ABSTRACT
Mushrooms, from either commercial cultivation or natural habitats, are highly valued for their characteristic and often delicate flavor. Whereas the commercial sources may be limited to a few varieties, the wild sources provide thousands of varieties. The sudden demand for new mushroom tastes and a trend toward the ingestion of uncooked vegetables in previously mycophobic North America during the past two decades have further increased the popularity of mushrooms in the human diet and the world trade in mushrooms.
