close_game
close_game

Gro pro: How India is making room for new kinds of shrooms

ByChristalle Fernandes
Oct 11, 2024 03:59 PM IST

India grows a staggering variety of mushrooms. Yet, we can’t move past the button variety. See how some growers are putting the fun in fungi

Why aren’t we eating more mushrooms? We already know they taste good – we’ve devoured porcini puffs, gucchi biryani, enoki bibimbap and quattro-fungi pizza at trendy restaurants. We know they’re nutritious too – all fibre, no fat, packed with Vitamin D. They’re easy to grow – they spring from sawdust, dead logs, straw, coffee grounds, even cardboard sheets. They’re sustainable – they require less water, energy, and land than vegetable crops. They’re literally a precious asset – earlier this year, researchers at Goa University published research on how they synthesised gold nanoparticles from roen olmi, a wild, local mushroom variety.

Most Indians are still wary of experimenting with expensive mushrooms. (ADOBE STOCK)
Most Indians are still wary of experimenting with expensive mushrooms. (ADOBE STOCK)
Namrata Goenka of Green Apron says shiitake, oyster, shimeji, and lion’s mane are popular right now.
Namrata Goenka of Green Apron says shiitake, oyster, shimeji, and lion’s mane are popular right now.
Prithvi Kini and Jashid Hameed of Nuvedo Mushrooms say mushroom extracts are becoming trendy.
Prithvi Kini and Jashid Hameed of Nuvedo Mushrooms say mushroom extracts are becoming trendy.
Rohhaan Gawde of The Mushroom Company, Mumbai, says he loves how unpredictable mushrooms are.
Rohhaan Gawde of The Mushroom Company, Mumbai, says he loves how unpredictable mushrooms are.
Catch your daily dose...
See more
Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Sunday, November 03, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On
// // //