When it comes to selenium content, mushrooms surpass all other items in the produce category. White button mushrooms are also good selenium sources. With a significant amount of selenium in every serving, mushrooms could turn out to be important ingredients in a cancer-fighting diet, especially in lowering the risk of prostate cancer.
They are also good sources of three essential B-vitamins: riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. Mushrooms are a particularly rich source of riboflavin: a serving of white mushrooms supplies one-quarter of what we need daily. They are rather under-recognised source of potassium, an element that helps regulate blood pressure, helps keep the right balance of water in fat and muscle tissues, and helps ensure the proper functioning of cells.
Whether you’re counting carbs or calories—or just trying to include more health foods in your diet—fresh mushrooms are an ideal fit. Five medium mushrooms contain only 20 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrate, and are virtually fat free.
HOW TO COOK MUSHROOMS
There is nothing like fried mushrooms on toast for breakfast, served sizzling hot straight from the pan. Once cooked, mushrooms go soft and flabby, they taste okay, but the pleasure is not so great. They are largely composed of water and shrink noticeably during cooking. They also take up a lot of fat as they cook so it is best to use butter or a good olive oil for frying. Fry them briskly so that as they shrink the water evaporates and they don’t stew in their own juices. For the same reason, do not fry too many mushrooms at once in the same pan. Mushrooms should also never be washed but wipe with a damp cloth or a kitchen towel. Unless the skins are very discoloured, it should not be necessary to peel them, although you probably will need to trim the very base of the stem.
They are also good sources of three essential B-vitamins: riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. Mushrooms are a particularly rich source of riboflavin: a serving of white mushrooms supplies one-quarter of what we need daily. They are rather under-recognised source of potassium, an element that helps regulate blood pressure, helps keep the right balance of water in fat and muscle tissues, and helps ensure the proper functioning of cells.
Whether you’re counting carbs or calories—or just trying to include more health foods in your diet—fresh mushrooms are an ideal fit. Five medium mushrooms contain only 20 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrate, and are virtually fat free.
HOW TO COOK MUSHROOMS
There is nothing like fried mushrooms on toast for breakfast, served sizzling hot straight from the pan. Once cooked, mushrooms go soft and flabby, they taste okay, but the pleasure is not so great. They are largely composed of water and shrink noticeably during cooking. They also take up a lot of fat as they cook so it is best to use butter or a good olive oil for frying. Fry them briskly so that as they shrink the water evaporates and they don’t stew in their own juices. For the same reason, do not fry too many mushrooms at once in the same pan. Mushrooms should also never be washed but wipe with a damp cloth or a kitchen towel. Unless the skins are very discoloured, it should not be necessary to peel them, although you probably will need to trim the very base of the stem.
