Mushrooms
Thanks for joining us!
This episode was written by Jean and voiced by Kara and T.
Episode art was created by Jean.
It was originally released in February 2024.
— Try making a mushroom print —
— Some of our favorite books about mushrooms —
— Mushroom Episode Summary —
Check out these names! —
Toadstool, lions mane, hen of the woods, hedge hog, oyster, trumpet, puff balls, stinkhorn.
Believe it or not, these are all mushrooms!
Mushrooms are living things —
They are living things – they need water, air, food, a place to live.
They’re not actually plants or animals – they belong to the kingdom called fungi.
Mushrooms like environments where there are lots of trees and where it’s damp and dark. They can grow quickly.
Leave it up to experts to pick and figure out which ones are safe to eat! Take or draw a picture if you find a really cool one.
How do they grow? —
It starts as a spore, which is similar to a seed but tinier and not hard. It’s very fine and hides in a grown mushroom.
The spore falls and lands on the soil. Then a small bit called a pin pushes up. It grows a cap on top. It keeps growing with water and food from the soil.
There are many kinds of mushrooms but they all have certain features: a stalk that holds them up called a stipe, top part called a cap. Some have ridges underneath the cap called gills.
Mushrooms can also be grown indoors —
Mushrooms can be grown in indoor farms to be food – this is cultivation.
They’re grown in a special kind of dirt, called substrate. It has all of the nutrients that the mushrooms need to grow.
They don’t need a lot of light, so the farms don’t use a lot of electricity or water, which makes them a very sustainable thing to grow.
They are delicious! —
The ones that are safe can be eaten raw or cooked.
They have a flavor called umami – a kind of combination of salty, meaty, sweet.
Next time your family makes mushrooms, maybe the kids can help by using a kid-friendly chopper like this Crinkle-cut knife.
Use them to try vegetable printing —
Cut them in half down the middle, dip in paint, and press firmly on a piece of paper. Lift carefully to reveal the shape of the vegetable.
Try with other veggies like broccoli, pepper, or tomato.