Re: Reishi Mushroom Fermentation

November 11, 2004

Why Beau---

You old Medicine Maker you....

Just off the top of my head, I likely would not Change anything you've been

doing, but it would be an interesting Experiment to see if Raw Vinegar would

enhance the good effects, or extract something different out of what's remaining

in the crockpot after straining. I understand certain herbal tinctures are best

made this dual way. Seems the Mushrooms would lend themselves to vinegar

instead of alcohol. Whether this helps " ferment " or just gives another chemical

pathway I have no idea, but I would have to find out.....

Just got:

" Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers....

the Secrets of Ancient Fermentation "

by Harrod Buhner, 1998.

This book will either kill you or heal you, can't tell which... lol. They

ferment absolutely Everything into " beer " , including the Bananas somebody wanted

to know about. (Darrell always comes through with such fascinating

websites....)

I'm always playing around with Herbs and Spices, as so many of them are

medicinal. Cinnamon bark and Cardamom taste delicious, as does Ginger, and I

add them any chance I get. Vanilla Beans hold some sort of magic too. Just

" fermented " some finely ground coconut, like a curry paste, and man is it good.

Got really fascinated when I heard on a PBS show that date wine from Egypt was

renowned for its healing properties. EM Ferments add a new dimension, but as I

mentioned before about the exploding and leaking bottles..... it's not for the

faint of heart. Unfortunately, I start adding from things already going in my

frig, so an actual Recipe is never quite the same as what I've done. Sometimes

I can't replicate myself even when I've written it down.

Thought a few years back that Fermentation holds the key to Immunity and Health

more than any other area. Have since spiked everything in my cupboards with

kefir water or vinegar to make it " enzymated " . A hot pepper BBQ sauce with

vinegar and molasses is just divine.

--Terry

Reishi Mushroom Fermentation

Hi Group,

So I have heard of fermented reishi mushroom, but I wonder how this is done?

I normally use this fungus by breaking it up into small pieces and making a

decoction by simmering in water, in a crockpot for a couple hours, then I strain

and cool the liquid before consuming.

Reishi is a powerful " immunomodulator " . It also is good for centering the

heart/mind.

I was wondering if any of you know of a reason why it might be good to ferment

the decocted reishi water? In either a separate kombucha batch or water kefir?

Would it possibly make the goodies more bio-available?

I tastes rather bitter, but the benefits are noticable right away, it has a

tendency to just make you feel intensely calm and grounded, not to mention the

immune boosting effects.

I have been experimenting with reishi decoction, astralagus root powder and

ginger mixed into kombucha. I call it the " Flu Shot "

Astralagus is also an immunomodulator, and ginger is just great stuff period.

Herbal ferments are neat, I always wonder if one might create a super tonic by

properly fermenting the right herbal preparation.

Kombucha is like this in a way...there must be others..please if you have

one/some, do share.

Thanks Macrobes!

Beau B.

November 11, 2004

How about doing an advanced EM fermentation with powdered reishi.

I added a couple of RM-10 tablets when I started a new batch of AEM

60 days ago with granulated kelp, seasalt, wheat gluten,and asporotate

minerals. I haven't decided whether or not to try it yet. Currently

I am exposing the bottle to indirect sunlight to try and increase the

Purple-Red bacteria and their higher order metabolites. Wish I could

give you more concrete info on the reishi part.

Wasn't kefir put through a secondary fermention with the addition of

Snow Rose? Might be worthwhile to further ripen kefir with reishi.

Darrell

November 11, 2004

Darrell,

I'm very curious about this. I have heard about reishi mushrooms for many years

but never taken the plunge. I'd like to hear more about it. I'd also be

interested to know more about sources for quality reishi, tablets, powder or

fresh.

I just started consuming a liver EM brew made with the usual base ingredients,

kelp, sea salt, wheat bran, azomite, pascalite, coenzyme minerals, EM-X ceramic

powder, molybdenum, milk thistle, milk thistle extract, and essential oils of

helichrysum, ledum and celery seed, which are known for their powerful tonic and

cleansing effect on the liver. I opened the first bottle after 13 weeks.

Delicious with a kick and a certain je nais se qua. (not sure of the spelling of

that after so many years)

Please try the reishi in the kefir. I'd love to find a source of the

rhododendrom caucasium aka snow rose, and add that to my kefir or an EM brew.

Any ideas??? Anyone??? And yes, 'snow rose' was or is added to kefir by those in

the know and in the 'snow, rose', that is. Perhaps as a way of luring out the

beneficial phyto-chemicals while neutralizing the harmful ones.

my apologies for so much off-gassing all at once

Tonio

How about doing an advanced EM fermentation with powdered reishi.

I added a couple of RM-10 tablets when I started a new batch of AEM

60 days ago with granulated kelp, seasalt, wheat gluten,and asporotate

minerals. I haven't decided whether or not to try it yet. Currently

I am exposing the bottle to indirect sunlight to try and increase the

Purple-Red bacteria and their higher order metabolites. Wish I could

give you more concrete info on the reishi part.

Wasn't kefir put through a secondary fermention with the addition of

Snow Rose? Might be worthwhile to further ripen kefir with reishi.

Darrell

November 12, 2004

Darrell,

I'm very curious about this. I have heard about reishi mushrooms for

many years but never taken the plunge. I'd like to hear more about

it. I'd also be interested to know more about sources for quality

reishi, tablets, powder or fresh.

I just started consuming a liver EM brew made with the usual base

ingredients, kelp, sea salt, wheat bran, azomite, pascalite, coenzyme

minerals, EM-X ceramic powder, molybdenum, milk thistle, milk thistle

extract, and essential oils of helichrysum, ledum and celery seed,

which are known for their powerful tonic and cleansing effect on the

liver. I opened the first bottle after 13 weeks. Delicious with a

kick and a certain je nais se qua. (not sure of the spelling of that

after so many years)

Please try the reishi in the kefir. I'd love to find a source of the

rhododendrom caucasium aka snow rose, and add that to my kefir or an

EM brew. Any ideas??? Anyone??? And yes, 'snow rose' was or is added

to kefir by those in the know and in the 'snow, rose', that is.

Perhaps as a way of luring out the beneficial phyto-chemicals while

neutralizing the harmful ones.

my apologies for so much off-gassing all at once

Tonio

> How about doing an advanced EM fermentation with powdered reishi.

> I added a couple of RM-10 tablets when I started a new batch of AEM

> 60 days ago with granulated kelp, seasalt, wheat gluten,and

asporotate

> minerals. I haven't decided whether or not to try it yet.

Currently

> I am exposing the bottle to indirect sunlight to try and increase

the

> Purple-Red bacteria and their higher order metabolites. Wish I

could

> give you more concrete info on the reishi part.

>

> Wasn't kefir put through a secondary fermention with the addition of

> Snow Rose? Might be worthwhile to further ripen kefir with reishi.

>

> Darrell

November 13, 2004

Hey Tonio,

I was the one asking about fermenting Reishi.

I buy whole, red reishi mushrooms from my local whole food store and chop them

up into little bits and simmer covered for at least 1 hour to produce a bitter

tasting decoction. (1 oz reishi- 2cups water).

The reishi in kefir sounds bold, I wonder if it would be gross since it's so

bitter, I'll try a small secondary ferment.

Your EM brew sure sounds exciting. Do you always have to ferment EM for that

long? I have never tried it and am interested in learning more.

Take Care

Beau

Re: Re: Reishi Mushroom Fermentation

Darrell,

I'm very curious about this. I have heard about reishi mushrooms for many

years but never taken the plunge. I'd like to hear more about it. I'd also be

interested to know more about sources for quality reishi, tablets, powder or

fresh.

I just started consuming a liver EM brew made with the usual base ingredients,

kelp, sea salt, wheat bran, azomite, pascalite, coenzyme minerals, EM-X ceramic

powder, molybdenum, milk thistle, milk thistle extract, and essential oils of

helichrysum, ledum and celery seed, which are known for their powerful tonic and

cleansing effect on the liver. I opened the first bottle after 13 weeks.

Delicious with a kick and a certain je nais se qua. (not sure of the spelling of

that after so many years)

Please try the reishi in the kefir. I'd love to find a source of the

rhododendrom caucasium aka snow rose, and add that to my kefir or an EM brew.

Any ideas??? Anyone??? And yes, 'snow rose' was or is added to kefir by those in

the know and in the 'snow, rose', that is. Perhaps as a way of luring out the

beneficial phyto-chemicals while neutralizing the harmful ones.

my apologies for so much off-gassing all at once

Tonio

November 13, 2004

Hey Beau,

Thanks for the scoop on the reishi.

Your EM brew sure sounds exciting. Do you always have to ferment EM for that

long? I have never tried it and am interested in learning more.

The longer the better with EM. Ideal usually seems to be around 14-15 weeks.

That depends on what you're brewing and the purpose.

The definitive source for EM info is www.eminfo.com

I'll look for reishi mushrooms around here. Are those a type that are grown on

logs?

Thanks,

Tonio

November 13, 2004

Hi Tonio,

Thanks for the website address.

Yes the Reishi are a type of " shelf " fungus, they grow on trees and logs. There

are spore plug kits available that you can implant into a fallen tree or some

moist logs. You grow them outdoors and they can be very good producers, the

catch is that they need to stay fairly moist at all times so if you live in a

dry area it is not impossible but is likely challenging. There are also similar

outdoor kits for shitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms also.

I pay 1.25oz for the ones I get from the health store.

Beau

Re: Re: Reishi Mushroom Fermentation

Hey Beau,

Thanks for the scoop on the reishi.

Your EM brew sure sounds exciting. Do you always have to ferment EM for that

long? I have never tried it and am interested in learning more.

The longer the better with EM. Ideal usually seems to be around 14-15 weeks.

That depends on what you're brewing and the purpose.

The definitive source for EM info is www.eminfo.com

I'll look for reishi mushrooms around here. Are those a type that are grown

on logs?

Thanks,

Tonio

November 13, 2004

Advanced EM brews or brews with extra molassas take alot longer

to ferment.

One of the ingredients in this small batch of AEM is a

blend of 10 mushrooms from GOL's RM-10. The RM-10 is already

fermented, but it does contain a small amount of Reishi.

The basic recipe for AEM (EM, molassas, seasalt & water) can be

ready in 3 days.

Darrell

November 13, 2004

I don't know much about mushrooms, or the mystery unknown frontier of

herbal brews (though I make many herbal infusions all the time) and

fermentation, but here's a thought/question. As I understand it, one

of the key virtues of mushrooms is the presence of one (or more?) of

the essential glyconutrients (I can't remember which one(s) offhand).

So if you ferment mushrooms, what happens to these valuable sugars?

I know that our microscopic friends eat glucose and other sugars, but

can they eat these other exotic sugars too? Does that mean we lose

that nutrient? I guess this question applies to the other key

glyconutrient-rich foods too... Am I losing the fucose from the kelp

in my kimchi? Hmmm.... I believe that in fermented milks the

galactose is partially converted to glucose, which is then gobbled up

by the Microbial Powers That Be, so that it seems you get less

galactose from fermented milk than fresh milk, which might be better,

or less good, or not matter to anything at all, or... I have no idea!

Help, I have no knowledge!!!!!!!

(BTW, I live 15 minutes away from Avon Grove, PA, one of America's

" mushroom capitals " as I understand it, a tiny town whose sole

industry seems to be dozens of mushroom farms! There is one organic

place where I can get a few different types of mushrooms picked fresh

that day--can you say DEEEEEEE--LISSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH--IS? Fresh raw

shiitake, now that's the good life.)

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay

November 13, 2004

Mike,

Very interesting question. Humans have been trying to figure out what nature

does to everything for millenia. It all seems to be a great unviersal fermenting

cosmic soup. Everything being altered and converted and hopefully augmented or

accentuated in a beneficial way through the aegus of these wonderful beneficial

microbes. My suspiscion is nothing is lost, but nothing remains the same. And

despite the tendency to scepticism I also strongly suspect that what we are

asking for inside on all levels enters into the various equations. We are the

fermenting world, so to speak. I say, let's milk it into new territory.

That said, not being a clinical scientist, I don't know much either.