Chennai, March 20 -- About

Mushrooms are true wonder foods. They are basically the fruiting bodies of certain fungi. However, not all mushrooms are edible. There are also those mushrooms that are poisonous.

Edible mushrooms are gradually gaining popularity worldwide due to their high content of certain essential protective nutrients. Fresh mushrooms need to be consumed quickly as they have limited shelf life whereas canned mushrooms have a greater shelf life.

Mushrooms were initially grown and eaten by the poor people of Himachal Pradesh region before they became known to the research experts and the common man. It was observed that these fungi needed only waste twigs, fresh waste disposal and cow dung to grow. Since then, the cultivat...