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Mushrooms

MUSHROOM
Cultivation, History and Mysticism


Mushroom Mysticism and Modern Usage
There are over 120,000 species of fungi, which is the largest family ofplants that bear no functional greenery. Without chlorophyll, fungi do notneed to rely on photosynthesis for their energy supply. Instead, they surviveby feeding off other organic matter, dead or alive. Yeast, molds, smuts,toadstools and mushrooms all fall into this category and within the realmof mushrooms, there are nearly 2,000 varieties known to be esculent.
Mushrooms are one of nature's most wonderful curiosities. They have theability to appear suddenly overnight: their multiplicity of shapes, colorsand gastronomic effects - ranging from aphrodisiac to poisonous - have bewilderedhumankind for centuries. It's no wonder that mushroom melodrama is a commonelement of folklore.
Wherever a bolt of lightning had struck in the night, the ancient Egyptiansbelieved that divine magic was responsible for the eruption of mushroomsthat often resulted in the area. They routinely indulged in the appetizingpleasures of mushrooms and marveled at their uniqueness. Bearing no resemblanceto fruit, vegetable, mineral or animal, the ancients were finally provokedby curiosity to dig into the soil for further explanation In that way, theydiscovered the underground prize of the truffle, while still holding ontotheir original mystical beliefs. In the 1st century A.D., the author Plutarchdrew a more earthy conclusion, stating that truffles were "mud cookedby lightning.' Early scientists countered with the proposal that they werethe less-than-holy result of stag's urine. For years. these kinds of hypothesesand deliberations overshadowed the logic that, in fact. a combination ofwarm weather, darkness and moisture bring the mushroom to life as the fruitingbody of an underground plant.
Another interesting theory concerning mushroom growth was fathered by WilliamTurner in 1544. Upon studying fungus formation on the rotting wood of ships.he determined the mushrooms would eventually sprout feathers, become birdsand fly off, thus dubbing them the "barnacle goose."

In the 18th century' German women discovered profuse morel growth at thesite of a forest fire. It stood to reason in their minds that such a deliciousbounty on the heels of destruction could only be an imprint of the devil.Surreptitiously. the women conspired to deliberately set small local firesanyway to encourage morel growth, and then they prayed for their own salvation,So irresistible was the delicacy of the morel, it warranted putting theirsouls at risk! Nevertheless. their methods were good ones. Further evidencethat morels are attracted to burnt ground was
furnished during World War II. when morels were observed to be flourishingat bomb sites across Europe Additional proof was provided by the explosivemorel population at Yellowstone National Park after the raging fires of1988. We now know scientifically that ashes are simply the most ; potentfertilizer for this particular kind of mushroom.
The earliest reference to mushrooms was made by the Pharaohs in ancientEgypt. We also know through oral traditions that Chinese herbalists havebeen using mushrooms medicinally for over 4,000 years. In the 5th centuryB.C., the Greeks used truffles as articles of commerce and during the RomanEmpire, some mushroom varieties, including morels, puffballs and truffles.were common indulgences of the nobility. In 54 A.D., the great Roman emperor'Claudius, fell prey to a lethal plot conceived by his wicked wife, Agrippina,who served him a meal of his favorite mushrooms laced with poison. Mushroomswere a staple food source for early civilizations of people in Tibet, Africa,New Zealand, Japan and Australia. In fact, mushrooms have thrived for centuriesall over the world in every latitude where it's humid.
The first commercial cultivation of edible mushrooms was developed in Francein the 18th century. In 1707, a Frenchman by the name of de Tournefort wasthe first to describe how to successfully do this. Following his cue. mushroomfarmers turned caves around the city of Paris into mushroom farms. Theybegan with the cultivation of the popular Agancus hortensis, a variety similarto today's common button mushroom. By the mid-19th century, the mushroomindustry in Paris had firmly taken root and farmers in other areas of Francebegan experimenting with different varieties. Droves of mushrooms from thevalleys of the Seine and the Loire rivers and the banks of the Grinned riverwere sent to Paris for commerce. But, in 1754, there was an epidemic ofpoisoning in Paris, and subsequently, a statute was issued forbidding thesale of all but seven edible mushroom varieties, thereby vastly limitingthe hysterical production. This well documented incident probably mirrorsmany others that had preceded it in other times and places. John Ramsbotton,author of Edible Fungi, observes, "One gets the impression that therewere waves of popularity followed by troughs of distrust due to some catastrophe."(Penguin Books Limited, 1948.)
In the 1890's, J.B. Swayne, the son of a Pennsylvania Quaker and carnationgrower, became determined to find a way to turn the empty space under theircommercial flower beds into a profit. With a stroke of inspiration, he traveledto France to obtain some mushroom spawn. He returned to Pennsylvania tosuccessfully carry out his experiment, becoming the first in a long lineof commercial mushroom farmers in the United States.
Button mushroom production grew with the technological innovations in foodproduction throughout the first half of the 20th century. Canned and frozenmushroom products were ushered into every household, with manufacturerssuch as Del Monte and Birdseye leading the way. These products reached theheight of popularity in the 50's and 60's, declining after that for tworeasons: the Asian market began exporting the same items at prices thatundercut the American producers: and secondly, the fresh foods revolutionset the entire culinary world up side down in the 1970's and created a newdemand for fresh and exotic mushrooms. The Asian markets responded withnew dried varieties, and to this day, they still control the dried mushroommarket. The United States responded with massive cultivation of fresh exoticmushrooms, propelling the country into the number one production positionin the world. Last year, over 780 million exotic mushrooms were grown inthe United States alone. making it a $300 million a year business. Franceand Japan run a close second The boom in exotic mushroom production hasput J B. Swayne's hometown of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania on the map. Mushroomsare now the state's number one cash crop. Without rival, this small townhas become the mushroom Mecca of the world.
Phillips Mushroom Farm is the largest commercial grower of fresh, exoticmushrooms in the world. They are one of over 30 producers in Kennett Squarethat turn out tremendous amounts of fresh varieties such as criminis, portabellas,shiitakes and oyster mushrooms for the market every year.
The method of production at Phillips is much like everywhere else. Concreteclimate-controlled houses. called "doubles," are constructed togrow the mushrooms. Each double is set up for one kind of mushroom, withabout $30,000 worth of high-tech equipment to monitor humidity, temperature,light, moisture and C.O. Ievels specific to that variety. The mushroom bedsalso vary from house to house with different organic materials celled 'substrata,"designed to give the maximum nourishment and maximum yield for each particularmushroom. Shiitakes. for example. are grown on a brick-shaped substratemade from bran, millet and red oak sawdust. The bricks are drilled withholes and inoculated with the shiitake spawn. An elaborate root system calledthe mycelium must colonize the brick before it begins to fruit-or mushroom.The shiitake stem itself is an extension of the growing medium; in otherwords, it's sawdust. Most people know not to eat shiitake stems, but ifit's attempted. it's nothing more than unpalatable. From start to finish,shiitakes take about 15 weeks to mature.
Criminis take about 13 weeks to mature. turning into portabellas as theyare left to grow larger. The substrate used in the crimini beds is subjectedto a highly-monitored process of composting and aeration before it getslaid in the doubles. It's made of 50% straw bedded horse manure, which istaken from the local race tracks, with corn cobs, soy bean stubble, cottonseed hulIs and cocoa hulls. recycled from the nearby Hershey Chocolate manufacturingcompany in Hershey. Jim Angelucci. General Manager at Phillips, points outthat substrate production serves an important environmental purpose. Hesays, "We take agricultural waste products and turn them into Pennsylvania'snumber one cash crop!
Mushrooms of every flavor and color are readily available on the commercialmarket as well as in their natural settings The Pacific Northwest has attractedcommercial mushroom growers. hobbyists and a new breed of fortune seekersto harvest valuable wild mushrooms every year. The state of Oregon estimatesthat wild mushroom foraging is a 540 million a year industry. Some evensay that the mad surge of pickers harkens to the days of the Californiagold rush. A wake of robberies and even some scattered murders have marredthe peaceful mountain ranges of Oregon and Washington in recent years.
The call of the wild mushroom may best be left to the brave and daring.For those of you at home. take heart in knowing that commercial access toall the wild mushroom varieties requires only a phone call to your purveyoror a trip to the local produce stand.