Mycelial Mayhem

Growing Mushrooms for Fun, Profit and Companion Planting

David Sewak, Kristin Sewak

• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781550926217
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Sustainable Agriculture
• Index: Technology & Engineering

• David speaks and exhibits at national and regional green living events, providing information on how to grow or forage for mushrooms and live more sustainably.
• He and his wife, Kristin, formed a sustainable mushroom farm in 2012, translating their years of hobby mushroom growing and business experience into supplemental income
• Kristin earned a BS in Ecology from University of Pittsburgh and is a Habitat Stewards Host with the National Wildlife Federation
• In 2010, Kristin became one of 40 young people in Pennsylvania to be honored with Pennsylvania Environmental Council's "40 under 40" award, which recognized emerging environmental leaders.
• Mycelium Mayhem helps people become comfortable incorporating mushrooms into their sustainable lifestyles or as a first step toward simple changes.
• Many starter books are available on sustainable gardening, brewing, and building, but for the beginning mushroom enthusiast, few simple resources exist.
• Most mushrooms available at grocery stores are the bland, boring products of an industrial process, and many people want more diverse mushrooms for their cooking and are uncomfortable gathering wild mushrooms, for good reason.
• This book will help many achieve the goal of growing mushrooms to improve their quality of life or increase their farm's profits.
• Co-op available

SECTION III

THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR

Umami of Edible Mushrooms

What Is Umami?

Umami is derived from the Japanese word,

. Though difficult to describe, umami translates to “pleasant, savory taste” and was scientifically proven as the fifth taste sense by Kikunae Ikeda (1909), a professor of the Tokyo Imperial University. It is considered the fifth of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. If it’s not one of those, chances are it’s umami. The pleasant, warm taste is often mild, but flavorful, and lingering. Mushrooms, along with other foods rich in glutamate, such as meats, vegetables, and cheeses, are often described as savory or umami foods. A notable exception is the medicinal reishi, which is bitter. Some examples of dishes rich in umami are soups, stir fries, and pasta dishes. Glutamate describes the components of glutamic acid, a protein or amino acid, responsible for the taste. Use this chapter for your own kitchen, and if selling mushrooms, communicate this information to your customers to enrich their experiences with your mushrooms and keep them coming back for more!

FIGURE 6.1. Umami means “pleasant, savory taste.”

Often, mushrooms have an umami taste that is unique to mushrooms or unique to a particular variety of mushrooms. The umami of mushrooms has been described as savory with a woodsy note. However, the unique umami of varieties is quite diverse, from the woodsy shiitake to the lobster-esque lion’s mane. In 1957, Akira Kuninaka (1960) realized that the ribonucleotide GMP present in shiitake mushrooms also conferred the umami taste.

From Harvest to Feast: Handling Mushrooms for the Best Umami

From the grow block or garden to the plate, the proper handling of fresh mushrooms preserves their freshness and therefore, maximum umami. It also ensures food safety, so be especially sure of your handling procedures, i.e., have a written food handling/safety plan if a purveyor. If selling mushrooms, educate your customers on the proper post-sale storage, prep, and cooking methods so that they come back for more. For instance, stress the importance of storing mushrooms in a dry paper bag or specially-made mushroom bags, cooking all mushrooms thoroughly, and trying small portions of new mushrooms to ensure that they are not sensitive to certain varieties.

Harvesting

Timing is everything when harvesting mushrooms, especially to ensure umami. With many mushrooms, umami turns into “eew-mami” once the fruiting body starts to sporulate. Know your varieties of mushrooms well so that you harvest them at the perfect time. For instance, wine cap stropharia should be harvested when the fruits become large enough, but the caps are still “closed” and burgundy in color. Shiitakes will have a well-formed cap that has not turned upward to start sporulation, as is the case with many capped mushrooms. Oysters will often give their own signs of spore development. The clusters will be well-developed, stacked on top of one another, and spread outward prior to sporulation. A dusting from the fruiting body above will appear on the clusters once they start producing spores.

Remember to pull your hair back when harvesting to prevent any strands from getting into your mushroom bags. Wear a clean shirt, free of pet hair or other dirt. And, of course, wash your hands prior to harvesting your mushrooms.

To harvest cleanly, follow these instructions:

1 Tie hair back and make sure you have clean clothing on and have washed your hands before you pick the mushrooms.

2 Determine whether the mushroom is fresh. You do not want to pick anything past its prime.

3 Most mushrooms should be pulled, not cut, to increase their storage longevity. While picking, inspect the mushrooms for bugs, which can hide underneath the gills. If present, brush bugs of with mushroom brush. Brush off any pollen or dirt.

4 It’s best to weigh (if applicable) and package mushrooms on the spot (in paper bags or produce containers), at the site of harvesting, to avoid contamination from the local environment, unless you have a certified kitchen to work in. An example of potential contamination is the pet hair that floats through your house, including in your kitchen.

5 Label containers with harvest date, and if applicable, price.

6 Transport harvest to a clean refrigerator with a temperature of 45–50°F.

FIGURE 6.2. Mushroom storage bag.

Storing

With fresh mushrooms, proper storage is paramount, both pre-and post-sale. Harvested mushrooms deteriorate quickly, some more than others. While shiitakes and wine caps have a fairly long refrigerator life, oysters do not last that long, and the amount of time varies according to the species or variety of oyster. We’ve had shiitakes last as long as a week (sometimes even more), while our oysters only last three or four days. It’s a good thing that mushrooms don’t sit unused for long in the houses of their enthusiasts. Though mushrooms vary in their longevity, here are the primary rules of fresh mushroom storage:

1 Refrigeration:

a Always store mushrooms in a dry container allowing for some air circulation; it could be one made for produce, a loosely closed paper bag, or a specially-made reusable mushroom bag, which is usually made of breathable cotton and features a drawstring. (If a purveyor, you could make these with your logo imprinted and sell them full of mushrooms for an upcharge.)

b Keep packaged mushrooms between temperatures of 45–50°F, even in transport.

c Never store mushrooms in a refrigerator’s crisper, as this area is too moist and will cause premature decay. Instead, place your mushrooms on the shelves.

d Ideally, use mushrooms within a few days.

2 Freezing: When freezing mushrooms, you want to take precautions to ensure the best flavor. We like to grind mushrooms up in a blender with a little olive oil and some walnuts (or pine nuts) until it is a thick paste consistency. We put the mixture into ice cube trays, cover with wax paper, and place in the freezer. When solid, we break out them out, wrap individual cubes in wax paper, bag in small quantities and vacuum seal before placing in the freezer again. When we need some for cooking, we pull our cubes out individually. Alternatively, you could cook the mushrooms lightly with some bouillon, cool, and use the ice cube tray process. Having some liquid (water or oil) seems to lock in the flavor best and allows you to have some pre-measured mushrooms on hand, even in the winter. Fresh mushrooms can be chopped up and frozen without any additions, but you will need to vacuum seal them to properly preserve them. Dave’s Nana used to cook up a batch of mushrooms with bacon, eggs, and flour and freeze it in old butter tubs (see recipe “Nana’s Mush” near end of this chapter). Lightly cooking a mushroom side dish and freezing it works fine.

3 Dehydrating: This ageless process is excellent for preserving mushrooms, and for some, it seems to intensify the flavor. A basic food dehydrator will do the job. Dry them thoroughly and vacuum seal or store in canning jars. Shiitake, black trumpets (chanterelles), oysters, etc., can be dehydrated whole or sliced. We slice and dry reishi too, though very small ones can be dried whole. All of our cooking rubs start with dehydrated mushrooms ground to a powder, and are finished with spices and sometimes salt. If you a...