Staying under the general topic of ‘Lee’s 30p meals’, the ‘cost of living crisis’, and how impossible ‘30p meals’ are to achieve, I’m having a look at the ‘things on toast’ genre. Basic though they may be, things on toast (or dietary alternatives) can be pretty cheap, flexible and easy to make. I’ve always got one eye on a key market - students, volunteers, and those having to cook during fieldwork trips on tight and diminishing budgets in challenging conditions.

(For clarity: Lee Anderson was the Conservative MP who promoted the idea that the poor can eat for 30p each per meal. Yeah, I know …)

Mushrooms on Toast

The Romans loved a nice mushroom. The emperor Claudius ate them for his last meal, and although he died around half a day later, the fungi themselves were an unlikely culprit. And surely more importantly, in the cultural lexicon of northern England we’ve Bet Lynch - landlady extraordinaire from Coronation Street - declaring: ‘Mushies on toast. Food of the gods.’

This edible fungus ‘of the gods’ is certainly a decent enough meal if you have enough of it on your plate - but is it cheap and is it worth it overall? Can mushrooms ever be one of ‘Lee’s 30p meals’?

Not really, no.

But read on! They can be part of a small one.

The costs depend on which type of mushrooms you use - you can use fresh (types vary in price), frozen, tinned or dry. Tinned mushrooms from somewhere like Lidl are still relatively cheap, but you’d have to split a tin to keep it near the 30p-40p mark for the simple requirement of mushrooms on toast. If you’re lucky you can find still usable fresh mushrooms in the reduced sections of supermarkets. For fresh, look for ‘value’ ranges, especially chestnut mushrooms for flavour.

Dry mushrooms tend to be more expensive, though useful for storage (e.g. for camping and field trips). That’s the problem with dried food - great for portability, not so great sometimes for price.

Frozen and tinned are cheaper, but are better for adding to meals rather than having them as a meal in themselves on toast, as they can be a bit soggy. But needs must, especially in the field.

Unfortunately, even buying a reduced pack of mushrooms won’t hit the 30p a meal mark. This is what a 30p meal looks like.

Method

It’s not rocket science, but you need to keep your eyes on the prize. Slice the mushrooms and fry quickly in a little butter or margarine (spread), and put them on to warm toast. If you use the butter or margarine in the pan to quickly cook the mushrooms, you don’t necessarily need it on the toast as well.

You can cook a lot of mushrooms in a large wok, pan or pot. They reduce quickly, which is why you have to keep your eye on them. Have lots of toast on the go if you’re cooking for a large group of people.

Realistically, you need a few medium mushrooms, sliced, per piece of toast. Adults tend to like some seasoning, by which I mean just salt and pepper, maybe some dried mixed herbs from a jar.

If you are using tinned mushrooms, which are a relatively cheap, portable and ‘prepper’ option these days, drain the can. It also helps to dry the slices out on a kitchen towel first but it’s not essential.

Does everyone like mushrooms? No. A lot of kids basically hate mushrooms so good luck with that one.

Nutrional Value & Dietary Info

The good news is that there is nutritional value to mushrooms.

In that sense they are probably worth the money, although I wouldn’t say that mushrooms on toast is much of a meal for a working person, as I doubt it’s filling enough unless there’s a reasonable amount of it.

However, mushrooms are: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, low calories, low carb and low FODMAP. As needed, cheap bread can be replaced with gluten-free options such as gluten-free bread (pricey), cornbread, rice. Other dietary needs can be met with low-GI whole grain sourdough (pricey), or a dollop of spicey lentils or chickpeas, or a slice of cooked aubergine (eggplant) or cauliflower. (By cooked I mean grilled, griddled, toasted, barbecued, fried, baked or roasted.)

Plastic Waste

The bad news is that a lot of mushrooms these days come packed in plastic. You may be able to find a recycling point near you for these plastics, or you might not.

Some supermarkets offer loose mushrooms you can put in paper bags, but not that many in the great scheme of things.

Costs

Mushrooms on toast used to be a cheap meal, but it isn’t any more. It’s certainly not inside the cost envelope of one of Lee Anderson MP’s ‘30p meals’. Even the cheapest toast costs 14p to put a couple of thin slices on plate, and then - realistically - it’s around another 50p at least for just a few mushrooms and energy costs. Obviously you can halve this but look at the results: that’s just a snack.

If you were cooking this en masse for a fieldwork lunch and/or for a group of students and volunteers in fieldwork accommodation who are sick to the back teeth of cheese sandwiches, you’d need to make sure you had at least two slices of toast per person, enough mushrooms, and probably a mug of soup, bovril or vegan bouillon to go with it.

Bet Lynch was right: mushies on toast are the food of the gods.

Acknowledgements & Sources

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4463/mushrooms-roman-mosaic/ ‘Mushroom, Roman Mosaic’ by Mark Cartright 23 January 2016

https://www.ancientpages.com/2016/09/14/mysterious-ancient-mushrooms-in-myths-and-legends-sacred-feared-and-worshiped-among-ancient-civilizations-2/