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Medicinal Mushrooms- Turkey Tail Trials
by Joe Harchanko
I began hearing about the potential health benefits or Turkey Tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor) early on in the pandemic. With such a wonderfully descriptive common name, it was not long before I started identifying Turkey Tails just about everywhere I looked. It was when I spotted some rather expensive extracts in the local health food store that I finally decided it was worth giving it a try. After all, if I could pick with little effort something out of my yard that others were charging $60 a bottle for, it seems like I should give it a try.
Right?
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Potential Health Benefits
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Notice the word “potential.” When it comes to the research on the health benefits, it is notable that “may” is the first word in each claim. I do not recommend using this or any other supplement in place of good, scientifically backed practices such as vaccinations, masks, and hand-washing.
Here is what we do know: Turkey Tail mushrooms contain a lot of things we know to be good for us. They are rich in antioxidants, particularly phenol and flavonoid antioxidants which reduce inflammation and stimulate the release of protective compounds. They are prebiotic, which means they act as food for the “good bacteria'' in the gut. They contain polysaccharopeptides, particularly Krestin (PSK) and Polysaccharide Peptide (PSP) which in test-tube experiments increased monocytes, white blood cells that fight infection and boost immunity. PSK and PSP are commonly used in cancer treatments in Japan and China.
The presence of the aforementioned substances has led to much interest in using Trametes versicolor to fight and prevent cancer and heart disease as well as to promote general health and immunity responses. They are thought to be beneficial for a wide range of health concerns including athletic performance, insulin resistance, HPV and the common cold. While COVID has not been around long enough to know its interaction with Trametes versicolor, there is much anecdotal information and speculation that the immunity boosting traits can help prevent symptoms, if not outright infection. It certainly won’t make you bullet-proof or even immune, but it seems likely that it could be a helpful assist to other precautions.
Identifying Turkey Tails (and lookalikes)
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Trametes versicolor is pretty easy to identify and has two common look-a-likes that are easily discernible without so much as a spore-print required. Trametes versicolor grows as a shelf on rotting wood. I’ve found it on parts of my firewood pile that got exposed to rain, as well as in the forest on down branches and stumps. Its fan-shape and concentric circles are very reminiscent of its namesake and and it comes in a variety of colors.
Stereum hirsutum, or false turkey tail, is the most obvious look-a-like and describes a group of various species. As their latin name suggests, there are often tiny “hairs” present and visible under a hand lens. In my experience, they usually appear with brighter orange than the T. versicolor. But the real give-away comes when you flip them over. Trametes versicolor has a white to creamy underside with very small pores (3-5 per mm) that are generally visible to the naked eye. S. hirsutum, on the other hand, has a smooth to slightly bumpy texture that looks essentially like the upper side.
Even David Arora states that the Lenzites betulina, a.k.a. mazegill or gilled polypore, can be indistinguishable from the Trametes versicolor until one looks underneath. It is often found alongside Turkey Tails. When I first found it, I thought it was an agaricus (gilled mushroom) since its spore surface is arranged into long lines that resemble gills. It is likened to the T. versicolor in its edibility, but I have not tried it. In either case, its underside is quite different. If you are looking for T. versicolor, look for the smooth white underside with tiny pores (see photo).
Preparing
In Mushrooms Demystified, Aurora states that Trametes versicolor is, like him, too thin and tough to be edible but he suggests boiling it for 62 hours (probably a slight exaggeration). Other sources suggest boiling for an hour, but this too seems like a lot of energy and carbon impact. I recently tried a neighbor’s dehydrator and have had good results with dried turkey tail. If you don’t have a dehydrator, leave them in the oven at its lowest setting for a few hours or overnight (on a cold night, preferably, to heat your house). I found that 200g of fresh Turkey Tail will dehydrate to about 60g. We know mushrooms are mostly water but that’s a surprising amount of water in a mushroom that seems so dry and tough. These are so tough, in fact, that even when dried a mortar and pestle had little effect on them. My coffee grinder shredded them into an interesting fluff, which then compacted nicely in the mortar and pestle.
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While this fluff can make a good tea by steeping it for about 7 minutes, I believe it leaves quite a bit of the good stuff in the solids. I’ve found boiling it for 10-20 minutes and then leaving it to cool before straining is the best approach. Returning to the filtered solids, I can usually get a bit more from a second boiling, but not much.
I use about 1 tsp of dried fluff per cup. If using undried mushrooms, cut away the wood and debris, break them up into smaller pieces and boil it in one cup of water per 20g of undried mushrooms. Add a dash of turmeric and some honey for flavoring. This gives you the added advantage that turmeric has many of the same health benefits as mushrooms. Or if you have dried candy caps, add a small amount to your brew when boiling to create a wonderful aroma and taste.
Joe Harchanko is a musician and educator and can be found on the YouTube cellotopia channel. He serves as the Treasurer for the Willamette Valley Mushroom Society. You can reach him at harchanko@gmail.com.