A recently introduced mushroom from India has found its way to Calape and is now grown in the village of Calunasan. Brought to the Philippines only a few years back, it has been tried, subjected to research, tested and finally grown successfully in the country.
Botanically called Calocybe indica, it is more known by its common name, Milky Mushroom due to its white milky appearance. It can be harvested at different stages of development from young button heads to fully opened, matured mushroom some of which could weigh more than 1 kg. If we gauge its performance with other species, it is a runaway winner due to its many admirable and commercially viable qualities.
Superior aspects
It gives a much higher yield compared to the commonly grown oyster and some other mushroom types. Other than the harvest volume advantage, this mushroom grows under tropical temperatures having a range of from 24 to 40 degrees CELSIUS, thus making it very adaptable to Bohol weather condition. There is absolutely no need to cool your growing area like the other mushroom species which need several cooling systems in order to thrive and produce hence, resulting to lower production cost.
Taste-wise, it is very delicious, versatile and meaty. It is soft and does not turn watery like other species. Even the very matured mushroom stays soft. Milky Mushroom can be cooked in a variety of ways. You can cook it as a stand-alone delicious mushroom dish or it can be added to everyday dishes like pancit, lumpia, chop suey, sisig, dinuguan and others. Dishes cooked with the addition of this highly nutritious, tasty and versatile mushroom becomes much healthier compared to dishes without it. It possesses a high nutritional value like being rich in vitamins, fiber, protein and low content on carbohydrates, cholesterol, fats and calories
Good medical properties?
It is extolled also for its medicinal properties like its high immune system boosting ability, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetes, anti-asthma, anti-cancer and antibiotic properties. It lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Milky Mushroom has a shelf-life of up to seven days at room temperature compared to oysters which withers and dries in two days time under the same room condition. When refrigerated, it will stay fresh for 21 days.
The mushroom can be grown on a variety of farm waste such as rice straw, sawdust, dried stalks and leaves, sugarcane bagasse, corn cobs, banana leaves, coconut coir, and even water hyacinths.
Spreading the technology
The Milky Mushroom is found in Calunasan, Calape and the grower’s position is to produce spawns which they have started to do. They want to share and spread the technology so more people can produce this highly nutritious and medicinal fungus. Sharing the technology is deemed to offer an easy alternative livelihood project for the farmers and interested persons while making the mushroom available to consumers to promote a more nutritious and healthy diet for the Boholanos.
A seminar on the culture of Milky Mushroom will soon be scheduled in Calape. For more information, you can call Marian Garces at Celfone # 09177192760. (PR/MB Managbanag Jr.)