Mushrooms may not be everyone’s first choice of vegetable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still reap their many benefits.
The Gruger Family started their mushroom farm in 2015 as a husband and wife operation that eventually grew into a four-person family business located in Nisku. They spend their time cultivating not only four different types of oyster mushrooms, but also three types of medicinal mushrooms with quite the laundry list of health benefits.
Oyster Mushrooms
The culinary mushrooms that the Gruger farm grow are; pink oysters, blue oysters, gold oysters, and king oysters. While all these mushrooms are similar in looks, they offer wildly different flavor profiles.
The pink oyster delivers a bold smokey flavor similar to bacon. Pan fry them in some oil and a few of your favorite spices for an amazing vegan bacon recipe.
The blue oyster has a nice rich woodsy flavor and when cooked takes on a soft and velvety texture.
The gold oysters change it up by offering mild fruity notes with their melt in your mouth texture.
The final mushroom is the largest of the bunch, the King oyster which offers a nutty cashew-like flavor and a rich meaty texture.
These mushrooms get exported to many restaurants and grocery stores in the Edmonton area, they can also be bought by going straight to the Gruger farm.
The Gruger family also specialize in growing medicinal mushrooms which are extracted and made into creams and tinctures that are sold in their store.
Photo via familyfungi.ca
Reishi Mushroom
The reishi mushroom is a very well researched fungi that can be used to boost your immune system by increasing the activity of a special type of white blood cells (natural killer cells) which can help fight infections and cancer in the body. The reishi mushrooms help the bacteria in your body get along to allow for your body to more easily inhibit all four allergic responses.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Lion’s mane is a natural healer of the nervous system, the extract from this mushroom has natural anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce mild symptoms of anxiety and depression. The lion’s mane mushroom also contains 2 special compounds that can stimulate the repair of myelin sheaths aiding in the regeneration of brain cells which can help protect against degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The compounds are also found to help speed up the recovery process from injuries to the nervous system.
Cordyceps Mushroom
The last medicinal mushroom they grow is cordyceps which is the perfect mushroom for athletes. Cordyceps increase the production of ATP (pure energy) in the body, which is essential to delivering energy to your muscles. This energy can help strengthen the lungs allowing more oxygen to get to the muscles which will reduce the buildup of lactic acid (the cause of workout hangover).
