Our own journey with Lion's Mane ( Hericium erinaceus) and mushrooms has been thrilling and has given us many new lessons. By reading about the mushrooms, taking mushroom courses, looking for mushrooms in nature and trying mushrooms in different ways, we gain a deeper understanding. With the right knowledge and with our hearts in the right place, we can get powerful mushroom products!
We have used Lion's Mane, or Hedgehog's Mane, in various forms and manufactured in different ways. It is obvious that the mushroom products on the market are of varying quality. It is difficult to rely on Best in Test online. It can be extremely confusing and not easy to know what to look for.
First, it is important to know WHAT part of the mushroom has been used. Is it the mushroom body itself or is it the mushroom mycelium?
First, you want to know HOW your mushroom product was made.
Here we have compiled a few points to help you identify good quality Lion's Mane:
How should Lion's Mane look in color?
Lion's Mane in powder and tincture should be BROWN in color, on the darker side. A potent Lion's Mane tincture is BROWN. Here is a picture of what Örtfabrikens Lion's Mane looks like.
What should Lion's Mane tincture taste like?
Mushrooms contain terpenes which give them a bitter taste. Terpenes are extracted using alcohol. So if your Lion's Mane powder or tincture has been extracted with alcohol then it should have a slight bitter taste. In other words, it should not taste sweet.
You also want the flavor to be full-bodied and have a distinct cocoa or chocolate flavor and aroma. Wow! When we ourselves felt the slight hint of chocolate in our Lion's Mane tincture, we got a rush of happiness!
Double extraction process
The color and flavor of Lion's Mane often depends on how the product has been extracted. If the product (powder or tincture) has only been extracted in one step, it will often be lighter in color. We like our Lion's Mane to be extracted in two steps, using both water + heat and alcohol.
By using both water and alcohol, we extract (pull out) both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble substances from the mushroom.
We have a great post/recipe on how to make your own Chaga tincture. Here we describe in more detail how the double extraction process works.
P.S. A tincture is mushrooms in liquid form, concentrated form for internal use.
The iodine test
You can do a simple test at home because there are different ways to test your mushroom product. By dropping a couple of drops of iodine into your tincture, you can determine by the color whether your product has important, active substances such as fiber in it. Some products on the market have too much starch in them (due to how the mushroom has been grown).
The iodine test is super easy to do, but you will of course need to have liquid iodine at home. Read about how to do the iodine test here .
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So to sum up:
Look at the color, is it dark brown? Taste your Lion's Mane. Does it taste full-bodied, with a slight ounce of bitterness and a hint of chocolate? Then you probably have a good quality Lion's Mane with a powerful effect.
Örtfabriken loves mushrooms and you can find a lot of great information on our blog and on our social media. So stay tuned!If you are interested in trying our mushrooms, you can find them here .
1 comment
Så glad ni beskriver hur man gör! Ökar er trovärdighet när man ska välja var köpa!
Tack för det!