Homestead mailing list

["WILLIAM JONES" <billj AT harborside.com>]

So you've probably all heard that the only ways to get you vitamin D are to 
go in the sun, take a pill, or eat some fat from an animal who's been in the 
sun: thus the invention of brie, etc.  Well, that's not quite true.  The 
first vitamin D ever synthesized was made from ergosterol, the plant 
equivalent of cholesterol.  This compound works great for all animals except 
birds and New World monkeys.  Well, guess what, you can easily make it 
yourself!!!  The cell walls of mushrooms consist of ergosterol and chitin 
(the stuff that bugs' carapaces are made of).  When irradiated with UV 
(present in ordinary sunshine) this ergosterol is converted is 
ergocalciferol, or vitamin D2.  So simply slice some mushrooms thinly and 
either dry them in the sun, or with a small black light (also helps keep them 
sterile).  There's even a commercial enterprise devoted to this newfangled 
art, the Monterey Mushroon Company, easily found by googling.  I won't even 
ask the price. :)
Anyway, make sure to maximize your vitamin D absorption by pureeing them and 
adding some source of fat.  Cream of mushroom soup?