In cooking, fungi are edible organisms that include mushrooms, yeasts, and molds, valued for umami-rich, earthy flavor, meaty texture, and their role in fermentation. Edible mushrooms such as porcini, shiitake, chanterelle, and oyster mushrooms are used fresh or dried in sautés, roasts, soups, stews, and sauces, and often stand in for meat in vegetarian cooking because of their dense texture; different cuisines favor different varieties, from shiitake in East Asian stir-fries to porcini in Italian risottos and chanterelles in French sauces. Yeasts are single-celled fungi essential for leavening bread and fermenting beer and wine, while koji, a mold grown on rice or soy, drives the fermentation of soy sauce, miso, and sake. 'Fungus' in a culinary sense excludes the vast majority of fungal species, which are inedible or toxic; correct identification matters especially for foraged wild mushrooms.