Let’s take a look at the turkey tail mushroom, including a turkey tail mushroom recipe that’s a delicious treat.
Common mushrooms like button or portobello are easy to find and simple to add to almost any recipe.
It’s also fun to try new varieties of mushrooms, especially when they provide an added boost of health benefits.
The turkey tail mushroom is one of those unique types of fungus that is worth seeking out. It has a distinctive look, is edible, and gives extra support to our health and well-being.
What Is A Turkey Tail Mushroom?
The turkey tail’s official names are Trametes versicolor, Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor, with versicolor meaning “of several colors.” That’s because this fungus displays different colors.
The more common name of turkey tail is derived from the fact that its shape and colors resemble that of the tail of a wild turkey.
Turkey tail is common in North American forests, usually growing on decomposing hardwood logs and stumps. They can be found almost any time of year.
The cap or top of the mushroom has concentric circles of different colors, usually brown, reddish, grey, or white, and sometimes several of the colors are on one cap. The cap is thin and flexible, with a texture like fine fuzz. The turkey tail grows in layers.
What Are The Benefits of a Turkey Tail Mushroom?
Chinese medicine has long used turkey tail mushroom recipes for its general health-promoting effects, including endurance and longevity. It’s also used as an immune system booster and is believed to have anticarcinogenic properties. For these reasons, preparations such as dried powdered tea of the fungus are used in China and Japan in traditional medicine practices.
Recent scientific clinical trials are proving positive in displaying the many health benefits of the turkey tail:
Anti-cancer effects: The polysaccharides of the versicolor species have been shown to demonstrate anti-cancer effects, including immunostimulant action, and slowing the growth of cancer cells. Enhanced antibody production can be augmented by the mushroom’s polysaccharides, helping with cancer and tumour fighting. One study concluded that “the immunostimulatory effect coupled with direct toxicity to cancer cells by C. versicolor polysaccharides implies application even more than an adjuvant (enhancing the effectiveness of medical treatment) therapy.”
Treatment enhancing effects: The turkey tail has also been studied as an adjuvant, or an aid to other medical treatments. One study found that versicolor may provide benefits to the overall survival (mortality rate) and quality of life in cancer patients.
Antibacterial properties: Another study found that versicolor expressed “bactericidal activity,” showing that an extract could inhibit the growth of tested bacteria.
Anti-oxidant properties: While not as high as some other mushroom strains, the versicolor does display anti-oxidant properties. Anti-oxidants are substances that may protect your cells against free radicals, which, when left unchecked, could contribute to heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
Anti-hyperglycemic activity: One study suggested that extracellular polysaccharopeptides obtained from versicolor provided beneficial effects in preventing the development of diabetic complications in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Another study showed that it was effective in improving insulin sensitivity in rats.
Are There Other Health Benefits of the Turkey Tail?
Like all mushrooms, the turkey tail is low in salt, fat and calories. Edible mushrooms also comprise a maximum number of all essential amino acids, making them an ideal meat substitute.
Mushrooms are also rich in vitamins and minerals, such as niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and riboflavin (B2), along with Vitamin D, which is not common in non-animal-based food. The content of vitamin B12 in mushrooms is similar to that reported for beef, liver, and fish. Mushrooms are also rich in minerals, such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, and provide a good source of dietary fiber.
And, the turkey tail can even be helpful for our four-legged friends, as it’s a common medicinal mushroom given to dogs. One study found that dogs treated with a derivative of turkey tail mushroom had “the longest survival times ever reported for dogs” with the common canine cancer known as hemangiosarcoma. Turkey tail mushrooms also help treat inflammation of the digestive tract and urinary tract in dogs.
Finally, turkey tail mushrooms play an important role in the forest ecosystem as a recycler of dead and dying trees in forests throughout the world.
How Do You Eat Turkey Tail Mushrooms?
Turkey tail is not ideal if eaten raw, because it can be tough and chewy. People often dry the mushrooms to turn them into a powder.
You can also purchase them as a health food supplement, such as in powder, extract or capsule form. An excellent product to obtain the full benefits of this unique mushroom in a supplement form is made by Host Defense Mushrooms.
Or, try this turkey tail mushroom recipe, developed for Mushroom Health Guide, which gives you the benefits of versicolor in a delicious broth.
Immune Boosting Turkey Tail Mushroom Broth
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes
Yields: 10 cups of broth
Ingredients
● 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
● 2 yellow onions, sliced
● 4 garlic cloves, peeled then crushed
● 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
● 1 rib of celery, roughly chopped
● 1 cup fresh or dried turkey tail mushrooms
● 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
● 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
● 12 cups water
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions, garlic, carrot, and celery to the pot once the oil is hot.
3. Sauté for 10 minutes or until the aromatics have softened and start to develop some color.
4. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce/coconut aminos, and black peppercorns. Stir to incorporate.
5. Pour the water into the pot.
6. Bring to a rolling boil.
7. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
8. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh sieve.
9. Drink and enjoy.
Notes
Ensure that the turkey tail mushrooms used are sourced organically.
The broth can be enjoyed as is or added to various recipes.
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Final Thoughts
The turkey tail mushroom, like other mushrooms, has multiple health assets, like being low in fat and calories and high in vitamins and minerals.
The turkey tail has additional benefits, such as supporting immune functions, providing antiviral and cholesterol-regulating effects, and more. New clinical trials are demonstrating its help in supporting an improved quality of life after surgery and in combination with chemotherapy, as well as extended survival rates for cancer patients.
Anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, and anti-hyperglycemic properties also add to the powerful punch of this fungus. Those factors, and its delicious flavor, means it’s time to add versicolor to your health regimen.
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