Nutritional value of mushrooms and how to choose mushrooms

Mushrooms

It is also known as the "Hao Shiitake Mushroom" because the word "Longquan" means "Chen Yifu" in the Longquan dialect, and Qingyuan was originally under the jurisdiction of Longquan, but later it was divided into counties. Jingning was not a county either! It had already formed a certain scale in Zhejiang in the late Tang Dynasty and early Song Dynasty. Longquan, Qingyuan, Jingning and other three mountainous counties are the birthplaces of artificial cultivation of winter mushrooms. To this day, tens of thousands of people still cultivate winter mushrooms in Zhejiang or outside the province every year. The three counties of "Long", "Qing" and "Jing" are known as the "Hometown of Shiitake Mushrooms". Winter mushrooms have strict specifications and clear grades. They are divided into 3 grades and 11 levels: flower mushrooms, thick mushrooms and thin mushrooms. Winter mushrooms are rich in protein and a variety of trace elements necessary for the human body. Winter mushrooms are tender, smooth and sweet, and dried mushrooms are delicious and fragrant. They are suitable for cooking, boiling, frying and stir-frying. They can be made into delicacies with meat and vegetables. Winter mushrooms are also health foods that prevent and treat colds, lower cholesterol, prevent and treat liver cirrhosis and have anti-cancer effects.

The therapeutic value of mushrooms

Winter mushrooms are sweet and have a neutral medicinal property. They have the effects of replenishing qi and benefiting the stomach, and removing toxins from sores. They can treat physical weakness, poor appetite, pharyngitis, tracheitis, anemia, neurasthenia, nephritis edema, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and soreness of the waist and legs.

How to choose mushrooms

To distinguish the thickness of mushrooms from their appearance, we can start with the mushroom stem. The mushroom stem is equivalent to the neck of the shiitake mushroom. If the neck is thin and short, the mushroom body will be thin; if the neck is thick and thick, the body will be strong. Therefore, when we buy mushrooms, if the mushroom stem is thin, the mushroom body will be thin, and vice versa, if the mushroom stem is thick, the mushroom body will be thick. Common knowledge about eating mushrooms

Because shiitake mushrooms are dried products, they must be soaked and cleaned before eating. Pay attention to the method of soaking and cleaning shiitake mushrooms, otherwise the nutritional value and edible flavor of shiitake mushrooms will be reduced.

It is not suitable to soak shiitake mushrooms in cold water, because shiitake mushrooms contain nuclease. Only when soaked in hot water at 80℃ can this enzyme catalyze the ribonucleic acid in shiitake mushrooms and decompose 5-guanylic acid, which has the unique umami taste of shiitake mushrooms. If soaked in cold water or boiling water, or soaked for too long, the umami taste of shiitake mushrooms will be greatly reduced. When the mushroom body is completely soaked and softened, the soaking can be stopped. Of course, some umami substances will dissolve in the water during the soaking process of shiitake mushrooms. As long as the soaking water is precipitated or filtered, it can still be put into mushroom soup or cooked for consumption.

As for cleaning shiitake mushrooms, there are also methods to pay attention to. When the mushroom body is soaked and softened, stir it in the same direction with your hands or chopsticks. The dirt on the mushroom surface and the mud and sand hidden in the mushroom folds will fall into the water during the stirring and collision. If you repeatedly grab and wash or stir it back and forth with your hands, it will easily damage the appearance of the mushroom body, lose nutrients, and the mud and sand that have fallen into the water will easily hide back in the mushroom folds after grabbing and washing or stirring back and forth.

Shiitake mushrooms should not be stored for too long, and they should be kept away from moisture. Once exposed to moisture, the mushrooms are prone to infestation and deterioration. When storing, do not mix them with raw, fishy foods or chemicals, as they will absorb odors and become inedible.