Mushrooms Are Way More Amazing Than You Think

1. Mushrooms are the only item in the produce aisle with Vitamin D—and they’re one of the few non-fortified food sources. Mushrooms contain a fungal sterol 
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   (ergosterol) that converts to vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Mushroom growers have the ability to produce mushrooms with 100% Daily Value (400 IU) of vitamin D per serving, approximately 4-5 white button or crimini mushrooms, or one portabella.
3. Authors of a recent Nutrition Today article note mushrooms’ nutrient and culinary characteristics suggest it may be time to re-evaluate food groupings and health benefits by adding a third kingdom—fungi/mycology—to the existing two food kingdoms of plants/botany and animals/zoology.
4. Mushrooms are one of the few foods that provide ergothioneine, an important antioxidant related to immunity.
   
5. In 2012, Americans consumed four pounds of mushrooms per capita.
6. Mushrooms are claiming more space in the marketplace: They’re a $1.1 billion industry with more than 900 million pounds of mushrooms grown in the U.S. in the last year.
7. Approximately four million students across the country have the opportunity to order the mushroom blend burger at lunch, which is a mixture of ground meat and cooked mushrooms. And surprisingly, the blend burger has a 92% preference in school district pilots with k-12 students.
8. Speaking of mushroom blends, it looks like the kids are getting a preview of what’s to come in restaurants. Some of America’s favorite chefs, including Richard Blais, are leading the trend to blend and featuring mushroom blend items as a part of their menus in restaurants across the United States.
   
9. Pennsylvania knocks the other states out of the water when it comes to growing ‘shrooms: they made 65% of the total volume of sales this past year. In fact, Kennett Square, Pa., is considered the mushroom capital of the world! (Too much a stretch to wonder if they have mushroom houses too?)
10. Ancient Egyptians believed mushrooms were the plant of immortality, according to hieroglyphics 4,600 years ago.