Mushrooms

We took a tour last year with M's community college class to the Far West Fungi mushroom farm in Moss Landing.  The following semester, we visited Gourmet Mushrooms' organic mushroom operation in Marin Co. to understand how different facilities grow different types of mushrooms.  There were medicinal mushrooms, gourmet mushrooms, white mushrooms, red mushrooms, yellow mushrooms, small and large mushrooms of fantastic and unique shapes...

One would think we have enough expertise to harvest our own spores, build a mushroom igloo operation, and set up a table at the Ferry Building Farmers Market, eh?  Haha. Noooooope. But we have been very successful growing mushrooms at home using kits purchased at Mycological Society of San Francisco's annual fungus fair. These kits are terrific and a lot of fun.  All you need to do is provide water!

Here are a few fun photos from his class

Preparing test tubes and agarose medium for sterile transfers

Will mushrooms grown in ground coffee hulls taste like coffee?

I have a question about this hydrogen peroxide method...

Good Eats episodes:
The Fungal Gourmet (Season 2)

• The Fungal Saute
• That Ol' Cap Magic