Chapter 18: Fungi as Food: Mycophagy

Kendrick emphasizes that accurate species identification to the taxonomic level is critical for safety, as edible and highly toxic species frequently inhabit the same genera, making folklore-based identification methods unreliable and dangerous. The chapter then surveys commercially cultivated mushrooms, beginning with Agaricus bisporus, the button mushroom domesticated in seventeenth-century France and now produced globally at industrial scales exceeding one million tonnes annually. Additional cultivated species including oyster, shiitake, paddy straw, enokitake, nameko, and cloud ear varieties each offer distinct culinary properties and nutritional profiles, with shiitake production alone generating over 150,000 tonnes yearly. Luxury fungi such as truffles command high market prices due to their scarcity and cultivation challenges, while morels inspire significant regional foraging traditions and economic activity. The chapter catalogs wild edible species valued in different cuisines, from European porcini and chanterelles to Asian matsutake and temperate honey mushrooms, alongside unusual examples like Mexican corn smut and Chinese bamboo fungus that illustrate how culinary classifications vary across cultures. Industrial applications receive attention through discussion of single-cell protein production, particularly mycoprotein derived from Fusarium graminearum and marketed as meat substitutes, along with yeast cultivation for nutritional supplementation. Kendrick addresses significant health concerns, including bioaccumulation of heavy metals and radioactive isotopes in fungal tissues and the presence of mutagenic compounds in several commonly consumed species. The chapter concludes by situating human mycophagy within broader ecological contexts, highlighting animal consumption of fungi by rodents, insects, and birds, thereby linking culinary traditions to ecosystem functioning and trophic dynamics.