We hope that everyone will join us for another tasteful Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons, this Thursday from 2 to 5 p.m. The market is featuring fall flavors and we hope everyone can stop by to stock up on great tasting produce.
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Mushrooms … what an
incredible taste to add to salads, soups, stews, and pizza! With their
distinct, earthy aromas and flavors, they enliven and add subtle hints to any
food, and are clearly a favorite with “foodies” and aspiring chefs.
Technically, mushrooms
are not vegetables, as botanically they are classified as fungi, “organisms
that lack chlorophyll, leaves, true stems, and roots, reproduce by spores, and
live as saprotrophs or parasites.” Saprophytes get their nutrition from
decaying organic matter, and hasten the process through enzyme action. (Think
of the decaying stumps with clusters of fungi and toadstools in our wooded
areas).
Today’s popular edible mushrooms at the market—button or white mushrooms, baby bella (cremini), and Portabellos—are all variations on the same species, Agaricus bisporus, which is cultivated throughout the world. According to the website, thekitchn.com, the difference comes from the age of the mushroom at time of harvest. The white mushrooms are the youngest, the baby bellas are slightly older, and the Portobello are fully matured, with a large, meaty cap.
Historically, people have eaten mushrooms for millennia, and the earliest written account of commercial farming was by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in the 18th century. Farmers at that time would try to find wild mushrooms and transplant them into growing beds; they had varying success, as along with the spawn (spores and organic matter) required for new mushrooms to grow, pathogens would get transplanted in the new beds. Things took a giant leap forward in the 1890s, when scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris developed sterile growing medium. Today’s white mushrooms were developed in Pennsylvania in 1926, a result of a mutation; Pennsylvania remains a key growing region for mushrooms. For more on growing edible mushrooms from kits, visit the websites of Better Homes & Gardens or the National Garden Association.
I for one am content to buy mushrooms from our market; most of us do not want to make a mistake collecting wild specimens and getting poisoned. Common mushrooms are easily confused with the aptly named destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera and Amanita ocreata.), or with the less poisonous (but still unpleasant) Agaricus xanthodermus. If mushroom hunting is of interest, I would learn from an experienced person to identify wild mushrooms.
In a quick survey of my
co-workers, a simple and delicious way to serve mushrooms is to grill
portabellos. So to close, here’s a simple recipe from All Recipes
to enjoy while the weather still allows for some grilling.
Grilled
Portobello Mushrooms Ingredients
Serves 4, prep & cook time: 1 hr. 10 min.
Serves 4, prep & cook time: 1 hr. 10 min.
4 large portobello mushrooms
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced (this may be reduced if
you’re not a fan of garlic)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Place
caps on a plate with bottom facing up.
Mix other ingredients and pour evenly over
mushroom caps and let stand for 1 hour.
Grill over a hot grill for 10 minutes, serve
immediately.
Some who tried the recipe indicated online that you may want to only grill the mushrooms on one side, to help retain the marinade inside. Others said they served it on a sandwich roll, and that it was well received by both vegetarians and meat lovers.
Until next time, be
well!
Lori
