FoodReference.com Logo

FoodReference.com   (Since 1999)
 

Food Articles, News & Features Section

   Home       Food Articles       Food Trivia       Today in Food History       Recipes       Cooking Tips       Food Videos       Food Quotes       Who's Who       Food Trivia Quizzes       Crosswords       Food Poems       Cookbooks       Food Posters       Culinary Schools       Gourmet Tours       Food Festivals & Shows  

 You are here > Home > Food Articles >

Alvin Starkman Articles >  Mico-logica: Mushrooms in Oaxaca

 

CULINARY SCHOOLS &
COOKING CLASSES

From Amateur & Basic Cooking Classes to Professional Chef Training
Over 1,000 schools & classes listed for U.S., Online & Worldwide

 

 

 

MUSHROOM CULTURE IN OAXACA

Mico-LĂ“GICA Alters our Perception of the Magic of Mushrooms in Oaxaca, Mexico

Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D. (Alvin’s archive)

When we think of mushrooms and the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, the first thing which traditionally comes to mind is MarĂ­a Sabina, Huautla de JimĂ©nez and hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms. But slowly that’s all changing as a result of the groundbreaking work of Josefina JimĂ©nez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, through their company, Mico-lĂłgica.

Based in the village of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca’s Ixtlán district (more commonly known as the Sierra Norte, the state’s main ecotourism region), Mico-lĂłgica’s mission is threefold: to train both Mexicans and visitors to the country in the low-cost cultivation of a variety of mushroom species; to educate about the medicinal, nutritional and environmental (sustainable) value of mushrooms; and to conduct ongoing research regarding optimum climatic regions and the diversity of substrata for mushroom culture.

The French-born Mathieu moved to Mexico, and in fact to Huautla de JimĂ©nez, in 2005. “Yes, coming all the way to Mexico from France to pursue my interest in mushrooms seems like a long way to travel,” Mathieu explained in a recent interview in Oaxaca. “But there really wasn’t much of an opportunity to conduct studies and grow a business in Western Europe,” he continues, “since reverence for mushrooms had been all but completely eradicated by The Church over the course of centuries; and I learned that Mexico still maintains a respect and appreciation for the medicinal and nutritional value of hongos. Mexico is far from mycophobic.”

Huautla de JimĂ©nez is more than a five hour drive from the closest metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu eventually realized that staying in Huautla, while holding an historic allure and being in a geographic region conducive to working with mushrooms, would hinder his efforts to grow a business and cultivate widespread interest in learning about fungi.  Mathieu became cognizant of the burgeoning reputation of Oaxaca’s ecotourism communities of the Sierra Norte, and indeed the Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional wild mushroom festival), held annually in Cuahimoloyas.

Mathieu met Josefina JimĂ©nez at the summertime weekend mushroom event.  JimĂ©nez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City in 2002.  The two shared similar interests; JimĂ©nez had studied agronomy, and for close to a decade had been working with sustainable agriculture projects in rural farming communities in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis PotosĂ­, the mountains of Guerrero and the coast of Chiapas. Mathieu and JimĂ©nez became business, and then life partners in Benito Juárez.

Mushrooms in Oaxaca

Mathieu and JimĂ©nez are concentrating on three mushroom species in their hands-on seminars; oyster (seta), shitake and reishi. Their one-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day clinics for the latter two species of fungus.  “With reishi, and to a lesser extent shitake, we’re also teaching a fair bit about the medicinal uses of mushrooms, so more time is required,” says Mathieu, “and with oyster mushrooms it’s predominantly [but not exclusively] a course on cultivation.”

While training seminars are now only given in Benito Juárez, Mathieu and JimĂ©nez plan to expand operations to include both the central valleys and coastal regions of Oaxaca.  The object is to have a network of producers growing different mushrooms which are optimally suited for cultivation based on the particular microclimate. There are about 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, and thus as a species, the adaptability of the oyster mushroom to different climatic regions is remarkable. “The oyster can be grown in a multitude of different substrata, and that’s what we’re experimenting with right now,” he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can thrive when grown on products which would otherwise be waste, such as discard from cultivating beans, sugar cane, agave (including the fibrous waste produced in mezcal distillation), peas, the common river reed known as carriso, sawdust, and the list goes on.  Agricultural waste which may otherwise be left to rot or be burned, each with adverse environmental implications, can form substrata for mushroom cultivation. It should be noted, though trite, that mushroom cultivation is a highly sustainable, green industry. Over the past several years Mexico has in fact been at the fore in many areas of sustainable industry.

 


Mathieu exemplifies how mushrooms can serve an arguably even greater environmental good:

“They can hold up to thirty thousand times their mass, having implications for inhibiting erosion. They’ve been used to clean up oil spills through absorption and thus are an important vehicle for habitat restoration.  Research has been done with mushrooms in the battle against carpenter ant destruction; it’s been suggested that the use of fungi has the potential to completely revamp the pesticide industry in an environmentally friendly way. There are literally hundreds of other eco-friendly applications for mushroom use, and in each case the mushroom remains an edible by-product. Take a look at the Paul Stamets YouTube lecture, 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World.”

Mathieu and JimĂ©nez can often be found selling their products on weekends in the organic markets in Oaxaca.  They’re both more than happy to discuss the nutritional value of their products which range from naturally their fresh mushrooms, but also as preserves, marinated with either chipotle and nopal or jalapeño and cauliflower. The mushroom’s vitamin B12 cannot be found in fruits or vegetables, and accordingly a diet which includes fungi is extremely important for vegetarians who cannot get B12, most often contained in meats.  Mushrooms can easily be a substitute for meats, with the advantage that they are not loaded with antibiotics and hormones often found in industrially processed meat products.

Mico-lĂłgica also sell teas and extracts made from different mushroom species, each formulated as either a nutritional supplement, or for their medicinal properties.  While neither Mathieu nor JimĂ©nez has the pharmacological background to prescribe mycological treatment for serious ailments, Mathieu’s own research points to the medicinal use of mushrooms dating from pre-history, to the present.  He notes properties of mushrooms which can help to restore the immune system, and thus the use of fungi as a complement in the treatment of cancer and AIDS, and their utility in controlling diabetes and treating high cholesterol.

“We should all be embracing the organic production of mushrooms,” Mathieu concludes. “It’s so easy, it involves a minimal capital investment, and it provides significant rewards, both for those ingesting hongos for nutritional and medicinal reasons, and for the producers, even small scale. Mico-lĂłgica also sells dried mushrooms. Yet most of the dried mushrooms sold in Mexico are imported from China, and are not organic.  It’s a real shame on numerous levels.”

Mexico and mushrooms have come a long way since the era of Oaxaca’s MarĂ­a Sabina. With the continued efforts of Mathieu, JimĂ©nez and Mico-lĂłgica, it should not be long before the world understands and embraces the magic of mushrooms within a much broader context.

Mico-lĂłgica: http://micologica.mex.tl

Alvin Starkman traveled to Huatula de JimĂ©nez to experience the magic of mushrooms in the 1960s.  A former Toronto litigation lawyer, Alvin now lives in Oaxaca where he takes couples and families to sights in and around Oaxaca’s central valleys, works with documentary film companies, and writes about life and cultural traditions in the region.  With over 230 articles about Oaxaca to his credit, Alvin is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today, a program for Marca PaĂ­s – Imagen de MĂ©xico. Alvin and his wife Arlene operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.casamachaya.com ).
 

TOP 

RELATED ARTICLES

Alvin Starkman Articles        Chapulines in Oaxaca: Recipe & Primer        Certified Organic Produce in Oaxaca, Mexico        Rabbit Hunting in Oaxaca, Mexico        Oaxacan Chicken Estofado de Miltomate        Best Traditional Mole Verde        Modern Mole Verde        Toronto Duck Recipe        Black Mole from Oaxaca        Oaxaca Documentary Episode 1        Episode 2 - Oaxaca, Mexico        Dining and Indulging in Oaxaca        Mayonnaise in Mexico        Barbequed Goat        Mole Verde Con Espinazo        Mico-logica: Mushrooms in Oaxaca        Regional Wild Mushroom Fair        Mexico's Magical Mushroom Tour        Pilar Cabrera in Toronto        El Tigre Restaurant        Guadua Restaurant        El Mirador Restaurant        La Catrina De Alcala Restaurant        Caldo de Piedra Restaurant        Is it Safe to Travel to Mexico?        Cutting Edge of Mexican Cuisine        Local Molino Cooking Classes        Kid's Cooking Classes in Oaxaca        Sunday, a One-day Gastronomic Delight        Oaxaca Culinary Tour, page 1        Oaxaca Tour Daily Events        Oaxaca, Sunday & Monday        Casa de los Sabores        Enrique Flores: Oaxacan Artist        Pairing Mexican Craft Beer with Mezcal        Mezcal Producers & Sociedad de Mezcaleros        Oaxaca Tradition Trumps Innovation        La Muerte Mezcal in South Africa        ProMexico Promotes Mezcal        National Mezcal Festival        Mezcal Festival: Historical Context        14th Annual Mezcal Festival        Chango Mezcalero        Origin of Chango Mezcalero        In the Fields: Pulque        Pulque Production in Matatlán        Rural Oaxaca Mezcal Production        Mezcal: 5 Generations Of Palenqueros        Mezcal in Oaxaca

 

Home        About Us & Contact Us        Food Articles        Gardening        Marketplace        Food Links

 

Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website.

For permission to use any of this content please E-mail: james@foodreference.com
All contents are copyright © 1990 - 2015 James T. Ehler and www.FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved.
You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only.
Any other use of these materials without prior written authorization is not very nice and violates the copyright.

Please take the time to request permission.
 

 

 

 

Order Free Food & Kitchen Catalogs

 

 

 

 

 

 

POPULAR PAGES

Beverage Articles
Food Facts & Trivia
Recipe Contests
Local Food Festivals
Recipe Category Index

 

 

Click here to buy posters at Allposters!
Click here to buy posters at Allposters!

 

 

FREE Food & Beverage Publications
An extensive selection of free magazines and other publications for qualified Food, Beverage & Hospitality professionals

 

 

Chef with red wine glass