Straw mushroom

Volvariella volvacea

mushroom

A small grey-brown mushroom grown on rice straw in Southeast Asia, its base wrapped in a sac-like volva; in soups and stir-fries. It provides beta-glucans.

Origin

Southeast Asia

Season (United States)

imported · all year round

Preparation

It is cut in half and cooked for a few minutes; it is eaten cooked. Only bought, cultivated: picked in the wild, a young mushroom still in its “egg” can be a death cap, which is deadly.

Molecules

Mushroom beta-glucansIn small amounts, not counted Ergothioneine

Did you know?

Its gills turn pink with its spores, unlike those of amanitas; in Chinese, Lao and Vietnamese, its name means “straw mushroom”.