Sarah Brown
Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as straw mushrooms, are small edible fungi cultivated in the warm, tropical climates of East and Southeast Asia. They are widely consumed and valued for their neutral flavour, versatility, and high nutritional and medicinal properties. Straw mushrooms are often sold fresh in the regions they are cultivated, but are also commonly found canned or dried. They are used extensively in Asian cuisine, particularly in soups, stir-fries, and sautéed dishes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Botanical Name | Volvariella volvacea |
| Common Names | Paddy Straw Mushroom, Straw Mushroom, Chinese Mushroom, Nanhua Mushroom |
| Appearance | Conical cap, ovoids, then cone-like, and finally broadly convex or bell-shaped. Dark grey in the centre, becoming silvery-white or brownish-grey towards the margins. |
| Size | Cap diameter: 5-12 cm. Stem length: 4-14 cm. |
| Flavour | Mild, musky, earthy |
| Texture | Smooth, velvety, and tender |
| Cultivation | Cultivated in southeastern Asia, especially in China |
| Habitat | Grows in clusters on rice straw beds, cotton waste ("gin trash"), compost piles, grass, leaves, wood chips, and termite mounds |
| Harvesting | Harvested in its young or mature state. Young, unopened mushrooms are "unpeeled", while opened mushrooms are "peeled". |
| Culinary Usage | Commonly used in soups, stir-fries, sautéing, boiling, and Chinese cooking. |
| Storage | Unopened canned straw mushrooms can be stored for a couple of years. Once opened, they can be refrigerated for about a week. |
| Nutrition | Excellent source of copper, potassium, vitamins B, C, and D, fiber, zinc, iron, amino acids, and other nutrients. |
| Medicinal Properties | Believed to have blood-thinning and cooling properties in traditional Chinese medicine. Also known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and other therapeutic effects. |
| Toxicity | Resembles the poisonous death cap mushroom in the button stage, but can be distinguished by its pink spore print and lack of a ring on the stem. |
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What You'll Learn
Cultivation and distribution
Volvariella volvacea, also known as the paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom, is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia. They are often available fresh in the regions they are cultivated but are more frequently found canned or dried elsewhere.
Cultivation
Straw mushrooms are grown on rice straw beds and are most commonly picked when immature, during their button or egg phase. Wheat straw, oat straw, and rice straw can all be used to grow straw mushrooms. The process involves inoculating pasteurized straw with mushroom grain spawn, allowing the mushrooms to colonize the straw, and placing the mushroom log in the right environmental conditions for fruiting. The straw should be chopped, soaked, and pasteurized between 65-82 °C for 1-2 hours. It is then drained, cooled, and mixed with mushroom grain spawn at a ratio of at least 10% spawn to straw to avoid contamination. The straw-spawn mixture is then stuffed into a fruiting container, such as poly tubing or a 5-gallon bucket with holes drilled into the sides. The colonization phase should take about 7-14 days at room temperature. The container is then moved to a fruiting chamber or another appropriate environment to initiate mushroom fruiting.
Oyster mushrooms are a great choice for beginners as they are easy to grow, colonize fast, and fruit heavily. They come in many different forms, including blue, pink, yellow, pearl, and king oysters, each with slightly different environmental preferences and growth patterns.
Distribution
Straw mushrooms are the third most consumed mushroom worldwide. They are commonly found in markets serving East Asian and Southeast Asian communities, particularly in Thailand. They are typically sold in 15-ounce/425-gram cans, with a drained weight of 7-8 ounces/200-225 grams. Canned straw mushrooms have a shelf life of a couple of years if unopened and can be stored in the refrigerator for a week after opening. They are almost always cooked, and dried straw mushrooms are available in larger Asian markets.
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Nutritional value
Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as straw mushrooms, are edible fungi with a mild, musky flavour. They are widely consumed in Asia and are valued for their neutral flavour, versatility, and high nutritional properties. They are native to China and have been cultivated in the warm, tropical climates of Southeast Asia.
Straw mushrooms are an excellent source of copper, which provides antibacterial properties, and potassium, which helps regulate fluids and maintain optimal blood vessel functioning. They also contain vitamins B, C, and D, fibre, zinc, iron, and amino acids. In traditional Chinese medicine, straw mushrooms are believed to help clean and thin the blood while also removing heat from the body.
One cup (182 grams or 6.4 ounces) of straw mushrooms provides 240 kilojoules (58 kilocalories) of food energy. In terms of percentage of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), a cup of straw mushrooms provides 50.36% selenium, 46.60% sodium, 32.50% iron, 26.89% copper, 17.25% vitamin B9 (folate), 15.86% phosphorus, 15.00% vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), 13.94% protein, 11.84% total dietary fibre, and 11.09% zinc.
The fruiting body of straw mushrooms is a rich source of bioactive compounds, including antioxidant enzymes, terpenes, polypeptides, sugars, phenolics, and flavonoids. These compounds offer a range of therapeutic benefits, such as anti-tumour, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-malarial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic effects.
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Medicinal value
Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as the paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom, is a species of edible mushroom cultivated in East and Southeast Asia. It is used extensively in Asian cuisine and is the third most consumed mushroom worldwide. The mushroom is grown on rice straw beds and is typically picked when immature, during its button or egg phase.
Straw mushrooms are believed to possess remarkable medicinal properties and have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. They are an excellent source of copper, which provides anti-bacterial properties, and potassium, which helps regulate fluids and maintain healthy blood vessels. They also contain vitamins B, C, and D, fibre, zinc, iron, and amino acids.
In traditional Chinese medicine, straw mushrooms are thought to help clean and thin the blood, as well as remove excess heat from the body. The mushrooms are also believed to have therapeutic benefits due to their diverse bioactive compounds. These compounds exhibit anti-tumour, anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-malarial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic effects.
The nutritional profile of straw mushrooms further enhances their medicinal value. They are a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, fibres, and essential minerals. The mushrooms also contain a comprehensive profile of amino acids, which are important for various bodily functions.
The inclusion of straw mushrooms in the diet as a functional food can potentially enhance overall health and well-being. However, it is always advisable to consult a healthcare professional before incorporating any new dietary or medicinal regimens.
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Culinary usage
Volvariella volvacea, commonly known as straw mushrooms, are edible fungi with a mild, musky flavour. They are widely consumed in Asia and are native to China, where they have been growing wild since ancient times. They are also known as Chinese mushrooms, Paddy Straw mushrooms, and Nanhua mushrooms. They are believed to have been cultivated by Buddhist monks at the Nanhua Temple in China, who grew the fungi on paddy straw for its high nutritional value and used it in traditional medicine.
Straw mushrooms are cultivated in the warm, tropical climates of East and Southeast Asia, and are often grown on agricultural wastes such as rice straw, cotton waste, compost piles, grass, leaves, and wood chips. They can also be found growing naturally on termite mounds in Southeast Asia.
They are typically sold in their young, unopened form, known as "unpeeled", or in their opened, more mature form, known as "peeled". The unpeeled version is the most popular in local markets in Asia as it is believed to have a stronger flavour and higher nutritional value. Straw mushrooms are almost always cooked and are commonly used in soups, stir-fries, sautéing, boiling, or frying. They are usually added at the end of the cooking process as they are delicate and only require a brief cooking time. They are also commonly canned or dried, and canned mushrooms are lightly cooked during the canning process.
In terms of nutritional value, straw mushrooms are an excellent source of copper, potassium, vitamins B, C, and D, fibre, zinc, iron, amino acids, selenium, sodium, phosphorus, and protein. They also contain antioxidant enzymes, terpenes, polypeptides, sugars, phenolics, and flavonoids, which provide therapeutic benefits such as anti-tumour, anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-malarial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic effects. In traditional Chinese medicine, straw mushrooms are believed to help clean and thin the blood and remove heat from the body.
When preparing straw mushrooms, it is recommended to soak them in hot water for half an hour before cooking, and to use the soaking liquid in the recipe to enhance the flavour.
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Look-alikes
The Volvariella volvacea, or straw mushroom, has a conical cap and is cultivated in southeastern Asia. It is used extensively in Asian cuisine, particularly in Chinese cooking. Straw mushrooms are available fresh, canned, or dried, and are the third most consumed mushroom worldwide.
However, in their button stage, straw mushrooms resemble poisonous death caps. Death caps are deadly fungi commonly mistaken for edible mushrooms, and ingesting one death cap mushroom is enough to kill a healthy adult. The two mushrooms have different distributions, with the death cap generally not found where the straw mushroom grows natively. Still, immigrants, especially those from Southeast Asia to California and Australia, have been poisoned due to misidentification.
To distinguish straw mushrooms from death caps, look for the following differences:
- Straw mushrooms have pink spore prints, while death cap spore prints are white.
- Death caps have white gills and stems, while straw mushrooms have pale pinkish-brown gills and no ring on the stem.
- The cap of the straw mushroom is more brown to greyish, while the death cap is usually pale green to yellow.
In addition, young puffball mushrooms can look like death caps when they are immature and in the small button stage. Therefore, it is essential to be able to identify these look-alikes correctly to avoid accidental poisoning.
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Frequently asked questions
A straw mushroom, or Volvariella volvacea, is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia. It is also known as a Chinese mushroom, Paddy Straw mushroom, or Nanhua mushroom.
Straw mushrooms grow in clusters and have varying appearances depending on their maturity. When young, the cap is encased in a thin skin, and the stalk is short, creating an oval, egg-like shape. The top of the cap is generally dark brown, lightening to a cream-coloured hue around the edges and on the stem. As the mushroom matures, the stem lengthens to 4 to 14 centimetres, and the protective skin is separated from the cap, allowing the cap to expand and widen. The cap then transforms into a convex, broad shape, sometimes almost appearing flat, and averages 5 to 12 centimetres in diameter. The once dark brown cap also lightens to a grey or light brown shade. Underneath the cap, the crowded gills range in colour from white to pink, depending on maturity, and are not attached to the stem.
Straw mushrooms are an excellent source of copper, potassium, vitamins B, C, and D, fibre, zinc, iron, and amino acids. They also contain antioxidant enzymes, terpenes, polypeptides, sugars, phenolics, and flavonoids.
