Are Mushrooms the Better Cattle?
Could mushrooms be the future of sustainable food? Are they perhaps the better cattle when it comes to nutritional value, environmental friendliness, and culinary potential? Their diverse properties and resource-efficient cultivation make them a true game changer – but are we already tapping into their full potential?
Grown in large quantities, often locally, always available, and a healthy food: that's the champignon. Yet, the Volkswagen of edible mushrooms generally lives in the culinary shadows. At the supermarket, it's often marked with a "Reduced" sticker because they simply don't last long.
This negative image is undeserved. Like most mushrooms, champignons contain valuable proteins and micronutrients (in plain English, trace elements). Their carrier material, chitin, is indigestible and serves as an essential fiber for the gut. Those who follow a low-meat or meat-free diet often use the affordable and always available champignon. But it mostly remains an alternative, a filler. It's a different story in Japan, where the umami-rich shiitake is a cult mushroom and has been cultivated for over 2,000 years. We know it as a key ingredient in the popular ramen soup. Also originating from Asia are other important edible mushrooms, with enoki as the most exciting representative, along with shimeji and oyster mushrooms in supporting roles.
Mushroom Cultivation Is Trending
Mushrooms contain valuable micronutrients, from potassium and iron to selenium and zinc. They also boast many important vitamins. From a soil and climate perspective, mushrooms offer another major advantage: their cultivation requires few resources. Cultivated mushrooms grow on wood waste or straw bales, breaking them down into compost while storing plenty of CO2 in the process.
As a result, cultivated mushrooms in Switzerland have become trendy in the wake of the champignon, as reported by Schweizer Bauer. "On average, Swiss people consume 1.5 kg of mushrooms per year, with a slight upward trend," says Nicole Badertscher, Managing Director of the Swiss Mushroom Producers (VSP), in a story published last year. She encourages curious mushroom enthusiasts to seek out exciting farms: "Those looking for exceptional gourmet mushrooms like golden oyster mushrooms, pink oyster mushrooms, or lion's mane should turn to start-ups and smaller regional producers, such as Ostschweizer Pilze, Regio-Pilz in Oberrieden ZH, or Fungi Futuri in Steffisburg BE." With meat consumption declining, more agricultural businesses are turning to mushroom cultivation.
How to Cook Mushrooms
When preparing mushrooms, there's an important trick: first, they should be roasted in a pan (preferably uncoated, since the temperatures will be quite high) without adding any fat, to remove some of their water. Once they've released a bit of water, you can add finely chopped onions and continue roasting. Anyone who has sautéed shellfish like shrimp or crabs for a stock will recognize the aroma that spreads: it comes from roasted chitin, which also forms the shells of water creatures. Only then should fat be added. You can then deglaze with a bit of white wine, strain the mushrooms from the resulting broth, and reduce it. Using cream for this creates a very fine sauce for polenta or pasta. Be sure to add a touch of acidity (lemon juice) at the end and garnish with fresh herbs. If you're limited to a supermarket visit, buy the available varieties and mix them to diversify the flavor. At farmers' markets, the selection is often larger and, more importantly, fresher than in supermarkets.
Leave the Forest to the Trees
If you have the time, you can head into the forest during mushroom season. Wild mushrooms – as noted by the German Center for Nutrition, there are currently around 100,000 species of fungi known worldwide – form symbiotic relationships with countless plants and help them grow! Their root networks, or mycorrhizae, could contribute even more to climate change mitigation by storing CO2... if we let them. Mushrooms and their delicate underground networks are threatened by the expansion of human settlements and climate change. Since only a portion of wild mushrooms are edible and their consumption always carries some risk, we recommend cultivated mushrooms. We also recommend joining the Soil to Soul community, where you'll regularly learn about new culinary trends and climate-friendly foods. Soil to Soul maintains a year-round platform that ensures an enjoyable, soil- and climate-conscious diet becomes part of everyday life for more and more people.
Do you also like mushrooms?
There are exciting workshops and delicious dinners at this year's FoodLab - and the focus is on mushrooms. For four weeks, we will be developing new, innovative dishes for you together with talented young chefs and many of the most renowned chefs in the Alpine region.
Come and have a look!
