What's your favorite fungus?

[Sapphire Lightning]

As a spin-off of "What is your favorite vegetable?" we would like to know what your favorite fungus is. Anything from nutritional yeast, to all of the mushrooms to foods that use fungus in them (bread, tempeh, etc).

For me it is good ol' nooch! I can eat the stuff on almost anything! I must go through a cup or more a week! (Oddly enough, I hate mushrooms... I'm an odd vegan...)

[brimstoneSalad]

I have to go with tempeh. No easier or cheaper meat analogue to make at home!

[Sapphire Lightning]

I have to go with tempeh. No easier or cheaper meat analogue to make at home!

Wait, you mean to make from scratch? How do you ensure you have the right culture? I can make seitan quickly... Or do you mean it is the easiest to cook up from a package? *curious*

[miniboes]

I don't know why bread would count, but if it does then I'd certainly say bread. It's extremely cheap, its convenience is hard to beat and it's quite healthy (whole grain bread, that is). I am also of the opinion it's tasty.

[EquALLity]

Tempeh is a fungus?

Tempeh is made from growing the fungus (aka mold/mould) Rhizopus oligosporus on soybeans or on other plant substrates like wheat, other grains, and beans. It is enjoyed worldwide for its edibility, unique flavor, and nutritional and medicinal qualities.

And it's made from mold? O_O
Oh, apparently a mold is just a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments. I'm guessing that's not the same mold on rotten food.

The only fungus I think I've eaten are mushrooms (I've never had tempeh). Aside from bread, which I didn't realize was a fungus. I like mushrooms better.
(Unless it's cinnamon bread or something, but generic sliced bread isn't something I really like on its own, unless it's toast with jelly... which I guess wouldn't really be on it's own. But then, I don't just eat mushrooms on their own either...).

[brimstoneSalad]

Wait, you mean to make from scratch? How do you ensure you have the right culture?

Yes. You have to start with a culture, which you can buy online (dry powder). After that, you can make your own starter if you want, or just keep using a packaged starter culture.

I can make seitan quickly... Or do you mean it is the easiest to cook up from a package? *curious*

Gluten flour is expensive. Nothing beats the price of dry beans.
It takes around 24 hours to culture the tempeh from the starter and beans, but the mold does all of the hard work.

[Sapphire Lightning]

I don't know why bread would count, but if it does then I'd certainly say bread. It's extremely cheap, its convenience is hard to beat and it's quite healthy (whole grain bread, that is). I am also of the opinion it's tasty.

The list includes food that use fungus as a part of making them, the mold in tempeh and the yeast used to leaven bread would count in that aspect. Bread was only added to round it out as tempeh was in the list as well. So really your answer would be baker's yeast (used to make bread rise).

[brimstoneSalad]

Bread probably doesn't count so much, since the fungus isn't essential and doesn't constitute much of the nutrition. Tempeh is visibly composed of fungus, and it's substantial both structurally and nutritionally. More like nutritional yeast.

[Sapphire Lightning]

Bread probably doesn't count so much, since the fungus isn't essential and doesn't constitute much of the nutrition. Tempeh is visibly composed of fungus, and it's substantial both structurally and nutritionally. More like nutritional yeast.

Good point, I guess bread is off the list then.

Now I am craving some nooch... Even though in the past 24 hours I have eaten atleast a 1/4 cup of it...

[PsYcHo]

Whatever mushrooms are floating in onion soup, on the rare occasions I eat that instead of miso.