Moscow Food Co-op Produce Tips

by Dani Vargas, Produce Manager, from the June 2002 newsletter

At first glance of this title you might be thinking that this is a job for Muldar and Scully, or Scooby Doo, but it's not.

The truth is out there and I am going to tell you all the facts. What we are looking at here is a rare case of Certified Organic Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms.

These gourmet fungi arrive once a week via a big brown cargo transport system commonly know as UPS. These mushrooms are grown 35 miles west of Missoula, Montana.

The growers—husband, Glen Babcock, and wife Wendy—began their operation in 1995. They named their business "Garden City" because that is a common nickname for Missoula. Three other employees help run Garden City Fungi.

Their mushroom-growing operation is certified organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) which is an international agency that certifies producers and processors in over 20 countries. OCIA has over 7500 grower members and has certified well over 1.5 million acres.

Their indoors mushroom farm operates 365 days a year. It is similar to a dairy farm in that someone needs to be there all the time. If the mushrooms are not picked at just the right time they lose their value.

Mushrooms are the fleshy members of the fungi kingdom. Mushrooms originate from spores, not seeds. Spores are microscopic particles that fall from the gills on the undersides of mushroom caps. Millions of spores together look like tiny puffs of dust. The slightest air current blows the spores away. The mushrooms are grown indoors to obtain as much control as possible over them and their environment.

Mushroom spores are grown in a medium. Almost any agricultural by-product (straw, corncobs, banana peels, sawdust, and coffee grounds) will work as a medium. Glen and Wendy prefer to use straw and sawdust. They inoculate their medium with the growing spores which are then known as mycelia (as spores grow they form threadlike filaments called hyphae which absorb water and nutrients, creating the mycelia). Then the medium is left in the incubation building for 30 to 100 days depending on the type of mushroom. The medium is then moved to the fruiting building where the stalks and caps begin to appear. Their goal is to harvest the caps and stalks the moment they taste best. The growth of the stalk and cap occurs so quickly, so timing is everything.

The Shiitake or Black Forest Mushroom is indigenous to the Far East and has a wonderful robust flavor. Shiitake have been enjoyed for thousands of years and are popular with gourmets, who enjoy their rich flavor and garlic pine aroma. To prepare and cook Shiitakes, trim the base of the stems. Clean the caps with a damp paper towel. Too much heat or oil detracts from the delicate flavor. Shiitakes are best when braised or sautéed. Do not eat them raw. Sawdust is the medium for the Shiitakes. To prepare the sawdust, the Babcocks add nutritional supplements and water. Then that mix is sterilized for 5 hours at 250 degrees in an autoclave.

Oyster mushrooms are found all over the world. Their colors vary from gray to yellow and from pink to blue. Oysters are good when used in stir-frys and also take well to baking. To prepare and cook oysters it is usually not necessary to wash them. Just trim the bottom of the stems. Simplicity is the key in cooking oyster mushrooms. Their taste is easily overpowered. They cook more rapidly then common mushrooms. Serve them in a soup, creamed, or lightly sautéed in butter. They are also good on pasta or polenta. Do not eat them raw. The medium for Oysters is straw. Instead of sterilizing the straw, the Babcocks pasteurize it. The straw is submerged in 160-degree water for one hour.

Garden City Fungi also offers "grow at home" mushroom cultivation kits. Their mushroom kits give the amateur mushroom enthusiast the chance to grow mushrooms indoors at home. Each kit comes complete with detailed instructions. For information about these kits please visit their Web site.

A lot of work is put into growing these mushrooms and it shows when the mushrooms arrive fresh at our store. Although this business operates year round we are not able to receive the mushrooms year round. Since they are shipped by truck, there comes a time, during the warm months, that the temperatures get too hot for the mushrooms to make the trip.

Do we want the Sun? Do we want the mushrooms?

Unfortunately we cannot have them both and pretty soon we will have to give one of them up. Until that time, I hope you will all have the chance to enjoy these gourmet mushrooms provided by Garden City Fungi. Case closed.

Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes, and images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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