Autumn is a time to collect mushrooms. Or at least buy them on the market, preparing delicious and hearty dishes: mushroom soups, julienne, homemade roast with mushrooms. .. Recently it has been customary to talk about mushrooms in a negative context: every now and then news appears that someone,then poisoned them. However, with the right approach to the selection, storage and preparation of mushrooms will only benefit. Secrets of useful properties of mushrooms, as well as how to store them, prepare and eat them, in today's article.
Than useful mushrooms?
As for food, mushrooms are not inferior to meat, vegetables and fruits. Useful properties of fungi are practically not lost after processing( drying or cooking).Fungi contain proteins and carbohydrates, amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins of group B, C, E, PP, provitamin D, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iron, calcium, iodine.
The percentage of fat in mushrooms is very low, they are low in calories - this makes them popular in dietary nutrition. Because of the protein content, fungi are also popular with vegetarians.
Lecithin, contained in mushrooms, prevents the accumulation of cholesterol in the body, so fungi are useful in cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders. Specific types of fungi, such as mushrooms, are good for the treatment of urolithiasis.
Ergotionein, contained in an overwhelming number of fungi, is a powerful antioxidant that can help people with oncological diseases.
Mushrooms contain ß-glucans, which help to raise the immunity, strengthen the defenses of the body. That is why mushrooms are an obligatory food product during a strict fast, when the immunity is somewhat weakened.
Useful properties of fungi will help in the prevention of atherosclerosis, the treatment of diabetes, obesity, hypertension.
Extracts of certain types of fungi help with tuberculosis, worms, frostbite, treatment of sore throat, headaches, gout, pustular abscesses, stomach and duodenal ulcers, bronchial asthma and other allergic diseases.
Scientists around the world, puzzled by the question of how useful the mushrooms, are discovering the new and new useful properties of these amazing natural healers. It's not for nothing that the medicines have been made of mushrooms for a long time already.
How to store, cook and eat mushrooms?
The benefits of mushrooms will be appreciable only if they are properly treated, stored and cooked.
Fresh mushrooms should be used( or processed) immediately - otherwise, lying in the basket, they will spoil after a few hours. If there is a desire to keep the freshness of mushrooms for 3-4 days - they need to be put in enameled dishes( do not cover with a lid!) And put in the refrigerator( t 2-3 ° C).Dried mushrooms need to be stored in a dry, dark place strung on a string, and if prolonged storage is provided, they should be stored in glass jars. Marinated and salted mushrooms are stored in the refrigerator. The shelf life of mushrooms - no more than a year: over time they have the property of losing their taste and flavor.
To prepare mushrooms, they should be carefully and gently washed with a damp cloth. Under a stream of water, mushrooms should not be substituted - they will quickly soften and turn into porridge. Mushrooms can be fried, stewed, boiled. Of these, soups are cooked, they make garnishes for vegetable, meat and fish dishes, sauces, snacks, fillings for pancakes and dumplings( so-called kundyums).Mushrooms are perfectly combined with vegetable and butter, sour cream, onions and herbs.
For all its useful properties, mushrooms are heavily digested by the human body, as they contain chitin. Therefore, dishes from mushrooms are contraindicated for young children( up to 3 years), and all others are advised not to abuse mushroom foods, otherwise guaranteed gastrointestinal upset. Mushroom dishes should appear on your table not more often than 1-2 times a week.
And, of course, only mushrooms grown on ecologically clean soil need to be eaten, because they can absorb toxins and radioactive compounds at an astonishing rate. Deadly dangerous in this case may even be an edible mushroom. Therefore, it is best not to risk your own life and give up the romance of collecting mushrooms in the autumn forest, choosing a more prosaic, but less dangerous option - to buy ready-made mushrooms in the store.
Eat mushrooms wisely, eat mushrooms for health!
