This one was a happy accident. While shopping for canned mushrooms recently, I saw a different kind--straw mushrooms. They were the same price as the regular mushrooms, so I bought a can. Later I happened to look more closely at the label, and saw that they were grown in Vietnam. So score! I love when stuff like that happens. The brand of the can I got was Roland.
I've reported on a few Roland wares before, such as a post about Chinese mussels on May 6, 2023, and another about Turkish stuffed grape leaves on June 25, 2022. The latter article had a detailed history of the Roland company. Therefore, I won't repeat myself too much--those interested in the company's background and history now know where to find it.
I've also had straw mushrooms before. I checked through my entire post history, and finally discovered exactly when--it was way back on November 28, 2013. (In that post I also discussed some other, more obscure mushroom I've tried, such as chanterelles, morels, and namekos.) Unfortunately, I didn't mention what brand provided the canned straw mushrooms I sampled. I don't think it was Roland, but I'm not 100% sure. So it's probably not a repeat, but I wouldn't testify to this in court or anything. As for the mushroom type itself, it appears that the name is derived from what they're cultivated on in Asia, rice straw. They're very popular in Asian cuisine. So much so that they're reportedly the 3rd most consumed mushroom in the world. Alas, during certain stages of the straw mushroom lifecycle they resemble a poisonous variety, the death cap. Some Asian immigrants have accidently poisoned themselves by mistaking the death cap for the straw while wild collecting in California and Australia. Additionally, straw mushrooms are sometimes added to soy sauce, both as a flavor enhancer, and to darken the color.
Roland broken straw mushrooms: These slightly chopped up mushrooms were a light brown color, with a darker brown color around the perimeter of the cap. Their texture was wet, and chewy. I had some plain, some with just ketchup on them, and some mixed in with spaghetti and meatballs. Their taste was a lot like regular mushrooms. Maybe a tad lighter and airier. I don't know if I could have told the difference between these and regular mushrooms in a blind taste test. Which is still a compliment, as I enjoy regular mushrooms. But these weren't dramatically better or worse. So if you like typical mushrooms, you'll probably like these too. I'd recommend them to anyone, unless you're a person who doesn't like mushrooms.
While researching this post, I got interested in dangerous mushrooms. Which can be pretty scary. There are at least a dozen kinds, some quite common, that if eaten can result in a hospital stay, an organ transplant, or even death. Some have a delayed reaction, too, so someone might think the mushrooms they ate were safe, and then days or even a couple of weeks later the symptoms appear and they might die. There have been a few famous people who might have died of mushroom poisoning, whether accidental or intentional. The Roman Emperor Claudius is thought by some historians to have been assassinated via mushrooms in A.D. 54. Although some historians dispute this. Pope Clement VII's death in 1534 may also have been from (accidental) mushroom poisoning. And Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI is alleged to have died this way in 1740. Obviously, all of these deaths were before the days of thorough and competent autopsies and lab testing, so it's not known for sure. If you're curious, the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is reportedly the cause for 90% of human deaths from mushrooms. Also very dangerous is Conocybe filaris, the webcaps (Cortinarius rubellus and Cortinarius orellanus), and the autumn skullcap (Galerina marginata). Finally, there are several varieties of destroying angel mushrooms (in the Amanita genus) that can end your days as well. So, as a public service announcement, I would have to strongly advise against picking and eating wild mushrooms unless you're an expert mycologist (fungi and mushroom specialist). Mushrooms are quite tasty, but they're not worth dying over. Especially since you can easily get safe ones in pretty much every supermarket or grocery store.
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