Monday 28 July 2008

Australia could produce 10 times as many truffles

Australian truffle production could grow by as much as 10 times its current level by 2013, but market development and further research will be needed to ensure the industry has a long-term future.

Truffles are unique underground mushrooms that grow on the roots of trees which either naturally host the fungi or have been inoculated with truffle spores..
Despite being a relatively new crop to Australia, truffles are one of the most highly sought after and valued foods in the world, with Australian truffles currently selling for between $2000 and $3000 per kg. Despite being highly sought after by many chefs, it is not used often due to the considerable cost of purchase.

The cost is so high due to the difficulties with creating the right environment for the truffles to grow.

The most ever paid for a truffle is $330,000 by a casino owner from Macau for a 1.5kg white truffle last year, which Works out to $220,000 per kg.

Monday 21 July 2008

Death Angels claim another life

A 61 year old woman has died after eating poisonous wild mushrooms nicknamed death angels that she found growing near a highway rest stop just outside New York City.

Westchester County's health department says Zoila Tapia found the pure-white mushrooms on July 6, in a wooded area along Interstate 684 in Bedford, a town about half an hour north of Manhattan.

The 61-year-old White Plains resident was hospitalised after eating the mushrooms and died 4 days later. The mushrooms are among the prettiest but deadliest in the world.

Westchester County Medical Examiner Dr. Millard Hyland said that by the time Tapia sought medical help, her kidney and liver functions were compromised and her chances for survival were quickly declining.

Wednesday 9 July 2008

Healthy Shiitake

The health benefits of shiitake mushrooms have been exposed recently by an American study.

Scientists in America found that Shiitake mushrooms contain high levels of high molecular weight polyaccharides (HMWP) which is known to improve the human immune system. They also discovered that eritadenine found in shiitake mushrooms may help lower cholesterol levels.

The researchers inoculated logs with spores from three different shiitake varieties and compared the yield with shiitake yields grown on commercial substrates.

They found that the log-grown shiitakes had HMWP levels as much as 70 percent higher than the substrate-grown shiitakes. The team also observed that shiitakes grown on red and white oak logs had higher levels of HMWP than shiitakes grown on sweet gum logs.

In 2004-2005, producers harvested approximately 9 million pounds of shiitake mushrooms, which sold for an average price of $3.21 per pound.