Mushrooms are a unique vegetable. Though I like mushrooms, I find that they usually have little to no taste of their own. To me they add more of a chew to the dish than a distinct flavor.
Though I knew that mushrooms could be used for medicinal purposes, I didn’t know exactly why or how.
Part of the reason mushrooms have been used for human treatments is that some of the fungal kingdom of mushrooms have up to 50% of the human DNA and have a history of battling bacteria.
For over 2000 years mushrooms have been used as an anti-inflammatory treatment and for cauterizing wounds. Even Hippocrates, the Greek physician, prescribed mushrooms.
Different mushrooms, such as the shitake, reishi and turkey tail, are used in Japan and China today for treating various cancers. Often in conjunction with chemotherapy.
Our Western medicine has not traditionally used mushrooms as any portion of medical treatments. However, the National Institutes of Health conducted a recent study on breast cancer patients. Members of the study were given a product which included turkey tail mushrooms. Those who received the product were found to have more cancer-fighting cells.
Thus, more studies and more medicines using mushrooms are now in Western medicine. Antibiotic ganomycin and chemotherapy medicine calvacin are just two of the current medicines derived from mushrooms.
Not just physical health, mushrooms are often thought to be useful in mental health improvement. An hallutionagentic substance found in some mushrooms called psilocybin is illegal to have in the U.S. An excpetion has been made for Johns Hopkins to operate evaluations of this material.
Johns Hopkins has already found that psilocybin is more effective in reducing adult depression than medicines generally used now. These researchers also believe that it could be quite useful in treating addiction to alcohol, cocaine and smoking.
Some components of mushrooms are excellent sources of aiding digestive enzymes and cleaning contaminated ecosystems by making them less toxic. The caveats of this is that it is not a rapid fix and that the mushrooms absorb the toxicity and must be removed to prevent consumption.
However if you are a lover of mushrooms – as is our main farmer, you might enjoy his most favorite mushroom soup recipe. When we were in Germany years ago in search of my great grandfather’s hometown, we stayed in a local hotel, Wobus Hotel Jagerhof, with its own restaurant.
Every time we ate there, Curt ordered their mushroom soup. He said it was the best he ever had. No attempt to replicate it at home was a success. So I emailed the hotel and asked for the recipe. They were so gracious to send it to me.
It did require some translation and a couple of alterations. I couldn’t get their mushrooms, and we don’t have their kind of cream available any more. It was also surprising to see that every serving is made separately (Note: name of recipe).
Champaigon Creme fur eine Person
(Cream of Mushroom for one person)
● 20 grams of bacon (20g = .75oz = .05 lb)
● Onions (nothing specified; I’d say finely chopped add to taste)
● 20 grams champaignon mushrooms (Note: equal amounts of bacon to mushrooms!!) (I couldn’t get champagne mushrooms, so I used combo of tasty ones)
● Pinch of salt; Pinch of broth (I used chicken)
Saute in pan
● Pour in 150 ml cooking cream (150ml = 5 oz) (I used heaviest cream available)
● Herbs (oregano, chervil parsley) [Chervil = gourmet] to taste
Heat to good temp – do not boil.
They don’t make pots or vats of soup and keep them heated for hours. I think that is also key. It also seemed fitting to me that Curt would love this place. The hotel name translates: Hunter Court Hotel.
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