Champignon, the most cultivated type of mushroom in the world. Do you know how it is beneficial for you?

Champignon is considered to be the most cultivated variety of mushroom in the world.

In addition to being an excellent ingredient in dishes, it also brings a number of benefits for your health. What kind?

You will learn everything in the following article!

Champignon, a mushroom beneficial for your health

Champignons (Agaricus bisporus in Latin) are one of the first cultivated mushrooms. We owe their wide distribution to the French king Louis XIV.

Mushrooms grow in forest-steppe and steppe zones of Europe, South American pampas, North American prairies, open places and meadows of Africa and Australia, steppes of Central Asia.

You can find them on the bark of dead trees, humus, anthills, in forests between grasses, along roads.

Mushrooms have a diameter of 3 to 25 cm. Their cap is fleshy, spherical and umbrella-shaped when ripe. The surface is fibrous, smooth, scaly, gray-white in color. The leg of the mushroom has a distinct two-layered or single-layered ring.

You can buy mushrooms fresh, frozen, canned, dried or even in powdered form.

Why consume mushrooms?

Mushrooms have medicinal effects, which is why they are used in natural medicine.

The low calorie and sodium content allows them to be consumed in various diets. In addition, they have the ability to cleanse the body of heavy metals.

They help to reduce blood sugar levels and serve as prevention against heart disease and cancer. A number of antioxidant compounds, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, ergothioneine, glutathione, selenium and vitamin C, have been implicated in the potential cancer-fighting ability of mushrooms.

Polysaccharides in mushrooms can help lower blood sugar and improve insulin resistance. They also improve intestinal function, acting as prebiotics.

Consumption of mushrooms is not recommended for patients with chronic diseases of the kidneys and digestive system. The high content of folic acid in mushrooms promotes the growth of malignant cells and their reproduction, so oncology patients should not eat mushrooms.

Nutritional values

In the following table you can see how low-calorie mushrooms are. They are also rich in fiber and sodium.

Types of mushrooms

Currently, there are more than 60 types of mushrooms. We will introduce two basic types of mushrooms.

White mushroom

Also called “white button”, it is the most popular cultivated mushroom. This is thanks to the delicate taste and firm structure.

It is added to sauces, creamy soups, fried recipes, pasta or rice dishes.

The shape of the hat is first hemispherical, it flattens with age. This species is commonly found worldwide in fields and grasslands after rain, from late spring to autumn.

Brown mushroom

The brown mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) has a more intense flavor than the white mushroom. Thanks to this, it goes well with beef, venison and vegetable dishes.

It is 40 to 60 mm in size.

How to recognize an inedible mushroom?

It may happen that you confuse an edible mushroom with an edible mushroom (Agaricus xanthodermus). Both species are very similar, small with white hats. The main difference is that if the mushroom pulp is damaged, it will quickly turn yellow.

Cultivation

Mushrooms are grown on mushroom farms, but also in households. The reason for the high production is their abundant fertility, excellent taste and unpretentiousness.

They can be grown all year round. Mushrooms produce well in the dark due to the absence of chlorophyll in the tissues.

They are grown in specially equipped cellars, greenhouses and in the open.

Mushroom processing

Mushrooms stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days. Therefore, it is good to process them quickly. You can add mushrooms to meat dishes, to pizza, to soups. Get inspired and read excellent recipes for mushroom soups .

Or you can freeze, dry or preserve them. There are many ways to process mushrooms. For example:

• chop and add raw to salad,
• fry them in olive oil with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper,
• fry them with other vegetables,
• add them to an omelet or scrambled eggs.

You can also prepare champignons as an appetizer, you can learn more in the recipes for stuffed champignons .

In short, there are many options for including mushrooms in your diet. Preparation of mushrooms before cooking is as follows:

1. You need to clean the sponge from soil and other impurities. First with a knife, then rinse the mushroom under running water.
2. When cleaning, the film on the cap of the sponge must be removed.
3. Cut off the leg of the mushroom if it is dirty.
4. If necessary, cut the cleaned mushroom into slices or pieces and start cooking!

You can add mushrooms to a dish such as:

• risotto
• omelette
• gnocchi
• spinach
• quiche
• pasta

How to recognize a rotten mushroom?

There are a number of stages when the mushroom is not suitable for consumption. It can be considered spoiled if:

• has a slimy surface
• it is dry, shriveled
• has brown spots
• its smell is reminiscent of fish

Mushroom products

Mushroom powder – is made from ground, dried mushrooms. It serves as a great flavoring for soups, sauces or spreads.

Mushroom cheese – cream cheese with pieces of mushrooms is an ideal snack

Champignon is a type of mushroom that is rich in vitamins and minerals. It is not only an excellent raw material for cooking, but also has many useful properties, thanks to which it is used in traditional medicine. Studies have shown that people who frequently eat these mushrooms have 34% lower blood cholesterol levels compared to those who do not eat mushrooms. Therefore, the risk of heart attack and atherosclerosis is reduced.