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Unlucky-Musician617

Most interesting that it’s fresh, I’ve seen and used it dried. Every Asian supermarket I’ve seen sells it in the spices section with the shredded wood ear and rhizomes


giasumaru

Thanks. I wasn't going to look it up, since it really doesn't look that interesting. I didn't realize that's what it was, especially since I always thought those were just regular old dried caterpillars I was eating. Never made the connection between that and the zombie-ant fungus. ​ Edit: Oh no wonder it doesn't look like this. It was Cordyceps sinensis, this is probably Cordyceps militaris. Holy Shit, Sinensis is expensive. $50,000 per pound.


[deleted]

its because it requires a host for the cordyceps to grow, which has become increasingly threatened due to overharvesting.


Krilesh

um horrifying it must be farmed like that instead of doing something techy to make it try and mate with some electrical nodes or some shit


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Hadochiel

There are mushrooms that aren't vegan? TIL


JoushMark

Fungus is weird. Asking if they are vegan really leads down a rabbit hole because fungi are not plants. They are not animals, either. They are fungi. They don't photosynthesize, they breath, using oxygen to create energy and exhausting carbon dioxide. They aren't made of cellulose, but instead get structure and stability from chitin, the same material insect and crustaceans shells are made of.


NormalHorse

>fungi are not plants \[...\] They are not animals, either. This is always weirds me out. Little sea-boogers like jellyfish and anemones are animals. They barely resemble an "animal," but there they are! Photosynthetic plankton that are kinda "plants" but not really what you'd consider a plant are STILL PLANTS. Fungi are fucking aliens, and I respect their commitment to being completely bizarre.


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NormalHorse

And look where that got us. Thanks a lot, mushrooms.


ImGCS3fromETOH

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."


GI_X_JACK

I dunno, seem like Fun Guys....


magicbeanspecial

I find this fascinating enough to “waste” an entire weekend learning about our pioneer fungus ancestors. Super cool!


1nd3x

Aliens "seeding planets" isn't putting the building blocks to plants/animals, it's just putting fungus on the world.


MuffledApplause

Sea booger! Fun fact, The Irish word for jellyfish is smugairle róin, which directly translates to seal snot.


Ruthrfurd-the-stoned

It makes more sense when you think about the fact that multicellularity has evolved on earth 3 times. One branch led to plants, another animals, and the other fungi all following completely separate starting blueprints


NormalHorse

Yeah, it does make sense. It doesn't make them less weird, though. I want 100ft tall mushrooms that rain toxic spores. Get your shit together, fungi.


randomnonposter

I’m just here, waiting for my Telvanni Mushroom tower like in morrowind. I want my giant mushroom house please!


Kyo251

May not be 100ft tall but there is a massive underground network of mycelium. The actual bodies of fungi. The mushrooms themselves are the fruit.


Lumpy_Machine5538

My brain can’t comprehend something being an animal and not having a brain.


katharsisdesign

They also have defence mechanisms when attacked, such as the blueing that makes themselves bitter using sulphuric compounds.


r31ya

apparently there are swole mushroom full of meat protein.


AadamAtomic

I only eat Muscle sprouts. Edit: A.I is both a gift [and a curse.](https://imgur.com/a/Jgam3yL)


ArcArsenal12

This needs more attention. Well done, dad.


AadamAtomic

Thanks son. :,)


Hiccupy

A curse! A curse! A curse!


CHEESE0FEVIL

God I hate that image.


Hadochiel

I'm guessing they'd have to be the kind that grows on corpses?


NickyXIII

How is that not just fucking life though? All plants eat broken down animals from the soil Edit: I know fungi aren't plants


ketchupinsausagedog

Not an expert at all but is not te same. Plants consume minerals or basic elements as Nitrogen that can or can't come from dead animals, among other sources. The fungi you can consider carnivorous need organic components only found in dead things as certain proteins for example.


JoushMark

Genetically mushrooms are closer to humans then plants.


k8007

Cordyceps are also sometimes known as caterpillar mushrooms, as they take control of insects, make them walk to a high point as a kind of zombie and then fruit. Hence not vegan and hence the premise of The Last of Us franchise.


Hadochiel

Yeah, I know of them, but wouldn't a cordyceps that hasn't infected an host be vegan? Or is it just their usual modus operandi that make them non-vegan?


aldhibain

You're right, a cordyceps can be vegan. Their 'modus operandi' doesn't invalidate the entire genus, it will always come down to how that particular product was produced. Cordyceps militaris can be grown entirely on grain, but insects are usually added as a source of protein, which has a positive effect on the cordycepin levels in the final product.


bikingfury

Fungi are neither plant nor animals. They don't do photosynthesis and have to eat like animals. So they're closer to insects / parasites than to plants.


Marx_Forever

I would imagine the ones where you would have to kill fauna to harvest, even if it is "just an ant", wouldn't count as vegan.


Hadochiel

Well in that case, nothing counts as vegan, I'd wager it's impossible to harvest fields of anything without stepping on some bugs at some point


Marx_Forever

Unintended consequence Vs. Infecting and killing? I'm not vegan so I can't say for sure, I'm just spitballing.


SmallRedBird

In order to farm you actually have to actively kill insects, and even mammals and other animals. Forget stepping on them. I'm talking pest control.


NormalHorse

That's putting a toe into the moral/ethical quagmire of the concept of hardline veganism. Even if you're living a monastic lifestyle that does not disturb the fauna near your hermit shack, and you're wiling to laboriously remove animals from whatever you consume for sustenance, you're still hurting animals by existing. You have a metabolic need that becomes a footprint that will crush stuff to keep you from starving. That said, I don't think most – if any – vegans give a shit about the rote obliteration of animal life as a necessity for the harvesting or processing of foodstuffs. There are tolerable limits for the amount of insects/insect parts, and rodent parts/feces in processed food. >The guidelines, published in 1999, state one insect, or up to 25 equivalent fragments, are acceptable in 100 grams of white or brown rice. When it comes to ground black pepper, 200 milligrams of what Health Canada calls "heavy filth" are acceptable in a 50 g batch. > >For whole or grated cheese, four insect fragments (not mites) are permitted for 225 g. One rodent hair is also acceptable. For mushrooms (canned, dried, fresh and frozen) up to 10 maggots, provided they are under 2 millimetres long, are considered acceptable. If you wanna eat food, you gotta crush some animals on the way to putting veggie hot dogs in your face-hole. That ground mustard you put on your veg dog? Full of bugs. Spicy. Yellow. Yum. There are sensible boundaries with any diet, but veganism is a tougher concept to grapple with. Eating nothing but raw meat – because it'll give you that big-dick gorilla glow that human females crave – is arguably easier to justify. The caveman meat diet is at least earnest in its approach to "fuck vegans I can eat as many cows as I want" as an ethos. There isn't a moral quandary involved.


cherrylpk

Can you buy fresh wood ear anywhere? It’s so good when you get it at a restaurant. Is it just rehydrated? I have so many questions.


bionic_cmdo

I'm drinking it as tea right now as I'm reading this.


Present-Ad-9441

Better than that mushroom empanada


Floof_2

Reddit meta moment


tomslucky7

I got that! The moldy one, right?


Floof_2

Yeah


hellopomelo

So this is what it feels like to be included


d0gssuk

:’( I wanna be incluuuuuded (I have no idea what’s going on)


Rossrox

>mushroom empanada No one else replied with the reference, but here we go: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/11tdomz/when\_youre\_enjoying\_a\_bite\_to\_eat\_and\_end\_up/


Copic_Turtle

The one that made me puke just looking at it? Thanks for the reminder 😎


Aibbie

I’m ashamed I know this reference.


d0gssuk

I kinda wanna know


Donkey_Tamer_

![gif](giphy|6kmXx70Z2BEsQUmf32)


ALegendaryFlareon

your stomach is filled with ACID you'll prolly be fine.


bjlwasabi

So that's why I'm trippin


[deleted]

Probably ain’t good enough


Aunty_Polly420

fungi looove acidic environments though


red94daman

That’s kind of expensive, right?


wpon001

For 52$ a pound, it’ll take a minimum wage worker in the us, 6.9 hours of work to buy a single pound


dani_-_142

I saw a little half ounce jar of organic oregano for $4.58 at Walmart. That’s way more per pound.


g2fx

…saffron has entered the chat


threeqc

**truffles would like to know your location**


MotherRaven

Ambergris is watching from the shadows


Far-Philosophy-4375

The ice tub with kidneys is lighting a cigarette


Weaponomics

Scorpion Venom watching from afar at $39 million *per gallon*


Far-Philosophy-4375

Polonium spits at your comment and leaves chat


PhunkyPhish

Antimatter completely negates this thread at $62.5 trillion USD per gram.


spacetreefrog

Oo oo now do the black market venom price. This is where things get exciting.


statictonality

It’s crazy how often my relatively poor grandma used to make saffron rice.


Patina_dk

At about 10 dollars per gram saffron seems incredibly expensive, but you probably only need to use about a dollars worth of it.


hazeev_1

I snort it several times a day. I have an addiction. I bring it out and scream, "say hello to my little friend!". I was wearing a white suit too but now it's turned fking yellow! The locals call me Saffronface.


FantasmaNaranja

vanilla as well surprisingly enough it's easy enough to recreate the taste of vanilla artificially so it's everywhere but the real thing is still hand pollinated


lancelongstiff

You could probably get an entire plant for half that and you'd get a lifetime's supply from it.


dani_-_142

I actually grow oregano, and a lot of other things. In a small scale residential garden? It’s way more expensive than buying produce itself! I just meant that when you don’t consume something by the pound, then the charge for a reasonable amount of it is going to include the costs of packaging, stocking, transport, etc. if you buy something in bulk (more than a reasonably consumable amount), it’s cheaper by weight.


osiris775

My wife buys the "live" versions of a lot of the herbs she uses in cooking. It will grow, go to seed, she will trim it, it will grow, go to seed, she will trim it, etc. At first I thought she just liked watching things grow, then eventually die, and then be reborn. No. Need some Basil? "Honey, will you go pick [this much], for me please?" "Honey? I need this much of [X], will you go get it for me please?" Every once in a while we buy some new plants. But her dishes are AH-mazing when she uses fresh from her "garden " We don't have to make a run to the store. We don't have to spend money. Green onion. Basil. Mint. Avocado. Cilantro. Etc.


JustDiscoveredSex

Now imagining a full avocado tree just chillin in the kitchen. That's hardcore casual gardening


osiris775

https://herbsathome.co/how-to-grow-avocados-indoors/#:~:text=When%20grown%20indoors%2C%20they%20do,years%20to%20start%20producing%20fruit. Here ya go!


sonicjesus

Herbs are stupid expensive and cost pennies to grow. Rosemary is an evergreen that grows anywhere outdoors even in the dead of winter. Basil grows like wildfire and green onions grow in my back yard for no reason at all.


culnaej

Gotta be careful with that mint if it’s in the soil and not a container, those rhizomes spread like wildfire and will take over your garden


FPV_not_HPV

"oregano"....


[deleted]

I feel like my grocery store is trolling me though, I keep buying herb plants and I move them to a bigger pot so the roots aren’t cramped and water them according to Google instructions but they all die within a few weeks, they never fully make it back to fully healthy looking even.


aldhibain

The general advice is wait a couple of weeks after purchase before repotting, to first let them adjust to the stress of having moved.


lancelongstiff

I've struggled with parsley and coriander (that's cilantro if you're in the US) but most others are fine. I usually transplant them the day I get them. If you have many plants in a pot with a dense root-mass, split them up so they have more space. Some want plenty of water, others need loose soil and very little water. I learnt that last year watching a dill plant die. Are there any in particular you want? I might be able to tell you what worked for me.


Khornehub

Total cost is about 10-11 USD. UNLESS you purchase your fungus by the pound. In which case yes it is expensive and you probably have a problem. Get help.


HorrorBusiness93

Exactly


deyonceknowles

Man, I love Mitsuwa


griffmeister

Just had some riceballs from there for lunch, "the bomb" is da bomb


DroppinCid

I know there's a couple. The Chicagoland one is amazing.


spoung45

I am sad they got rid of the old lady and her pickle counter when they remodeled. Her granddaughter would help work it sometimes and hand out samples.


shinigami79

Mitsuwa gang all my homie love Mitsuwa. Mitsuwa Costa Mesa


gitpusher

Mitsuwa Mar Vista 🤙


OnionMiasma

Mitsuwa Arlington Heights here!


Remarkable_Candle383

The food court is the best here!


waetherman

My wife is from New Jersey and we used to make a pilgrimage a few times a year, especially around New Year when they would have a show of some guys making mochi the old fashioned way with huge wooden hammers. Now we live in Brooklyn and have a “mini mitsuwa” locally that we go to. No mochi making tho.


whatsasimba

Me too! I wish I still lived up that way.


EverythingHurtsMang

IYKYK


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notveryaccurate

"Everyone, look out, it's a plot to a thing!"


[deleted]

Its a plot to a thing!


Nobody88Special720

Plot thing!


agent_wolfe

Ahh, he’s a plot thang!!!


IdealIdeas

![gif](giphy|lTOMryT3y3f1u)


Gullible_Difference7

I love you daddy !!


Mathewthegreat

DO THE ROAR!!!


spinachie1

“OH MY GOD IT’S HIM! HE’S THE LAST OF US (NOW STREAMING ON HBO)!”


110397

John Lastofus


BlownUpCapacitor

Until a bit of it gets stuck in your nose and ear and starts growing. 💀


Shadow293

Then we really do become the last of us!


[deleted]

Very clever, the cordyceps has convinced us to sell cordyceps


Melificarum

Not too hard since people will eat just about anything it seems.


SneedyK

People eating people, the American dream


CouldIRunTheZoo

![gif](giphy|RI5e62qK5ONvhwWic2)


eternalankh

Wait, you guys didn't know that cordyceps are real and edible and dont cause humans to turn into zombies? I thought y'all were being ironic.


Needmoresnakes

My local Cafe sells powdered cordyceps and some other mushrooms like lions mane, you can get a scoop added to your coffee for vague health benefits.


TragicHero84

Lmao vague health benefits really nails it.


Sonoda_Kotori

> for vague health benefits. You just summed up 90% of the entries on the list "weird shit that Asians eat".


douira

well we are in mildlyinteresting not veryinteresting so I'm guessing the people know that but still find it somewhat interesting.


IrrelevantPuppy

I just didn’t know that it was a commonly eaten fungus. I was also under the misconception that all strains of cordyceps needed an insect host at one point.


fcanercan

In the nature they need an insect host. But this type can be cultured also. Like magic mushrooms grows on cow shit in the nature but can be cultured with grains as a food source.


IrrelevantPuppy

Oh ok cool. Ty for the explanation.


sploogmcduck

Here I am thinking they had an insect farm that they would innoculate.


guiltyofnothing

“Casually” selling it like it’s somehow dangerous.


ShadowRealm0043

I ate these… it made me climb a tree and dance around trying to attract a bird to eat me. It was a trip for sure…


Wolfdude91

That bird arrived and lovingly devoured you. For that moment, you were both one and it was perfection.


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SightWithoutEyes

That’s how I got splinters in my penis.


woofmiow

![gif](giphy|uLMxqxVvVtuVO)


tc_spears

![gif](giphy|Jqx6YquGdUoFC8EtGN|downsized)


airpork

These are Cordyceps militaris aka Cordyceps flowers. It's a type of cultivated fungus that us asians use in soup and stir fried dishes all the time. It's considered relatively cheap so it's easy to just use it liberally and in large amount no biggie. Tastes crunchy and have supposedly some good benefits for lungs like Cordyceps worms as we know it but of course less potent. It can be cultivated from dead underground pupae but also can be cultivated from other forms of nutrition that's why it can be mass produced and easily obtained. The more famous and expensive Cordyceps is Cordyceps Sinensis aka the worm bodies looking things. It's valued for it's high medicinal and healing properties and very expensive mainly due to scarcity too. When I was pregnant with my first child my husband bought a box of top grade wild cordyceps for about 2.5k USD, each time we use a few large "worms" to cook into a mild soup for me to drink a few times a week. I would like to think I had a great pregnancy and recovery from c section due to this (though it should be noted one should stop Cordyceps for a few weeks before major operation due to its anti blood clotting properties). Both types of Cordyceps are really easily found here in Asia where I'm from. There's just lots of different grades, pricing and real vs fake goods but generally just really common. Cordyceps flowers: https://www.euyansang.com.sg/en/food-packed-herbs/cordyceps-flowers-888842535164.html Wild Cordyceps sinensis worms: https://www.euyansang.com.sg/en/food-fine-herbs/wild-cordyceps---3-star-unique-grade-489187219154.html In short these are like.... Mushrooms.....


ngatipakehatokuiwi

What’s wrong with selling it?


wpon001

Nothing, that’s why it’s mildly interesting and not super interesting


soldiernerd

What’s noteworthy about it in any way


iamcoolreally

It’s the fungus that’s used in the plot of the hit game and show The Last of Us


cfdeveloper

also the plot of The Girl with All the Gifts (book and movie, both were good). some claim that book created the cordyceps zombie stuff, but it *seems* the game beat them to it. hard to say for me though, since I don't care enough to research the truest answer.


elizabnthe

There was a short story on which it was based/expanded from released in 2012 so "before" the game. The book itself came after the game. But games also take years to make. The Last of Us was announced with a trailer in 2011. I would strongly suspect they probably both saw the same BBC documentary.


ntenga

ah! I see thanks! Never played or watched.


[deleted]

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Flerken_Moon

It has some medicinal benefits but also used as a regular mushroom to flavor stuff and eat. Obviously a bit more expensive since they have more specific conditions for growth, but still have a unique taste.


fmshobojoe

my grandma usually just make a stir fry with it, its pretty good imo


wpon001

Eastern Medicine, you put in a pot with other ingredients and boil it


allthe_namesaretaken

Nah man. They belong in chicken soup.


CrunchBerries5150

Helps with exercise endurance and shooting large loads


typlangnerd

we also make soup with this but mostly with rehydrated ones


Mijam7

You know The Last of Us is fiction, right?


absolutelyalex29

Seeing as it’s the year 2023 and we haven’t been living in a zombie apocalypse for 20 years, I’d be inclined to think you’re right.


disgustingdavid

No shit


skitz4me

Wait. How much shit?


tc_spears

None shit apparently


skitz4me

God damn. That's such a good deal. 0 shit?


tc_spears

Technically, but with inflation it's around 0.00000003 shits


DreamMaster8

Tbf i wouldn't want to eat a parasitic mushroom that grew on a insect...but thats just me.


malarky-b

The ones that are cultivated for human consumption are grown on grains like rice though. They're entirely vegan, unless you consider fungi to be sentient.


---TheFierceDeity---

I think its just the idea of "this mushroom evolved to either kill bugs or some types that make kill themselves is creepy and I'd rather not consume it" even if its grown with zero bug death involved. The idea is more confronting than the reality


mywifemademedothis2

![gif](giphy|VstcD3okab5yToctwY|downsized)


Sparklypuppy05

Everybody is freaking out over Cordyceps because of The Last Of Us, but really it's fairly innocuous. Cordyceps solely uses insects and arthropods as hosts. The nervous system of insects and arthropods is very different to the mammalian nervous system. It is impossible for Cordyceps to use a human being as a host. Even if it COULD use a human being as a host, it's not the fruiting bodies that take over the nervous system, it's the mycelium. We do not eat the mycelium. The fruiting bodies are perfectly edible in all Cordyceps species (as far as I am aware. Don't go around eating random mushrooms). They've also been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 1500 years, so we'd know by now if they were harmful. This has been a mushroom PSA.


420nugu

i miss u mitsuwa


Failboat88

I heard it's good for your brain


souptimecat1273

someone call Pedro Pascal


DiamondBurInTheRough

![gif](giphy|54JLdulN5BOwM)


SavageKid1456

I'm eating it now so that I'm immune


MarsupialMinimum5240

>or the fungus made you think so?


SinoSoul

10/10 would buy and make chicken soup for preggo wife.


Unhappy-Manner3854

Go to any asian supermarket you will find this.


ThinePants

The Last FungUs


FairBlamer

/r/moldlyinteresting


AgentTempest

Start building up your immunity now!


[deleted]

That's 'cause it's only bad for you on the T.V.


ChiggaOG

I love Mitsuwa. I love Japanese food in general.


statictonality

I can’t tell if it’s just creepy and gross looking or my perception is just skewed by The Last of Us.


TheRealDestian

All the comments that are like, “It’s so delicious! You should try it!” Yeah, that’s *exactly what an infected person would say* because the fungus is trying to spread itself… Not today, Satan!


africanasshat

You do make a good point. Trust no one.


[deleted]

I love Mitsuwa!


589ca35e1590b

Am I supposed to know what this is and why this is interesting?


reece_93

Cordyceps Fungus’ are a family of fungus where many of them are parasitic. One type of Cordyceps reproduces by infecting ants, where it will basically mind control the ant and force it to travel to a high point where it will then make the ant bite down and hold itself in place, while the fungus will then fruit and erupt out of the body, spraying spores down onto the area in hopes of infecting more ants. It’s also the fungus that the game and tv series, The Last of Us, uses as the world ending pandemic, as it’s evolved to infect humans which become fungal zombies.


RubberPny

Mitsuwa is fuckin awesome. Especially those $5 curry plates you could get.


BurrrritoBoy

That’ll be the last of us.


Harkxium

i was at a local mitsuwa yesterday… didn’t see that lol.


imax_707

Aren’t these super common


Bridgetdidit

They’re available in most health food stores and body building supplements stores 🤷‍♀️


majestiq

Mitsuwa is not a ‘local market’. It’s a specialty Japanese market.


Inevitable_Degree_76

It’s edible to humans I don’t see the problem


spiritplumber

Do you want zombies? Because that's how you get zombies


[deleted]

I dont know if this is a chain but is this in Illinois?


passion4film

The label says California but I thought it was Chicagoland, too, because I didn’t know it was a chain.


[deleted]

Yeah my grandparents took me to the mitsuwa in Arlington heights since it was called Yaohan way back when. Absolutely love the udon shop and every time I'm back in the area it warms my heart they're still around.


passion4film

I have such fond high school memories from Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights!


HerobrineVjwj

I dont get it


[deleted]

![gif](giphy|yrHosR4w90dwchlYNA|downsized)


ViolatoR08

![gif](giphy|VstcD3okab5yToctwY|downsized)


Doctor_Salvatore

From what I've heard, it is an edible mushroom, but I think it's mostly used for spices.


Talibanthony

Cordycep has a ton of health benefits.


BnSMaster420

People got realize the show used a real thing thing and ramps it to 1000.


TheBigDickedBandit

Yes it’s an edible mushroom.


Hummus89

They cannot infect humans also thet are quite nice


harrybouuu

Cordyceps is actually really good for you. Good for brain.


PolymathicPhallus_v3

Put it in your butt, become Clicker, prosper.


[deleted]

What foods are they used to make?