Ever heard of the lobster mushroom? They grow in forests in the US, particularly the Pacific Northwest, and are supposed to taste and even smell like actual lobster. These mushrooms are actually the result of a parasitic fungus that attacks certain kinds of mushrooms and changes their shapes, giving them a reddish-pink shade that looks a lot like the cooked crustacean, too.
Lobster mushrooms are used as plant-based seafood in dishes like “shrimp” cocktail, but the rare fungi won’t save you much money compared to real deal lobster. They can go for as much as regular lobster by the pound. And while food scientists are out there trying to make plants taste like meat, isn’t it cool that nature had the idea first?
Source: FoodBeast