I was asked by a child not too long ago what makes our Big Brain Bars "big brain"?
One could argue that everything that we put into our products, from the careful selection of ingredients, to the thoughtful way we formulate and process our consumer packaged goods makes Big Brain Foods a smart choice for snacking.
But there are two superstar ingredients we include in each one of our unique products that are essential to the "big brain" formula.
It's a rather simple equation...
Lion's Mane + Cordyceps = Big Brain
Lion's mane and cordyceps are the two mushrooms that Omar selected to include in the very first recipe for the Big Brain Bar back in the day. Pulling from his knowledge of the mushroom kingdom, he believes that these two mushrooms have some of the most potent nootropic (cognitive enhancing) benefits of any mushroom out there.
Today I am going to focus on the mighty Lion's Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus). This is the one that actually looks kind of like a big brain itself.
If you've been keeping up with Ohms Collective over the past couple of years, you've probably seen images of some of the wild foraged lion's mane mushrooms that we have harvested in our local region.
Lion's mane mushrooms are some of Omar and my absolute favorites. In fact, our first unofficial date back in November 2019, was a foraging mission to harvest a giant lion's mane from an oak tree in Ojai.
Hericium are wood loving funguses that can be found growing wild across North America, Europe, and Asia. There are a number of species of hericium, some of
which can only be found in the wild and can not be cultivated. But the Hericium erinaceus that we most often come across in our area can be farmed or grown at home. You may have seen these white cotton ball-esque mushrooms at your local farmers market or gourmet grocery produce section. Though I must say, I much prefer the taste and texture the lion's mane that has been harvested from the wild.
The hericium erinaceus that we most commonly find are white, roundish, and have hairlike tentacles that remind me of sea anemones. Occasionally we will come across a hericium coralloides (coral tooth) that looks more like a delicate bit of coral as its name suggests.
In our region of California, lion’s mane are most often found growing from dead or decaying oak trees though they do grow from other hardwood trees such as maple, beech, and walnut. I’ve even heard of a lion’s mane growing from an avocado tree but I haven’t seen any evidence of that myself.
Lion’s mane mushrooms usually emerge from a wounded part of a tree and can be seeing popping out of knots, cavities, or the stump of a felled branch. Often they will be found growing quite high up. The mushroom Omar and I collected together on that first date was probably 30 feet above the ground in an oak tree that was precariously growing on a steep slope on the side of a winding road. Omar used a knife that he had duct taped to the end of a long pole to cut the lion’s mane out of the tree. It was my job to catch the mushroom as it fell loose.
Omar and I have learned that lion’s mane will grow out of the same tree year after year. Now there are number of trees in the 805 that we check for lion's mane as soon as foraging season hits which for us starts around late October and goes through February or March. We’ve noticed that lion’s mane tend to start popping out once the nights get cold. Rain water helps their growth though I’ve observed that even during the drought years we have had success foraging for local lion’s mane.
One of the reasons we love lion's mane mushrooms so much, aside from them being fun to forage, is for their versatility and impressive nutrient quality. That is to say, these mushrooms have a lot to offer both in the kitchen and in the medicine cabinet.
From a culinary perspective, lion's mane mushrooms are mild in flavor and have a meaty/seafoody texture that is tender yet wholesome. Lion's mane makes for a good meat substitute for vegetarians (it's also rich in protein!) and can be applied to a range of recipes.
My personal favorite (and the dish Omar and I cooked together after our first date foray) is lion's mane risotto; cut into small cubes the lion's mane mimics the taste and texture of sea scallops. We have friends who love to shred fresh lion's mane into tentacle-y like pieces and mix it with bread crumbs to make "crab" cakes. And, Omar has also used lion's mane to cook a vegetarian version pork belly by marinating slabs of the mushroom in barbecue sauce and searing them on a hot grill.
Lion's mane are also yummy simply sautéed with a little oil, salt, and pepper.
If you have been keeping up with us on Instagram you’ll know that lion’s mane mushrooms can be dehydrated and blended into a powder. Because of it’s delicate flavor, lion’s mane powder can easily be mixed into a number of recipes ranging from savory to sweet. In the past I have even added lion’s mane powder to sugar cookie batter, a sneaky way to give a nutritional boost to a sweet treat.
At Ohms Collective, we use powdered lion’s mane in our Big Brain Bars, our Cocoa de Myco hot cocoa blend, and our Big Brain Capsules. (Stay tuned for when these products will be available for purchase).
By now you might be wondering what some of the benefits of lion’s mane are. What makes eating this mushroom a "big brain" choice…aside from the fact that it looks like a big brain?
If you’ve been paying attention to health food trends over the past five years you’re sure to have seen lion’s mane popping up in many supplements, snack foods, and beverages with product labels displaying the words focus and clarity; and there is truth to these claims.
Studies have shown that the active compounds found in lion’s mane, erinacines and the hericenones, effectively increase nerve growth factor (NGF) in the brain. These compounds have proven to be supportive in the regeneration of brain cells, increasing neural plasticity, and strengthening of synapses. Therefore, regular consumption of lion’s mane is likely to be effective in improving cognition, memory, focus, and mental clarity.
Lion's mane has long been used as a medicinal food in Asian cultures and as an overall tonic in Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to those studied in TCM, lion’s mane is has been used to heal and tonify the liver, spleen, lung, heart, and kidney.
Recently, researchers have been studying lion’s mane for its nootropic qualities with a keen interest in discovering whether these mushrooms might be effective in treating degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Additional studies have provided evidence that consuming hericium erinaceus may also be effective in elevating mood and reducing anxiety and depression. This makes sense based on how the active compounds in lion's mane mushrooms benefit the central nervous system control center.
Other healing properties of lion's mane mushrooms include
improving gut health
enhancing immunity
powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
rich in protein and amino acids
high vitamin D content
just to list a few.
Since there aren’t any real risks or side effects, I’d say that adding lion’s mane to your diet or supplement regimen is a big brain choice worth considering. Though I would also urge anyone curious about adding a new supplement to their health regimine to do their own research to determine if it is the right choice for you.
One last bit of food for thought I want to leave you with before signing off is a note on the importance of understanding the quality and quantity of lion's mane used in a food product or supplement. I find it rather irksome that most companies out there that are adding lion's mane and other mushrooms or adaptogens (plants or funguses that support our bodies in adapting to stress) to their consumer packaged goods do not provide consumers with any information regarding the where the mushrooms are being grown, what part of the mushroom is being used, or even how much of the the mushroom is in one serving the product. So if you see a snack bar or beverage in the grocery store that has lion's mane as an ingredient it's possible that there might not even be enough lion's mane in the product to deliver the desired effect. Furthermore, it's possible that the mushrooms used in said product might include powdered myceliated grains or be factory farmed in China...
This topic of sourcing for quality and being conscious of quantity is honestly worth it's own blog post. For now I'd just like to say that Ohms Collective is committed to only using mushrooms that are grown organically in the United States. We only use the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms in our products, and we are sure to include a true medicinal dose of each mushroom supplement in our products to ensure that consumers really gain the benefits of the mushrooms and aren't just enticed by the buzzwords on the packaging.
There is so much more I would like to share about lion's mane and how we utilize this mighty mushroom at Ohms Collective but I'm afraid I've rambled on enough for now.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading :)
Until next time, be well and stay curious.
With so much love from,
Chrissy Dasco-Uribe
co-founder
Thank you for sharing this great information about the Lions mane mushroom and its wonderful healing and culinary properties! The photos in the blog post are excellent too! The mushroom really looks like a Big Brain!
Great post!