Fungi as Food

Fungi are essential for a wide variety of food products and processes. They have a major role in the production of many fermented foodstuffs, may be eaten directly as fruit bodies and mycelium, and are used to produce food additives. They contribute to food production worldwide, even in cultures which do not typically consume mushrooms, because yeasts and edible moulds are utilised in a great variety of fermentation processes. Most fungal cultures used in food production at industrial scale show evidence of selection and domestication. However, other strains may still be obtained from the wild, either through incidental colonisation of a fermentation substrate as a result of a traditional preparation method or due to the inability to reliably cultivate a given organism, necessitating collection from its native habitat. This review provides an overview of the uses of fungi, both yeasts and filamentous fungi, in food production with a focus on research findings over the past decade. This includes a review of the production of foodstuffs through the fermentation of a wide variety of substrates, particularly dairy, but also including meat and plant matter. In addition, the use of fungi in the production of secreted enzymes and food additives is considered. Finally, the cultivation and harvesting of fungal fruiting bodies and mycoprotein are reviewed. The review aims to capture the breadth of the field by covering examples from every inhabited continent, including reference to fungal food systems which have historically been under-studied.