One Mushroom a Day: Flammulina enoki

(Xuping Tang）

Chinese people enjoy eating mushrooms, especially enoki mushrooms. Its smooth and crisp texture, along with its fresh and fragrant flavor, affordable price, and high nutritional content, have made it a favorite among people. Whether used in soups, cold salads, stir-fries, side dishes, hot pot, or Japanese cuisine, it is considered a top-quality ingredient. However, all the enoki mushrooms available in supermarkets are cultivated artificially. These cultivated enoki mushrooms have some differences in terms of nutrition, texture, and even appearance compared to wild enoki mushrooms.

Wild enoki mushrooms, also known as velvety stem mushrooms or velvety enoki mushrooms (scientific name: Flammulina velutipes), are named for the characteristic black velvety fuzz on the lower part of their stems. The English term “velvet foot” and the German term “Samtfu?” both refer to this feature.

Enoki mushrooms can be found worldwide and are a type of edible mushroom that thrives in low-temperature environments. They grow best at temperatures around 8°C and are highly sensitive to moisture levels. The fruiting body, which can withstand freezing temperatures, is typically 2-10 centimeters wide, with thin flesh that ranges from honey-yellow to reddish-brown. The center tends to be darker and somewhat oily. They often grow in clusters on trees during cold seasons, earning them the nickname “winter mushroom.”

Just like now, we have just experienced a rare heavy snowfall in Munich. When we were walking after the snow, by the creek in front of our house, we accidentally saw several clusters of enoki mushrooms growing on the trees, their golden color among the white snow. Especially eye-catching. In this cold season with fewer mushrooms available, the deliciousness and nutritional value of enoki mushrooms have already made them a favorite among mushroom enthusiasts, just like wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, during the winter.

However, the yield of wild Enoki mushrooms has always been very low, and peoples demand for it is very high. Therefore, people have been looking for ways to cultivate it artificially for a long time. Until 1928 in the last century, Hikosaburo Moriki of Kyoto, Japan It was only then that the cultivation technology using sawdust and rice bran as culture media was invented, which started the large-scale artificial cultivation of Enoki mushrooms. During the cultivation process, to eliminate the impact of the fuzz on the mushroom stems on the texture, people gradually bred enoki mushroom varieties with slender and long stems and small caps that dont open easily. This led to the enoki mushrooms we see today: one type is white in color, also known as silver needle mushrooms, which are whiter and thinner, while the other type is yellow enoki mushrooms, which have a creamy yellow color. Large-scale cultivation has made enoki mushrooms the third-largest artificially cultivated edible mushroom in the world, following only button mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms in terms of production volume.

Flammulina enoki mushrooms have many nicknames. There is a very foreign and funny name called “see you tomorrow” which literally translates to “see you tomorrow”. This is mainly because enoki mushrooms contain more dietary fiber, and humans lack the enzymes to digest this type of dietary fiber. Therefore, as long as you do not chew thoroughly, the enoki mushrooms you eat the day before will definitely be excreted unchanged the next day. Due to this mixed reputation, it seems that eating enoki mushrooms is still a test of whether your teeth work well. Furthermore, they are also known as “brain-boosting mushrooms” because they are rich in amino acids and protein, which can enhance memory and cognitive function. They are especially beneficial for promoting intellectual development in children.

For mushrooms like enoki mushrooms, which have both medicinal and dietary properties, there are early records in traditional Chinese medicine’s ancient text “Ben Cao Gang Mu” (本草纲目). Enoki mushrooms are described as having a cool nature and a sweet taste, and they are attributed to the spleen and large intestine meridians. They are known for their ability to nourish the liver and benefit the digestive system. They can be effective in treating liver disorders, ulcers, and constipation. Additionally, enoki mushrooms are believed to have properties that help clear damp-heat, expand the chest, promote diuresis, stop bleeding, and facilitate lactation. For postpartum women experiencing insufficient milk production, consuming enoki mushrooms stewed with lean meat is considered highly effective in increasing milk supply.

Furthermore, modern medical research has discovered that enoki mushrooms are highly nutritious and offer various health benefits when consumed regularly:

1.Enoki mushrooms have a high protein content and contain vitamins B1 and B2, along with 18 different amino acids, including 8 essential ones for the human body. The total amount of amino acids in enoki mushrooms constitutes around 20% of their dry weight. Lysine, in particular, is beneficial for childrens bone growth and intellectual development, which is one of the main reasons they are referred to as “brain-boosting mushrooms.”

2.Enoki mushrooms contain a compound called enokipodin, which has been found to have certain inhibitory effects on specific tumors. Additionally, the dietary fiber found in enoki mushrooms can help lower cholesterol levels, making them beneficial for preventing and managing cardiovascular diseases. Enoki mushrooms also possess detoxifying properties and can aid in detoxification from certain heavy metals.

3. Flammulina velutipes is a high-potassium and low-sodium food. Eating enoki mushrooms can improve the bodys immunity, resist fatigue, and have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.

Considerations when consuming enoki mushrooms:

1. Dont eat too much at one time, because mushrooms contain high fiber, and eating too much may cause diarrhea; in addition, patients with lupus erythematosus or arthritis are best not to eat often, otherwise it will make the condition worse.

2. When cooking enoki mushrooms, avoid overcooking them. It is better to enjoy them in salads or in hot pot dishes. Also, make sure to chew them thoroughly, as they may not be effectively digested and absorbed by the body if not properly chewed.

In the Figure 1, Artificially cultivated silver needle mushrooms and golden needle mushrooms

In the Figure 2, Wild enoki mushrooms on a dry tree by the creek in front of the gate

In the Figure 2 and 4, The distinguishing feature of wild enoki mushrooms is the presence of black hairs on both the upper and lower sides of the mushroom cap, with a black fuzz on the stem.

In Figure 5, wild enoki mushrooms cluster and grow at the base of the tree, with golden-yellow, greasy caps.

In Figure 6, a post-snow stroll reveals that the enoki mushrooms have long been frozen into ice-cold beauties, yet they still hold their beauty.”

Author information：

Xuping Tang, Munich, Germany

一日一菇：金針菇

唐旭萍

中國人喜歡吃蘑菇，尤其愛吃金針菇，它的滑嫩，爽脆，鮮美清香的味道，親民的價格及高含量的營養成分，讓它早已深受人們的喜愛，無論是用它來做湯，涼拌，清炒，配菜，涮火鍋或日本料理，都是上好的食材，只是我們在超市中所買的金針菇全都是人工培育的，這些改良種植的金針跟野生的金針菇無論從營養，口感甚至外型都有一定的差別。

野生的金針菇又稱絨柄小火菇或絨柄金錢菇（拉丁學名：Flammulina velutipes，英文名：velvet foot mushroom,德文名：Samtfuβrüblinge，）英文velvet foot 及德文Samtfuβ都是指它的菌柄下面部分有黑色絨毛的這項特性。

金針菇可見於世界各地，屬於低溫型的食用蘑菇，最適合生長的溫度是8℃左右，而且對於水分的需求很敏感，能抗凍的子實體寬約2-10厘米，果肉薄，呈蜜黃色至紅棕色，中心顏色較深，油膩，大多成簇生長在寒冷的季節的樹上，因而它又被稱為冬菇（winter mushroom)。

就像現在，我們慕尼黑剛經歷過一場罕見的大雪，當雪後散步時，就在家門口的小溪邊，不經意就看見好幾簇長在樹上的金針菇，在白雪之中它那金黃的顏色尤為醒目。在現今這種寒冷少菇的季節裡，金針菇的美味和營養早就使得它和木耳，平茹一樣成為我們這些釆菇人冬季的最愛。

然而，野生金針菇的產量一直很低，而人們對於它的需求又很大，因而很早就有人一直在尋找可以人工培育的方法來種殖它，直到上世記的1928年日本京都的森木彥三郎才發明了以木屑、米糠為培養基的種植技術，這才開啟了金針菇的大量人工種植，並且在培育的過程中，為了消除菌柄絨毛對口感的影響，人們也逐漸培育出了菌柄細而長、菌蓋小而不易張開的金針菇品種，也使得金針菇逐漸成為了我們今天所看到的模樣：一種為白色的金針菇，又名銀針菇，較白、較細；另一種為黃色的金針菇，顏色為乳黃色。大量的人工種植使得金針菇已成為僅次於雙孢菇及香菇之後世界上產量第三大的人工栽培食用菌。

金針菇有許多渾名，有一個非常洋氣且好笑的名字叫「see you tomorrow」直譯就為「明天見」。這主要是因為金針菇含有較多的膳食纖維，而人類又缺乏消化這類膳食纖維的酶，所以只要你咀嚼不徹底，那你前一天吃的金針菇一定會在第二天呈原樣排出，所以才得來這個江湖混名，看來吃金針菇還是很考驗你的牙齒是否好使。另外它也被稱為“益智菇”，因為它富含氨基酸，旦白質，能增強記憶，開發智力，特別是促進兒童的智力發展有特殊的功能。

对于金针菇这种药食同源的菇类，早在中医的古籍《本草纲目》中就有记载：金针菇性凉，味甘，归脾、大肠经。具有补肝、益肠胃之功效，对于肝病、溃疡，便秘都有一定的治疗作用，另外它也具有利湿热、宽胸、利尿、止血、下乳的功效，对于产后乳汁不下的产妇，可用金针菇炖瘦肉食用，下奶的效果极佳。

另外現代醫學研究也發現金針菇含有大量營養，常吃金針菇對身體有許多的好處：

1.金針菇的蛋白質含量高，並含有維生素B1、B2及18種氨基酸，其中有8種是人體必需的，氨基酸的總量佔金針菇乾重的20%左右，其中的賴氨酸特別有利於兒童骨骼成長和智力發育，這也是它被叫做＂益智菇＂的主要原因。

2.金針菇所含金針菇素與糖蛋白對某些腫瘤有一定抑製作用，還有它所含的膳食纖維能降低膽固醇，可用於防治心臟和腦血管疾病。而它也對某些重金屬有解毒、排毒作用。

3.金針菇是一種高鉀低鈉食品，食用金針菇可提高身體免疫力，具有抵抗疲勞，抗菌消炎的功效。

吃金針菇時要注意的問題：

1.一次不要吃太多，因為蘑菇含有高纖維，吃多了可能導致腹瀉；另外，患有紅斑性狼瘡或關節炎的病人最好不要常吃，否則會讓病情加重。

2.在烹飪上應避免過度烹調，而涼拌或涮火鍋是較好的吃法。還有一定要好好嚼爛，要不然它不能被身體消化和吸收。

图1人工培育的银针菇和金针菇