Almond mushroom

What it is

Agaricus subrufescens is a cultivated mushroom. In the cultivation literature it is usually called the almond mushroom, and in Brazil it has been sold under local and marketing names. The Mycologia review by Richard Kerrigan (2005) treats it as a species with a long, confused naming history, and that history is the most important thing a buyer or cook needs to know about it.

The species is best understood as a set of names rather than a single product. The Brazilian mushroom was grown for years as Agaricus blazei Murrill, in the form sensu Heinemann, and later as A. brasiliensis. Kerrigan argues that these Brazilian mushrooms belong to the same species as A. subrufescens, based on rDNA ITS sequence comparison, mating studies and analysis of hybrid progeny. The review presents this as a strong case rather than a settled fact, and this page follows that wording.

The sources reviewed here do not describe the texture, aroma or cooking behaviour of the fresh or dried mushroom in enough detail to support a sensory account, so none is given.

Its history in North America and Brazil

Kerrigan's review states that Agaricus subrufescens Peck was first cultivated in the late 1800s in eastern North America. It was a popular market mushroom for a time and then faded from commerce in the early 20th century. The record of its later life runs through Brazil.

The review says a mushroom growing wild in Brazil was introduced into cultivation in Brazil, in Japan and elsewhere. The dates of that rediscovery are not agreed in the sources consulted. One account places it in 1960, when a collection near São Paulo was sent to Japan in 1965, and another places the rediscovery in the 1970s. This page does not choose between them, because the reviewed abstract does not give a date.

Once the Brazilian material was in cultivation, marketers gave it several names, and the sources report that the mushroom was promoted for purported medicinal properties. The Mycologia review's title calls the species an edible and medicinal mushroom. This page records the title and does not assess any medicinal claim, since the sources reviewed give no clinical basis for one.

Names and why they matter to a buyer

The main names in the record are Agaricus subrufescens Peck, A. blazei Murrill (sensu Heinemann) and A. brasiliensis Wasser et al. The review lists these as the most common and the most recent names. A product labelled with any of them may be the same species, so a buyer should check the scientific name and the supplier's identification rather than trust the common name alone.

The review also mentions the western European A. rufotegulis, which the abstract suggests may be conspecific, and it proposes that hybridisation between populations may play a part in current stock. For a cook this matters because the strains on sale differ in their history.

How it is grown and what it does in a kitchen

The sources reviewed for this page do not give a cultivation method, substrate, temperature or yield for the almond mushroom, so none is given here. Growing the mushroom is a specialised task, and a home method cannot be taken from this page.

The review does not describe the cooking behaviour of the fresh mushroom, its texture after cooking or its flavour in a dish. This page makes no claim about them. Where a preparation uses the mushroom, the preparation's own page should carry its method and its sources.

Almond mushroom is a cultivated food ingredient rather than a fermentation organism in the sources reviewed. Any fermented or preserved preparation that uses it belongs on that preparation's own page.

Choosing and handling

Buy a cultivated product from a supplier who names the species. Because of the naming confusion, check the scientific name on the label or the supplier's statement against the synonyms above. The sources reviewed do not give a storage life, a shelf life or a freshness indicator, so this page gives none.

Safety: the sources reviewed describe a cultivated product. They do not provide a safety assessment for wild collection of this species, and this page gives no identification or edibility verdict for wild material. Wild mushrooms should be identified by an expert before they are eaten, and this page should not be used to identify one.

Open questions

The sources do not settle the date of the Brazilian rediscovery, and the naming of the Brazilian population remains disputed in the sources consulted. A next research pass should read the primary Brazilian and Japanese accounts of the 1960s and 1970s and any strain-level study of commercial material.