Philotic Web

I love mushrooms. Fungi are our friends. If I didn't dislike the life-sciences as a field of study, mycology would be of great interest to me.

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_o ... world.html

Fungi are awesome. Badass, you might say. Their own kingdom, apart from Plants and Animals. We're more closely related to your average 'shroom than we are to plants. If you actually take the time to watch the video, comment.

it's been too long since I had pan fried, battered fresh morels.

watched it. GREAT share, Satya, going on facebook, and pointing my brother, who works in the ethanol industry on cellulosic ethanol, towards it.

Food, medicine, energy... 'shrooms got it all.

love the whole fungi thing too I've long been thinking of a comercial growing operation. I have a spot 50 miles from home that sprouts a nice batch of white chanterells the second week of September some years twice, they,re my favorite!

Mushrooms are one of my favorite pizza toppings. In fact, mushroom pizza, no other extraneous toppings, is pretty tasty.

I love mushrooms. [...] Their own kingdom, apart from Plants and Animals.

Must not... make... Mario reference...

Had to.

Ah, the interconnectivity of the interwebs.

I am cursed to be married to someone who hates mushrooms.

I used to really, really, REALLY hate mushrooms. I'm not sure what happened, but I remember suddenly not totally hating a stew that had shiitakes in it, and even kind of liking the shiitakes. Since then I've broadened my horizons but I'm still a bit picky when it comes to texture.

It's made being vegetarian easier, I admit. A lot of restaurants and people seem to think that if you can't have meat, you love mushrooms or something - the veggie option is almost invariably mushroom based. While my gripe about lack of creativity is a separate issue, I am glad to have acquired a taste for mushrooms especially for this reason.

A lot of restaurants and people seem to think that if you can't have meat, you love mushrooms or something - the veggie option is almost invariably mushroom based.

Meat is typically the center focus of a dish. If you can't have meat, you still have to have something as the center focus. Mushrooms are a convenient replacement, even looking similar in some cases (like portobello burgers).

A lot of restaurants and people seem to think that if you can't have meat, you love mushrooms or something - the veggie option is almost invariably mushroom based.

Meat is typically the center focus of a dish. If you can't have meat, you still have to have something as the center focus. Mushrooms are a convenient replacement, even looking similar in some cases (like portobello burgers).

It's lazy and uncreative, even if it's convenient. It tells me that the chef can't be bothered to put a little effort in. It's a bit like egg salad sandwiches that way. Do you have any idea how many mushroom risottos I've had, because it was the only option without meat? If I were someone who hated mushrooms still, this would be a problem.

And there are a lot of people who hate mushrooms - it's a stupid thing, business-wise, to ignore a part of your customer base. If you're only going to have one option, make it one that appeals to the widest possible customer base.

Also, portobello burgers are gross. So are eggplant burgers.

/rant

Well, vegetarians shouldn't be too quick to gripe about difficulty in being a vegetarian anyways . Society is set up for an omnivorous species, and omnivorism is the most consistent, healthy, universal human diet. Granted that society is quickly falling off the edge of the earth in terms of unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyles, but that actually has very little to do with "meat" and much more to do with processed sugars/carbs/starches, oils and saturated fats. Meat and mushrooms belong together. Steak smothered in garlic and mushrooms? That's the ticket.

Well, jews shouldn't be too quick to gripe about difficulty in being a jew anyways . Society is set up for an Aryan species, and Aryan is the most consistent, healthy, universal race.

But really, think it's hard? Try avoiding mushrooms and even onions (they're everywhere!); jains I expect have a difficult time in (certain parts of) america.

You mistake me. I think it's stupid on a business level. If you know you have a group of people who can only eat one item on your menu, it's in your own best interest to make it as appealing to those people as possible, or they'll go somewhere else. Alienating a group of people because your offering "should be good enough" might make you feel good, but it won't make you money.

Lack of creativity is a different issue, but that bugs me as someone who just loves food. Though come to think of it, it doesn't make good business sense, either. If ten places in town all offer a mushroom risotto, how are you going to stand out? I guarantee I'll be more intrigued by an asparagus and rocket risotto than yet another mushroom one.

Mushrooms really gross me out. There's a creepy texture issue for me... and then I have a hard time getting past the whole fungus issue. You know what else is a fungus? Ringworm and athlete's foot.


ETA: I also have a thing about foods that are sprouting. Bean sprouts? No. Quinoa? Nope. Beans/roots/etc that are actively sprouting? Nope. Once they're sprouting they're using up all the good parts!


I guess what I'm saying is I have weird food hangups.

Well, jews shouldn't be too quick to gripe about difficulty in being a jew anyways . Society is set up for an Aryan species, and Aryan is the most consistent, healthy, universal race.

But really, think it's hard? Try avoiding mushrooms and even onions (they're everywhere!); jains I expect have a difficult time in (certain parts of) america.

That's a stupid analogy, and poorly executed at that. The dietary portions of Mosaic law are not difficult to comply with (though every other portion is, which is why so much of it is abrogated for modern times.) I myself am allergic to pretty much any seafood that isn't fish, that's a huge part of the law right there that I already comply with. The best cuts of beef are kosher. Nobody in most parts of America and other parts of the world eats rabbits or insects either. Pigs are actually quite an unhealthy species to eat, it's just that in modern times with modern scientific understanding, food preparation can make it relatively safe. So there's no health difference or whatever; which is why that's a stupid joke and you couldn't even make a halfway decent attempt to make it funny, just quoted and replaced a word. Stupid. I actually have zero problem with the Hebraic dietary laws, they made perfect sense for the time. I think they're an example of God acting in the best interest of His people.

Ok. And as for vegetarian offerings at restaurants not being 'creative' enough; it's simply not a big enough demographic to warrant any extra time or money - it doesn't make sense from a business standpoint unless you're working a very tight niche or have a highly populated urban area with a greater total number of potential consumers. The people who create a restaurants menu are taking the following factors into consideration - what the direction, theme or style of the restaurant is; what's going to sell well and make the restaurant profitable; and the cost of the menu offerings. Devoting any real amount of time and resource to having a well-rounded, 'creative' vegetarian set of options on a menu is simply not in the best interest of most restaurants, and guess what? The market bears that out. Restaurants show exactly that. Which is why, for foreseeable future, it will stay that way.

Mushrooms really gross me out. There's a creepy texture issue for me... and then I have a hard time getting past the whole fungus issue. You know what else is a fungus? Ringworm and athlete's foot.

You seem to get past the "cheese" issue. Know what's on cheese? Know what makes cheese "cheese"? In some cases, bacteria. In some cases, fungus. MOLD.

Know what else is a fungus? Yeast. Enjoy flatbreads for the rest of your life. Also, soy sauce requires fungi.

Miss Swiss if you don't like sprouts then you don't like beer and thats just sad!

Are we seriously pretending that vegetarians are "born that way," now?

Alienating a group of people because your offering "should be good enough" might make you feel good, but it won't make you money.

It probably doesn't lose them any money either, though. I agree it sucks for people with special dietary needs or preferences, but from a business perspective the cost of additional ingredients, recipes, employee training, etc. probably outweighs the relatively negligible sales increase from a niche market.

It probably doesn't lose them any money either, though. I agree it sucks for people with special dietary needs or preferences, but from a business perspective the cost of additional ingredients, recipes, employee training, etc. probably outweighs the relatively negligible sales increase from a niche market.

Uh, yeah. Bingo.

Are we seriously pretending that vegetarians are "born that way," now?

Vegetarian rights are civil rights!

Alienating a group of people because your offering "should be good enough" might make you feel good, but it won't make you money.

It probably doesn't lose them any money either, though. I agree it sucks for people with special dietary needs or preferences, but from a business perspective the cost of additional ingredients, recipes, employee training, etc. probably outweighs the relatively negligible sales increase from a niche market.

I would agree, except that it's far cheaper to do, for example, a lentil based dish than a mushroom based dish. Mushrooms tend to be expensive.

The dietary portions of Mosaic law

Actually, I wasn't even thinking of that (I could have easily picked 'black people'), though I can certainly see it in retrospect. It was just for the Aryan thing, really.

It's lazy and uncreative, even if it's convenient. It tells me that the chef can't be bothered to put a little effort in.
[...]
And there are a lot of people who hate mushrooms

I'm no vegetarian, but I do empathize. I am a hugely picky eater, to the point where I take food with me on any trip where I have to depend on someone else's cooking for more than one meal. It's just too dependable that I won't be able to eat something served.

For a sampler, I don't eat: whole fruit, beans, cheese, donuts, coffee, alcohol, and most vegetables. Oh, and mushrooms.

Back in Scouts, I hiked 50 miles with an extra jar of peanut butter in my backpack. Near the end, when the backpacks started getting a little too light, it was a great bargaining chip.

I myself am about as far away from a picky eater as you can get. If it's edible, I'll probably eat it. I find it more work to pick food off an item or special order an item, hoping that they don't mess it up, than it is to just eat what they give me.

I also don't understand vegetarians. But that's neither here nor there.

I like mushrooms only when they are surrounded in other food stuffs. On their own, mushrooms are like... doughy dirt. However, properly cooked or in the presence of other items they can really add to the dish.

The dietary portions of Mosaic law

Actually, I wasn't even thinking of that

What... food? The thing we're talking about? See, this is why you're unfunny.

I propose this as Satya's new avatar

I back the above proposal.

You might like these instead...

lol 2nd one is awesome XD

I like it because you can't tell if he's buying the 'shrooms or selling them to the Toad.

Ever see a series called "There Will Be Brawl"? Luigi's a mushroom dealer in it; unfortunately I don't have an image illustrating such, or I'd share one.