Food waste is a huge issue in the U.S., where an estimated 30% to 40% of the food supply is tossed out. But a team of researchers and chefs are actively working to turn food that was once written off as garbage into gourmet delicacies with the help of a certain fungus.

It’s all broken down in a new scientific article published in the journal Nature Microbiology. In the study, a group of scientists led by Vayu Hill-Maini, Ph.D., a chef, scientist, and post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, detail how they use the fungus Neurospora intermedia to ferment foods that were once considered waste.

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“It has the unique ability to break down cellulose into edible food,” says Andrew Luzmore, chef and director of special projects at Blue Hill At Stone Barns, who uses Neurospora intermedia. “It’s a new tool in our toolkit to provide value and economic value to what is considered food waste. It has the potential to take something and make it valuable.”

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here