Agaricus bisporus and many others

Turkish: mantar; French: champignon; Italian: fungo ; Spanish: seta; Greek: manitari; Arabic: futr

Plant characteristics

Mushrooms are fungi and not true vegetables. Fungi are plants that have no roots or leaves. They do not flower or set seed. There are some 35,000 to 40,000 varieties of mushrooms, not all of which are edible, and many of which are deadly poisonous.

All kinds of mushrooms are stewed, fried, pickled, and/or roasted in nearly all Mediterranean cuisines. Although there are many edible varieties of mushrooms, the following ones are mostly preferred:

• The porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis), also called cépe, bolete, or cep, is considered the best-tasting mushroom.
• The chanterelle or girolle mushroom (Chantarellus cibarius) is tuba- shaped and very expensive. It is considered a gourmet mushroom.

• The parasol mushroom (Lepiota procera), as its name implies, is a large umbrella-like mushroom that can grow a foot tall with a cap diameter of 8 inches.
• The horn of plenty mushroom (Craterellus cornucopioides) is a distinctive black mushroom that grows in cool, humid forests.
• The wood ear mushroom has a flattened cap and is crunchy; it is most often used in stews.

• The Caesar's mushroom (Amanita caesaria) is an expensive mushroom often spoken of the same breath as truffles or morels.

Morels (Morchella) and truffles (Tuber melanosporum) are fungi, but not true mushrooms. Mushrooms are basidiomycetes, a higher fungi having septate hyphae, bearing spores on a basidium. The so-called mushroom is the "fruit" or basidiocarp. Morels and truffles are ascomycetes, and the edible portion above ground is called an ascocarp. They are both rare and expensive.

There is no evidence of the use of mushrooms before the Neolithic period. There is some inconclusive evidence that mushrooms were eaten in Egypt, perhaps as early as the Late Predynastic period (3650-3300 B.C.). The ancient Greeks and Romans ate mushrooms. The ancient people also may have eaten porcini mushrooms. Most botanical writers over the centuries have advised taking the greatest caution with mushrooms. Mushroom cultivation began with the Romans and Greeks. The Romans collected truffles as we know from Juvenal, who wrote that fungi were thought to arise when lightning struck. We know that around 1600 mushroom cultivation continued in Europe.