Chaga is showing up more and more nowadays. “What is Chaga mushroom?” and “what are Chaga mushroom benefits?” have become topics amongst doctors, alternative medicine advocates, and researchers. It is the main ingredient in super-immunity teas, coffee elixirs, and a number of health-boosting supplements. Chaga in its’ raw form can be found in chunks, so let’s discover how to grind Chaga and incorporate the ‘King of the Mushrooms’ into our diet.
While it’s not hard to find pre-ground Chaga, a lot of users prefer to purchase chunks to ensure the quality of the product and store it more conveniently. If you harvest your own Chaga or have bought Chaga chunks, it’s easy to grind them into powder yourself.
The purpose of grinding Chaga is to allow easy access to the most nutritious part of Chaga, called the sclerotium. In order to draw the most from the mushroom’s nutritional value, it’s important to boil ground Chaga or use an alcohol extraction process. Ground Chaga is also easier to use in recipes than dry Chaga chunks.
How to grind Chaga at home?
Grinding Chaga at home is easy, especially if you have access to a food processor or a coffee grinder. Simply break the Chaga chunks into smaller pieces, comfortable enough for the tool (depending on its’ power). To avoid jamming or damage to the grinder, and let it work its magic. Go over your device’s instructions beforehand but grinding Chaga shouldn’t be a challenge.
As an alternative to electrical devices, you can use a hand mill or a mortar and pestle. The last one being the traditional way of grinding Chaga.
To grind Chaga with a mortar and pestle, place the Chaga chunks in the mortar and then crush the chunks with the pestle. It might be a bit of a workout but make sure to break the chunks into the smallest possible pieces first.
To grind Chaga with a hand mill, you’ll need a mill with two blades. A coarse grinder blade to break up the chunks and a fine blade to further refine the ground-up Chaga. As for mortar and pestle, you may want to break up the pieces for easier grinding.
While ground Chaga is not required to enjoy the benefits, grinding up Chaga will make it easier to experiment with different recipes and ways to consume the superfood.
While using ground Chaga is not mandatory to enjoy the benefits of this superfood, grinding up Chaga can be useful in some cases, and is necessary for certain Chaga recipes.
