# Can you ferment mushrooms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776 "2011-07-20T23:42:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/21 "2012-08-17T07:09:37Z")
> [@Vlad\_Igor](#): > > Insufferable biochemistry boffin here: fermentation of alcohol is an oxidative process that leads to ethanol. Other chemicals or proteins can be oxidized to create other products that add flavors to alcoholic beverages. Mushrooms seem to me to be pretty high on the oxidative scale and pretty low on the complexity scale. They are found on plants and on the ground, breaking them down into less complex, oxidized substances. Moulds will grow on mushrooms - there are even species of fungi, mould and bacteria that specialise on the fruiting bodies of other fungi. > [@](#): > > Think about it: have you ever seen mold growing on mushrooms that you forgot about in the refrigerator? Me neither. Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. Mushrooms left in an open container in the fridge (especially a cardboard carton) tend to shrivel and dry, but try leaving them in a plastic bag or other container closed to prevent moisture loss and they will decompose, under the action of moulds, yeasts, bacteria and possibly their own enzymes, into something decidedly UN-mushroomy. Sometimes that end result is horrible, but the process (like any other fermentation) can be controlled so as to make sauces and other products. > [@](#): > > They just dry up, at which point they become something exotic to add to Japanese/Chinese food you might be cooking. That’s a bit like saying grapes can’t be fermented because they just dry up into those little shrivelled brown things that are used in fruit cakes. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/22 "2012-08-17T08:42:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > [Surströmming - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming) Funny you should bring that up right now as yesterday was the start of the _surströmming_ season. It’s a quite popular game in Sweden to serve it to unsuspecting foreigners, but apparently Japanese can handle it quite well as there is a similar dish in Japan made from beans. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/23 "2012-08-17T08:50:18Z")
I don’t know where these figures of low carbohydrate content are coming from. Looking at the scientific literature the [**carbohydrate content is 50 to 65% of dry weight**](http://www.ndpublisher.in/IJFFT_December_2012.pdf#page=57). Chitin alone [accounts for 7% of the dry weight](http://www.artigocientifico.com.br/uploads/artc_1172346704_91.pdf), [non-structural polysaccharide make up a further 10%](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031942200818786) and [free sugars a further 11%](http://www.ndpublisher.in/IJFFT_December_2012.pdf#page=57) with the remainder being mostly starch. Just to give some perspective, that carbohydrate content is comparable to that of soybeans, higher than many varieties. And nobody in their right mind suggest you can’t ferment soybeans because there isn’t enough carbohydrate. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/24 "2012-08-17T08:51:19Z")
Surströmming season already? Hot diggity! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/25 "2012-08-17T08:58:23Z")
I love the description where it said that the aroma was so overwhelming that it was usually eaten outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/26 "2012-08-17T09:36:40Z")
Only it isn’t true. If it’s eaten outdoors it’s because it’s still summer and warm enough to sit there. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/27 "2012-08-17T10:13:19Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > I don’t know where these figures of low carbohydrate content are coming from. Looking at the scientific literature the [**carbohydrate content is 50 to 65% of dry weight**](http://www.ndpublisher.in/IJFFT_December_2012.pdf#page=57). Chitin alone [accounts for 7% of the dry weight](http://www.artigocientifico.com.br/uploads/artc_1172346704_91.pdf), [non-structural polysaccharide make up a further 10%](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031942200818786) and [free sugars a further 11%](http://www.ndpublisher.in/IJFFT_December_2012.pdf#page=57) with the remainder being mostly starch. > Just to give some perspective, that carbohydrate content is comparable to that of soybeans, higher than many varieties. And nobody in their right mind suggest you can’t ferment soybeans because there isn’t enough carbohydrate. I think it’s just that people are looking at the percentages expressed against fresh product, which is mostly water (not that this matters much to fermentation processes, which generally like things to be wet) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/28 "2012-08-17T10:19:01Z")
Ahh, that would make sense. But as you note, the reasoning is wrong. There’s more than enough carbohydrate in mushrooms for them to ferment. You just don’t want to add much additional water. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/29 "2012-08-17T13:23:11Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Ahh, that would make sense. But as you note, the reasoning is wrong. There’s more than enough carbohydrate in mushrooms for them to ferment. You just don’t want to add much additional water. Yeah, I’m wondering about that now I’ve thought about it more. According to online sources, cucumbers have about 3.6 g of carbs per 100 g. White mushrooms have 3.3 per 100 g. (I’m using [this official USDA source](http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3076)). Cucumbers ferment fine. Just cover them in a brine, and let them go. You don’t even have to add any sugar. I mean, you’ll have some garlic and dill in there, so I guess there’s more fermentables, but they’re still classified as lacto-fermented cucumbers, aka a kosher pickle. I don’t see why mushrooms wouldn’t work the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/30 "2012-08-17T14:26:35Z")
For what it’s worth, when I go to the pickle booths at the farmers markets and asked for “pickled mushrooms,” they say they don’t have pickled mushrooms but they do have “marinated mushrooms.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/31 "2012-08-17T14:37:37Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > For what it’s worth, when I go to the pickle booths at the farmers markets and asked for “pickled mushrooms,” they say they don’t have pickled mushrooms but they do have “marinated mushrooms.” Those are (in my experience) an oil-and-vinegar type of concoction. Pickled mushrooms don’t have oil in them and taste much more sour. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/32 "2012-08-22T23:31:57Z")
well, when they add mushrooms to soy sauce to make ( ahem ) mushroom soy sauce are the mushies fermented with the soy or just flavor inducers? ---
**Author:** ![Copper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Copper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Copper)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/33 "2012-08-29T03:36:26Z")
When you add mushrooms to sugar water, the sugar grows the mycelium, and it starts to taste like mushrooms, or whatever mushroom you put in, and the strength of the mushroom really comes out. I’ll tell you about a few of them. Lion’s Mane, put in a clamp jar, become a great ferment which fumes, and whose fumes build up and escape outside the jar to crystallize outside the seal. The substance should be called Smart Sugar. Ignored it for many months, but I tasted it and it made me feel like I was getting smarter. Chaga, is Lion’s Mane’s cousin. Fermented, it pshysiologically put a word on my tongue, ‘Siberia’, and more… ‘lost’ and ‘self-hateful’. In the end it went to my head and said, and made me feel, ‘Ingenious’. Woodear, left to ferment for three months, tasted like an ear, physiologically said, ‘Mulrooney’(my last name), and connected my ear to my throat, making me operatic for a few minutes. Blue foot chanterelle fermented starts out tasting like a foot, and a bit lonely, and a month of it makes you immune to loneliness; very abstractly and mental. Cordyeceps, the parasite mushroom, starts tasting like skin, hands and feet. Fully fermented(it carbonates a lot), it tastes like politics, and just like politics, i have no use for it. Maitake is the mushroom of love, I gave a ferment to my neighbors(don’t know if they drank it); doesn’t make you fall in love, just makes you feel it, like something in your chest. Reishi is the shroom of hate. it’s a very hard mushroom, and you must become very hard to become hate. I guess Reishi mixed with Cordyceps woulld make you turn into a bad-ass. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/34 "2012-08-29T14:56:24Z")
> [@Copper](#): > > When you add mushrooms to sugar water, the sugar grows the mycelium, and it starts to taste like mushrooms, or whatever mushroom you put in, and the strength of the mushroom really comes out. I’ll tell you about a few of them. Lion’s Mane, put in a clamp jar, become a great ferment which fumes, and whose fumes build up and escape outside the jar to crystallize outside the seal. The substance should be called Smart Sugar. Ignored it for many months, but I tasted it and it made me feel like I was getting smarter. Chaga, is Lion’s Mane’s cousin. Fermented, it pshysiologically put a word on my tongue, ‘Siberia’, and more.. ‘lost’ and ‘self-hateful’. In the end it went to my head and said, and made me feel, ‘Ingenious’. Woodear, left to ferment for three months, tasted like an ear, physiologically said, ‘Mulrooney’(my last name), and connected my ear to my throat, making me operatic for a few minutes. Blue foot chanterelle fermented starts out tasting like a foot, and a bit lonely, and a month of it makes you immune to loneliness; very abstractly and mental. Cordyeceps, the parasite mushroom, starts tasting like skin, hands and feet. Fully fermented(it carbonates a lot), it tastes like politics, and just like politics, i have no use for it. Maitake is the mushroom of love, I gave a ferment to my neighbors(don’t know if they drank it); doesn’t make you fall in love, just makes you feel it, like something in your chest. Reishi is the shroom of hate. it’s a very hard mushroom, and you must become very hard to become hate. I guess Reishi mixed with Cordyceps woulld make you turn into a bad-ass. Dude. Step away from the fungus. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/35 "2012-08-29T15:12:55Z")
Shoehorn ButterHorse man. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/36 "2012-08-29T21:26:08Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I should point out that making wine involves adding sugar anyway, although of course the original fruit has a lot of sugar in it too. I am assuming you are referring to the process of chaptalization. While it is true this is allowed in some wine producing areas it is specifically prohibited in others. California and Italy are two that come to mind where this is not allowed. Also, German wines with the Prädikatswein designation aren’t allowed to add sugar either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/37 "2012-08-29T23:43:01Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I am assuming you are referring to the process of chaptalization. While it is true this is allowed in some wine producing areas it is specifically prohibited in others. California and Italy are two that come to mind where this is not allowed. Also, German wines with the Prädikatswein designation aren’t allowed to add sugar either. I completely missed that. The winemakers I know, both large-scale and personal, do not add any sugar to the must. Sugar is often added to non-grape wines. I do not know of any respected grape wines where there is sugar added to the must. Not a single one. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/38 "2012-08-30T00:01:59Z")
> [@Copper](#): > > When you add mushrooms to sugar water, the sugar grows the mycelium, and it starts to taste like mushrooms, or whatever mushroom you put in, and the strength of the mushroom really comes out. I’ll tell you about a few of them. Lion’s Mane, put in a clamp jar, become a great ferment which fumes, and whose fumes build up and escape outside the jar to crystallize outside the seal. The substance should be called Smart Sugar. Ignored it for many months, but I tasted it and it made me feel like I was getting smarter. Chaga, is Lion’s Mane’s cousin. Fermented, it pshysiologically put a word on my tongue, ‘Siberia’, and more.. ‘lost’ and ‘self-hateful’. In the end it went to my head and said, and made me feel, ‘Ingenious’. Woodear, left to ferment for three months, tasted like an ear, physiologically said, ‘Mulrooney’(my last name), and connected my ear to my throat, making me operatic for a few minutes. Blue foot chanterelle fermented starts out tasting like a foot, and a bit lonely, and a month of it makes you immune to loneliness; very abstractly and mental. Cordyeceps, the parasite mushroom, starts tasting like skin, hands and feet. Fully fermented(it carbonates a lot), it tastes like politics, and just like politics, i have no use for it. Maitake is the mushroom of love, I gave a ferment to my neighbors(don’t know if they drank it); doesn’t make you fall in love, just makes you feel it, like something in your chest. Reishi is the shroom of hate. it’s a very hard mushroom, and you must become very hard to become hate. I guess Reishi mixed with Cordyceps woulld make you turn into a bad-ass. This may be my new favorite post ever on the SDMB. Dude. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/39 "2012-08-30T00:53:45Z")
> [@Copper](#): > > When you add mushrooms to sugar water, the sugar grows the mycelium, and it starts to taste like mushrooms, or whatever mushroom you put in, and the strength of the mushroom really comes out. I’ll tell you about a few of them. Lion’s Mane, put in a clamp jar, become a great ferment which fumes, and whose fumes build up and escape outside the jar to crystallize outside the seal. The substance should be called Smart Sugar. Ignored it for many months, but I tasted it and it made me feel like I was getting smarter. Chaga, is Lion’s Mane’s cousin. Fermented, it pshysiologically put a word on my tongue, ‘Siberia’, and more.. ‘lost’ and ‘self-hateful’. In the end it went to my head and said, and made me feel, ‘Ingenious’. Woodear, left to ferment for three months, tasted like an ear, physiologically said, ‘Mulrooney’(my last name), and connected my ear to my throat, making me operatic for a few minutes. Blue foot chanterelle fermented starts out tasting like a foot, and a bit lonely, and a month of it makes you immune to loneliness; very abstractly and mental. Cordyeceps, the parasite mushroom, starts tasting like skin, hands and feet. Fully fermented(it carbonates a lot), it tastes like politics, and just like politics, i have no use for it. Maitake is the mushroom of love, I gave a ferment to my neighbors(don’t know if they drank it); doesn’t make you fall in love, just makes you feel it, like something in your chest. Reishi is the shroom of hate. it’s a very hard mushroom, and you must become very hard to become hate. I guess Reishi mixed with Cordyceps woulld make you turn into a bad-ass. wow just wow. man I gotta try some of these mushrooms one day! ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776/40 "2012-08-31T07:00:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I do not know of any respected grape wines where there is sugar added to the must. Not a single one. Well, chaptalization is allowed in many cool climate wine areas. Both Burgundy and Bordeaux allow it. It is also allowed in Oregon. I don’t know about Washington but I would think it is done there as well. In Champagne it is considered essential to the process of producing wine. It is a tool used by respected and quality wine producers in each of those areas. They just control it very closely. Producers of bulk wine from those areas are more likely to abuse it. Chile is an area that quickly comes to mind in that category. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-ferment-mushrooms/589776.md?page=3)