Edible Molds

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Can Molds Be Edible?

There are hundreds of thousands of edible species of fungi, thousands of which are regularly harvested for mass consumption.

Some species of fungi are very highly priced and sought after for the fact that they cannot be cultivated and are often harvested from there natural settings.

Most Commonly Consumed

Here is a list of a few of the most commonly consumed fungi:

    • Agaricus Bisporus

Agaricus bisporus is most commonly known as the button mushroom.

This species of fungus is the most extensively cultivated mushroom in the world. Button mushrooms take up 38% of the world’s production of cultivated mushrooms.

    • Pleurotus

The pleurotus species is also known as the ‘oyster mushroom.’ This species of mushroom takes the second spot for the most produced mushroom in the world.

It holds a whopping 25% of the total world production of cultivated mushrooms. Pleurotus mushrooms are found world-wide but China is the major producer of this edible fungi.

    • Volvariella Volvacea

Volvariella volvacea is also known as the ‘Paddy straw’ mushroom.

Paddy straw mushrooms have a 16% hold on the total production of cultivated mushrooms in the world.

    • Lentinus Edodes

Lentinus edodes is largely produced in Japan, China and South Korea. They are also known as shiitake or oak mushrooms. Lentinus edodes accounts for at least 10% of the world production in cultivated mushrooms.

    • Boletus Edulis

Boletus edulis is often called Porcini. Other names for it are King Bolete, Cep, and Steinpilz. Porcini is renowned for its nutty flavor. It is sought after worldwide, and can be found in a variety of culinary dishes.

    • The Truffle

The Truffle, Tuber magnatum or Piemont white truffle, is also called a Summer or St. Jean truffle, and sometimes Tuber brumale. Truffles belong to the ascomycete grouping of fungi.

The truffle fruit bodies are developed underground in mycorrhizal and are associated with more popular trees such as poplar, beech, and hazel.

Interesting Note

Since truffles are difficult to find, trained pigs or dogs are often used to sniff them out for harvesting!

Amazing! And these are only some of the most common edible fungi on our planet!

Further Recommended Reading :

Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team

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6 comments

Can Mold Be Good? - The Mold Blog November 28, 2007 - 7:18 pm
[...] « Mold is Worldwide Edible Molds [...]
Alexandrea December 13, 2007 - 6:34 pm
Thanks for the info my science fair project went good. I am looking for a summer job. If you have any jobs hving to do with fungus please response me for the job. Thanks, Alex
maureen keiller January 16, 2010 - 12:26 pm
I think it is interesting that there is an ad for Scott Brown on a MOLD website.
Air Force sergent November 20, 2014 - 7:06 am
This helped me on my AF project. Teachers loved it because it helps us find things to eat in battle.
ignaz December 8, 2017 - 8:32 am
The edible mushrooms written about are not molds. Mushrooms are a type of fungus characterized by a "fruiting body" or the familiar cap and stem. Molds are a type of fungus, hyphomycetes, that have mycelium that connect to form thin strands or hyphae. They usually appear fuzzy. Think the food stuck in the back of the refrigerator for months.
ignaz December 8, 2017 - 8:35 am
BTW, an example of edible mold would be the blue in blue cheese.
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