See you tomorrow~ "Immortal Legend" Why does the Enoki mushroom not become soft after being cooked for a long time?

What ingredients do you like to add to hot pot in winter? A few days ago, the store launched a year-end hot pot ingredients award. The editor used the slogan "Immortal Legend - Say One More Time, See You Tomorrow" to best describe the characteristics of Enoki mushrooms, such as the fact that they can be cooked for a long time without becoming mushy and their complete shape can be seen even after defecation. This made netizens laugh and the editor won the championship, beating cabbage, bird's nest dumplings, prince noodles and other hot pot ingredients! However, why are Enoki mushrooms so tough? Let the nutritionist tell you!

Flammulina enoki is hard to digest and hard to cook, and its "legend of immortality" is well deserved

Enoki mushrooms are low in calories and high in nutritional value. They help stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol, assist in weight loss, promote intestinal motility and enhance immunity. Their crispness yet resistance to long cooking make them the best partner for the "hot pot party". However, almost everyone has had the experience of eating Enoki mushrooms and still seeing whole Enoki mushrooms in their bowel movements the next day. The "Immortal Legend" is truly worthy of its name!

The reason why Flammulina enoki mushrooms can be cooked for a long time without becoming mushy or dying is that they contain a lot of insoluble fiber and chitin.

The key to the "immortality" of Flammulina enoki mushrooms: insoluble fiber!

Hou Wenyi, director of the nutrition department of St. Martin's Hospital, said that the reason why enoki mushrooms can be cooked for a long time without becoming mushy or dying is that they contain more "insoluble fiber" and chitin. Unlike water-soluble fiber, which is easily cooked and then cooled into a frozen state, insoluble fiber is less likely to be cooked. Some people attribute the ability of Flammulina enoki mushrooms to remain soft even after long cooking to chitin, which is similar to cellulose, a polysaccharide, and has an antibacterial effect on intestinal bacteria. Chitin is commonly found in the cell walls of fungi and in the exoskeletons of arthropods (such as shrimp and crabs) or insects.

Finding enoki mushrooms in stool does not mean that they are not digested. They just choose to present their health functions in the form of "indigestible fiber". The main function of insoluble fiber is to promote intestinal peristalsis, increase stool volume, and excrete toxins from the body.

In addition, humans are omnivorous animals. Unlike herbivorous animals (such as cows and sheep), their stomachs are not able to break down fiber. Insoluble fiber cannot be broken down by human gastric acid and acidic and alkaline digestive enzymes such as bile and pancreatic juice in the small intestine. Therefore, after being eaten, it is easily excreted in its original form.

Put the enoki mushrooms into the hot pot and blanch them like meat slices for 15 seconds until they are cooked.

Elderly people can eat enoki mushrooms by chopping them up and then cooking them to reduce the burden on their stomach and intestines

If you don’t want to see whole enoki mushrooms in your stool, nutritionist Hou Wenyi suggests that you can “chew slowly”. However, for elderly people with bad teeth, poor gastrointestinal function, and slow digestion, you can cut the enoki mushrooms into sections and chop them before cooking to avoid increasing the gastrointestinal burden or causing indigestion.

Enoki mushrooms are rich in nicotinic acid and will not be cooked even if they are blanched for 15 seconds

It doesn’t matter how long the Enoki mushrooms are cooked in the hot pot? According to the food nutrition information of the Food and Drug Administration, every 100 grams of Flammulina velutipes contains 6.49 mg of nicotinic acid, which is not a low concentration. Nicotinamide can maintain the health of the digestive tract, skin, and nerves, and participates in redox functions. It also plays an important role in cellular respiration and nerve electron transmission. It is a pity that it is easy to be lost if it is cooked for a long time.

Nutritionist Hou Wenyi said that freshly picked enoki mushrooms can be eaten raw, but it often takes more than a day from the time they are picked by farmers to the time they are sold to consumers. During the process, they may be contaminated by dust or bacteria. In addition, mushrooms are prone to spoilage when stored for a long time. Therefore, it is recommended that they be cooked, which is safer and can reduce the potential health risks of raw bacteria. Generally speaking, enoki mushrooms are cooked by putting them in boiling water and boiling them for 15 seconds like meat slices.

As for the argument that uncooked enoki mushrooms can lead to the accidental ingestion of colchicine, which can cause poisoning symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, nutritionist Hou Wenyi said that there are not many studies to support this claim. The biggest problem with eating uncooked enoki mushrooms is the possible excessive number of bacteria (such as pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli).

[Nutritionist's Tips]:

Fiber helps gastrointestinal motility and aids bowel movements. It can be used as a food source for probiotics, prevent hemorrhoids, breast cancer and colorectal cancer, and is beneficial for blood sugar control, improving insulin resistance, and lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. Therefore, it is recommended that everyone develop a high-fiber diet habit of "579 fruits and vegetables" every day.