Volvariella volvacea

Volvariella volvacea (also known as paddy straw mushroom or straw mushroom) is a species of edible mushroom cultivated throughout East and Southeast Asia and used extensively in Asian cuisine. They are often available fresh in regions they are cultivated, but elsewhere are more frequently found canned or dried. Worldwide, straw mushrooms are the third-most-consumed mushroom.^[2]

Volvariella volvacea
Straw mushrooms, some still veiled, others opened—showing the cap inside
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Pluteaceae
Genus:	Volvariella
Species:	V. volvacea
Binomial name
Volvariella volvacea (Bul.) Singer (1951)[1]
Synonyms
Agaricus volvaceus Bull. (1786) Amanita virgata Pers. (1797) Vaginata virgata Gray (1821) Volvaria volvacea P. Kumm. (1871)

Volvariella volvacea Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is conical or umbonate
	Hymenium is free
	Stipe has a volva
	Spore print is salmon
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is choice

Description

In their button stage, straw mushrooms resemble poisonous death caps, but can be distinguished by several mycological features, including their pink spore print (spore prints of death caps are white). The two mushrooms have different distributions, with the death cap generally not found where the straw mushroom grows natively, but immigrants, particularly those from Southeast Asia to California and Australia, have been poisoned due to misidentification.^[3][4]

Uses

Straw mushrooms are grown on rice straw beds and are most commonly picked when immature (often labelled "unpeeled"), during their button or egg phase, and before the veil ruptures.^[5] They are adaptable, taking four to five days to mature, and are most successfully grown in subtropical climates with high annual rainfall. No record has been found of their cultivation before the 19th century.^[6]

Broth

In the finishing and aging process of making dark soy sauce, the broth of straw mushrooms can be mixed into the soy sauce, which is then exposed to the sun to make mushroom dark soy sauce (草菇老抽 cǎogū lǎochōu). The added broth gives this soy sauce a richer flavor than plain dark soy sauce.^[7]

Nutrition

One cup (182 grams or 6.4 ounces) of straw mushrooms is nutritionally dense and provides 240 kilojoules (58 kilocalories) of food energy, 27.7 μg selenium (50.36% of RDA), 699 mg sodium (46.60%), 2.6 mg iron (32.50%), 0.242 mg copper (26.89%), 69 μg vitamin B₉ (folate) (17.25%), 111 mg phosphorus (15.86%), 0.75 mg vitamin B₅ (pantothenic acid) (15.00%), 6.97 g protein (13.94%), 4.5 g total dietary fiber (11.84%), and 1.22 mg zinc (11.09%).^[8]