Food - Drink
The Edible Mushroom That Can Grow Up To 100 Pounds
By NICO DANILOVICH
While a giant mushroom might sound more befitting for a fairytale, massive mushrooms are not confined to the imagination completely. The largest organism ever known is a connected grid of genetically identical mushrooms that spans 4 square miles in Oregon’s Blue Mountains, but as far as a single giant fungus goes, there’s one mushroom that can grow up to 100 pounds.
Maitake mushrooms, or Grifola frondosa, can grow up to 100 pounds. They can be identified by their velvety, wavy fronds, and range in color from white to brown. Because of their appearance, Maitake mushrooms have been lovingly nick-named Hen of the Woods, Ram's Head, and Sheep's Head.
Perhaps the mushroom's most appropriate nickname is “dancing mushroom,” which it was given because the first people to eat the mushroom found it so delicious they frolicked about. Feel free to add this delicious and nutritious mushroom to any dish, just avoid the dense and inedible subterranean stems or use them to make stock.
