Is A Mushroom a Vegetable? Classification & Nutritional Value
Mushrooms are delicious and healthy, and can be added to many different dishes. You can throw them in a salad or fry them with your steak.
Which raises the question: Is a Mushroom a Vegetable?
If it’s in a salad, it must be a vegetable. If it’s a side dish to a steak, it must be a vegetable. In fact, it’s often used as a meat substitute in vegetarian dishes, like a big, grilled portobello mushroom “burger” in a bun instead of a meat patty.
But does that alone make a mushroom a vegetable?
Let’s explore: what exactly is a mushroom, including classification and nutritional value.
What Is a Vegetable?
A vegetable is a plant, which requires chlorophyll. These green pigments exist in algae and plants and are essential in photosynthesis, the process by which plants absorb energy from light. Chlorophyll is also what gives plants their green color.
As a fungi, mushrooms do have cell walls and vacuoles, similar to plants. But mushrooms lack chlorophyll and don’t turn sunlight into energy. Instead, mushrooms have to take nutrients from other materials, such as dead and decaying matter, or from the root systems of living plants.
Vegetables also have leaves and seeds. Mushrooms do not.
In some instances, we eat part of the vegetable, like a bean, or the entire vegetable, like an onion. But that’s not what makes a vegetable a vegetable, since we also eat either part of a mushroom or the entire mushroom.
What is a Mushroom?
Mushrooms may seem to be a plant and we use them in the kitchen like a vegetable, but they are neither. A mushroom is not a plant or an animal. What food group is a mushroom?
A mushroom has its own “kingdom” in biology, that of a fungus (plural fungi).
Fungi includes yeasts, molds and rusts, as well as the mushroom species that we know and love to eat.
Much of the life cycle of a mushroom takes place under the soil where we can’t see, or beneath the bark of trees or other matter.
A mushroom fungus starts as a mycelium, which is a network of filaments in the soil, decomposing matter, or wood. The mycelium eventually “fruits,” which is the structure we know as a mushroom. The fruiting body emerges from the tree or the soil, and eventually releases spores.
These spores act like seeds do for vegetables, allowing the mushroom to reproduce. The smoke-like spores are emitted by the mushroom, and when they land in the right conditions, they germinate and create new mycelium, which in turn fruit into mushrooms, and the cycle continues.
Why Is a Mushroom a Fungus?
Fungus (plural fungi) is its own kingdom in the biological world, separate from plants, animals and bacteria. Fungi are similar to animals in that they acquire food by absorbing dissolved molecules. Fungi typically do that by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Unlike animals, however, the only way for fungi to move is by growing. Fungi are also important as decomposers in ecosystems.
Besides mushrooms, other examples of fungi include yeasts, which makes bread rise and turns grapes into wine and grain into beer. Other types of fungi are used to create antibiotics, or make blue cheese.
Mycology is the discipline of biology that is focused on the study of fungi. While mycology was once regarded as a branch of botany, it is now known that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants, genetically speaking.
Why Is a Mushroom Often Considered a Vegetable?
Mushrooms don’t turn sunlight into energy, but they use sunlight for other reasons. For instance, mushrooms are one of the few food sources where the precursor to vitamin D occurs naturally.
Ergosterol, which is found in mushrooms, is converted to vitamin D2 by exposure to UV light. A small amount of vitamin D2 is synthesized in mushrooms by exposure to naturally occurring UV light during growing or processing.
Despite the fact a mushroom is not a vegetable, they are often considered a vegetable, usually for their nutritional value.
The United States Department of Agriculture organizes vegetables into five subgroups based on their nutrient content: dark green; red and orange; beans, peas, and lentils; starchy; and other vegetables. For the purposes of their healthy eating guidelines, the USDA does count mushrooms as “other vegetables.”
That also raises the question why some people consider mushrooms as meat? Their texture and flavor are the answers to that question.
A variety like portobello is dense enough to stand up to grilling and provide a texture similar to a beef burger. Many mushrooms also boast umami flavor, or savoriness, which is one of the five basic tastes. Umami is characteristic of many cooked meats, so that makes mushrooms a great substitute for meat in certain dishes.
The Different Types of Mushrooms
Mushrooms are not one-size-fits-all. In fact, there are four different types of mushrooms.
Here’s a brief description of the four:
1. Saprotrophic mushrooms: These are the most common of the edible mushrooms, including the white button and portabella varieties. This type of mushroom breaks down plant matter and converts it into nutrients. These are found on dead and decaying wood, and in that way support the ecosystem by decomposing the tree or plant. There are two types of saprotrophic, the most common being litter decomposers that can break down any plant matter, and the wood decay variety.
2. Mycorrhizal mushrooms: These enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the plant they take on as host, so both the mushroom and the plant benefit. The most typical kind latch on to a plant’s root system and grow through the soil. In this way the mushroom extends the root system of the tree, and both organisms receive better access to nutrients deep within the soil. The mushroom also provides the plant with water and protection against certain diseases, and in exchange the mushroom receives nutrients from the plant, typically a tree.
3. Parasitic mushrooms: This variety builds a one-sided relationship with their host. Parasitic mushrooms get benefits from their host, stealing vital nutrients, without providing any benefits in return. Parasitic fungi eventually kill their host.
4. Endophyte fungi: These complex mushrooms take over the host’s tissue but don’t harm their host. The relationship is more similar to a symbiotic one, as the fungi help hosts obtain vital nutrients from the soil, provide water, and protect them from diseases. However, many types of endophytic fungus do not produce mushrooms.
Can you grow your own mushrooms?
Yes! Beginners will find oyster mushrooms a good variety to try first, as they are relatively easy to grow and there are several different types – golden and pink, for instance. Most oysters are saprotrophic, as are the white buttons that are also easy to grow at home. A growing kit makes it easy to start your mushroom-growing experience.
Parts of Mushrooms
For those who like to forage for mushrooms in the wild, knowing the different parts of a mushroom can help identify the different varieties.
Here are the key parts of the mushroom:
The cap: the top of the mushroom, often shaped like an umbrella.
The gills: the underside of the cap, layered structures that are different colors and have different features, making them an important part of identification. How they attach to the stem is also part of the ID of mushrooms.
The stem: is the structure that rises from the ground and supports the cap.
The mycelium: these are the underground fibers that can’t be seen. They spread unseen, looking for nutrients, eventually fruiting to become the mushroom.
The spores: are the seeds of a mushroom, a dust-like substance that is released as the mushroom ends its growth cycle. When the spores land in the right conditions, they germinate and that’s how the mushroom reproduces.
Edible & Poisonous Mushrooms
It’s also important for those who forage for mushrooms to know that some are edible, and some are poisonous. Some poisonous mushrooms closely resemble edible varieties. Some mushrooms have toxins that can cause serious and even deadly effects, and others cause gastrointestinal issues without long-term effects.
There are four common poisonous mushrooms, including the False Morel, which closely resembles the popular morel. The others are the Death Cap, the Destroying Angel, and the Jack O’Lantern.
When hunting for mushrooms in the wild, make sure you’re confident you’re picking an edible mushroom. It’s best to consult with a local expert, have a reputable mushroom book or guide with you, or leave it in the wild if you’re not certain.
The Nutritional Value of Mushrooms
If you’re wondering, is eating mushrooms good for you? The short answer is yes. In general, all edible mushrooms provide health benefits.
There are some differences between mushrooms, with some providing additional advantages. Ancient medicine has long believed in the power of mushrooms, and science is now proving these beneficial properties:
- Antioxidant, helping to fight the free radicals that can damage cells
- Support treatments with cancer-fighting and tumor-fighting properties
- Anti-inflammatory
- Boost the immune system
- Brain-boosting
- Aid with sleep
- Combat allergies
- Help balance blood sugar
- Help fight off depression
- Aid in digestion
- Rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals
Then there are specific benefits that each type of mushroom can provide. For instance, the easy-to-grow oyster mushroom has displayed the following boosts to well-being in clinical studies:
- supports cardiometabolic health
- helps prevent insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity
- is antibacterial
- has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-tumor effects
The Reishi, Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms are said to have brain-boosting power. Mushrooms are also being studied for their lectins, which provide antitumor and immunomodulatory activities.
Mushrooms also provide taste and texture to recipes while being low in fat and cholesterol, and high in fiber.
And if for some reason you don’t like the taste or texture of mushrooms, you can still access the advantages by drinking mushroom tea or using mushroom powder in smoothies.
The Health Value of Mushrooms
We are catching on to the taste and health value of mushrooms. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the volume of sales of the 2020-2021 United States mushroom crop totaled 758 million pounds, and the value of sales for the 2020-2021 United States mushroom crop was $1.06 billion USD.
Mushrooms provide more than good taste and boosts to our well-being. Mushrooms are also an extremely important part of forest ecosystems.
Depending on the type of mushroom, they play a role in breaking down matter like dead trees and returning nutrients and carbon to the forest soil. Other mushrooms combine with the roots of the tree to enhance the tree’s ability to absorb nutrients.
Fungi that decay wood and litter matter serve the role of recycling carbon, minerals, and nutrients for use by other organisms. That also contributes to the soil’s physical properties.
As logs decompose, fungal fruiting bodies are a major source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Fungi also provide a food source for different species in the wild, including mammals and microbes.
As science learns more about mushrooms, we continue to learn the important role they play in biology as well as in supporting our overall health.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to the kitchen, the question “is a mushroom a vegetable?” is not as important as “what can I cook that includes mushrooms?” These versatile fungi – which are not vegetable, fruit or animal – can be used in salads, stir-fry dishes, pasta and rice recipes, or on their own as a meat substitute.
What’s important to know about mushrooms is that they play a vital role in forest ecosystems, and the edible versions provide us with a multitude of health benefits, along with their unique texture and flavor.
Sources
https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-facts/mushroom-facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll
https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/units/restoration/focus/mycology/
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/mush0821.pdf
https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400525/Articles/AICR09_Mushroom_VitD.pdf
https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/food-group-gallery
https://apps.fs.usda.gov/r6_decaid/views/fungi.html
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