Published in BackHome January/February 2007

As a vegetarian who enjoys cooking for friends, I once struggled to find tasty alternatives to meat-based entrees. Not everyone whom I knew found vegetable casseroles satisfying. Even fewer relished the taste and texture of tofu. Thanks to an adventurous omnivore who introduced me to the marvels of mushrooms, my dinner quandaries soon came to an end.

At the time my embrace of mushrooms caught me by surprise. When my father plunked a plate of grilled portobellos on the dinner table and encouraged me to dig in, I had stared skeptically both at the dish and at him. After all, this was the same man who raved about dining on frogs’ legs and prime rib. What could a passionate meat-eater like he know about delectable, vegetable-only meals? “Try it,” he had urged. “It tastes just like a filet.”

While the endorsement did little to win me over, the first taste of those rich, smoky morsels had me hooked. Within a few bites I became a steadfast mushroom eater and, almost twenty years later, a home mushroom grower. With 843 million pounds of mushrooms commercially produced in the Unites States each year I am not alone in my passion for edible fungi.

Dr. Kathryn McGowan’s love of mushrooms began in childhood when the Patuxent River, Maryland resident hunted for oyster mushrooms in the wilds of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. “Some of my fondest memories with my uncle are about trying to find a giant oyster on a damp fall morning and do so before the deer beat us to the prized possessions,” the medical anthropologist says.

Mushrooms, she explains, mature overnight and are best picked early in the morning. Otherwise, animals and insects will find and feast upon them, leaving few behind for human gatherers.

When McGowan and her uncle finished collecting their edible treasures, the two would then return home and fry the woody gems. Today she no longer forages but does still create such delicacies as mushrooms sautéed in wine, butter, and olive oil and mushroom omelets, quiche, and soup. Along with flavor and fond childhood memories, the ease of preparation continues to delight her. Like McGowan, most cooking enthusiasts relish the simplicity and versatility of working with this food.

While appreciating their culinary straightforwardness, I am also drawn to mushrooms for their nutritional benefits. Low in fat and high in minerals, they are a good source of selenium, copper, and potassium and such vitamins as B12, niacin, and riboflavin. Cultivated oyster mushrooms additionally contain vitamins C and K while wild chanterelles possess vitamin D and carotene.

Although fresh mushrooms are 90% water, they contain between 3% to 35% protein when dried. Some, such as the button, offer as much as 50% dietary fiber to consumers. Studies have shown that mushrooms stimulate the body’s immune system and, when used alone or in conjunction with antibiotics, can stop infections. In Japan over 50 species are utilized for health-promoting and medicinal purposes. Throughout Asia they are employed to counteract the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

Another perk lies in their low-cost accessibility. No need to hurry off to the market for a pound of portobellos for dinner. With the proper tools and knowledge anyone can glean or grow mushrooms.

As I happily discovered, neither pursuit requires a great investment of time or money. Foragers need only a few items, the most essential being a good field identification guide. They should also obtain a sharp knife for cutting through the mushroom’s stem, tissues for cleaning the knife, a brush for dusting off debris, disposable gloves for handling any suspicious samples and a basket for transport. Back at home they will want to have paper bags on hand for storage. Paper allows the fragile fungi to breath, thus sustaining their longevity.

Fortunately for these foragers, wild mushrooms prosper almost year-round. In the winter oysters and wood ears abound. Springtime heralds the appearance of morels and St. Georges. Early summer marks the return of field mushrooms and chicken of the woods. Late summer through fall welcomes porcinis and chanterelles.

No matter what the season mushroom seekers must be mindful of poisonous look-alikes and collect only mature specimens; it is easy to mistake the identity of an immature poisonous mushroom for an edible one. The effects of poisonous mushroom consumption range from an upset stomach to fatal liver damage. To avoid misidentification, novices will want to enlist the assistance of an experienced fungi hunter.

Concerned about collecting the wrong species, I long ago opted to grow my own edible mushrooms. Cultivation is far simpler than it may sound. Thanks to the profusion of starter kits found in catalogs and on the Internet, even the most fledgling farmer can raise a healthy crop of enokitake, cremini, and shitake, among others. Well, spring, or rain water, the proper growing base, or substrate, and a little diligence on the gardener’s part are all that is needed for success.

As a home harvester, I have several easy and inexpensive cultivation methods at my disposal. With a kit I can grow mushrooms indoors in a perforated plastic bag or cardboard box. The bag or box contains substrate such as pasteurized straw, wood chips, or hardwood sawdust and has been inoculated with mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus. It is from this mycelium-rich base that mushrooms will form.

After unpacking the kit, I transport it to my basement, slip a platter or pie pan beneath it, and place it on a table in a dark room. Mushrooms flourish in temperate, dimly lit spots such as cellars or shaded windowsills.

Depending upon the species’ needs, I either soak the kit overnight or daily spray a mist of un-chlorinated water onto its surface. Some suppliers suggest draping the kits with a loose covering of pierced plastic, thus creating a more humid environment for the fruiting mycelium. As any rainy day stroll through the woods will indicate, mushrooms thrive in moist environs.

Growing time depends largely upon type. Oysters start sprouting almost immediately. Within two weeks a full crop will have popped up. The same holds true for shitake, which will continue to blossom in abundance for up to four months, and button mushrooms, which fruit for up to three months. When finished producing, some, such as maitake, can either be transferred to an outdoor garden or composted to yield future outputs.

Mushrooms can be grown indoors throughout the year. Depending on the species, though, some temperature requirements do exist. Oysters and shitakes prefer temperatures from the mid 50’s to upper 70’s. Maitakes like anything from the mid 50’s to 70˚ Fahrenheit while enokitakes relish brisker conditions of 40 to 60˚ F. During the sultry summer months I occasionally run a fan or air conditioner to achieve the desired climate. In the dead of winter I simply move my shitakes and oysters to a warmer spot in the house. The kitchen countertop and pantry are excellent winter homes for heat-seeking mushrooms.

Along with kits, I have also tried my hand at dowel or plug spawns. This method involves putting small, spiral-grooved, mycelium-infused hardwood pegs into cut, hardwood stumps or logs. Recommended hardwoods include oak, maple, and elm. Injured, decaying, or shedding wood as well as dead wood, which lacks vital nutrients, should be avoided.

A few rules apply to substrate preparation. Experts advise cutting the wood in the late winter or early spring, when sugar content is higher, and one to three months before inoculating with the plug spawn. As for the dimensions, the logs should be between three to four feet in length. The diameter should not exceed 14”.

Logs sawed, two inch-deep holes must then be drilled into the wood. These cavities should be spaced evenly across the surface and number anywhere from 20 to 50. Once in place, tap a dowel spawn into each depression. Within 6 to 24 months mushrooms will surface where the pegs were inserted. As with the kits, growing time varies from species to species.

Implanted logs can remain outdoors beneath a protective covering such as straw or burlap. Do not use plastic as this may cause the wood to mold. Unfortunately, I speak from experience on this point. In harsher climates the logs should stay indoors in a cellar, shed, or garage.

Tending an outdoor mushroom garden remains yet another option for home cultivators. To do so, they must establish a bed of moist mulch, soil, or wood chips onto which they sprinkle mycelium. Plot seeded, they cover the area with a thick layer of straw, mulch, or wood chips and water accordingly.

Under ideal conditions full colonization of the garden will occur within 12 months and, ideally, the bed will bloom for several years. Unlike their kit and spawn counterparts, these gardens do face some obstacles to successful production. Unpredictable weather, pestilence, and neglect can impede or prohibit growth.

After turning out a wealth of mushrooms, all growers must confront the dilemma of how to prepare or store their perishable product. Countless cookbooks devoted to fungi line the shelves of bookstores and libraries. Many, such as Amy Farges’ The Mushroom Lover’s Cookbook and Primary and Nicola Hill’s The Mushroom Cookbook, are excellent sources of inspiration.

A fan of multi-subject cookbooks, I often turn to Linda McCartney On Tour, Alice Water’s Chez Panisse Vegetables, Matthew Kenney’s Big City Cooking and Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat for suggestions. Recipes in these tomes vary from appetizers of baked, stuffed mushrooms and chantarelles on toast to hearty dinners comprised of porcini risotto or portobello piccata.

If not cooking and consuming within a few days, I would consider pickling, salting, or drying. Pickling requires the use of good quality vinegar or oil, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of peppercorns, cleaned and blanched mushrooms and a tight-sealing jar. Salting calls for one part salt to three part mushrooms with the mixture stored in a non-corrosive container. Drying can be as simple as laying the mushrooms on a tray in a warm, open oven or hanging them from a string. Once dried, they should be stored in an airtight canister.

No matter what the method of obtaining, cooking, or preserving, mushrooms provide a healthful, flavorful addition to any diet.