit from its range of vitamins, fibre and vegetable proteins.
