I love mushrooms. Whenever I go hiking at Skylands, my home in Maine, or in the woodlands of my Bedford, New York farm, I always enjoy discovering and identifying the different wild mushrooms I see along the way.
A mushroom is the fleshy spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. Not long ago, during one of my trips to QVC, I had some time to visit Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania - a multi-generation family owned business that has been cultivating mushrooms since 1927. The process of growing mushrooms is very interesting and very different from growing other crops. It was a great visit - if you're ever in the area, I encourage you to make a stop.
Here are some of my photos - enjoy.
The Phillips Family, now in its third generation, is the largest marketer of specialty mushrooms in the United States. The company distributes more than 35-million pounds of mushrooms each year.
Phillips Mushroom Farms has a state of the art facility that includes seven-acres under roof with nearly a million square-feet of specially designed growing space. I was fortunate to get an exclusive behind the scenes tour – these growing houses are enormous. The company produces 200-million pounds of mushrooms annually.
The facility focuses on providing a superior growing climate for the mushrooms. In each of their giant houses, the temperature, humidity and oxygen content are monitored by a computer 24-hours a day.
These are Maitake mushrooms, Grifola frondosa. It is characterized by its layers of caps that are curved like spoons. I was able to harvest some Maitake mushrooms to take home for my recent business dinner.
Here are Pom Pom mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus, growing out of the substrate, or growing medium. The Pom Pom mushroom is also called lion’s mane mushroom, monkey head mushroom, or bearded tooth mushroom. It has a mild, sweet taste and pleasant texture that have been compared to lobster or very tender veal. Among its other medicinal benefits, pom pom is best known for its traditional use in treating ailments of the stomach and digestive tract, as well as nervous system disorders.
These are Velvet Pioppini mushrooms, Agrocybe aegerita cv. Velvet Pioppini – a type of shimeji mushroom, which are distinct for their clustered growth habit. Velvet Pioppini mushrooms are also known as Black Poplar mushrooms and Willow mushrooms. In China they are referred to as “Cha Shu Gu,” which means “tea tree mushrooms.” They have chocolate brown caps, pearly stems, and are skinny yet sturdy. The Velvet Pioppini mushroom’s rich and earthy flavors are frequently described as “foresty” and peppery, with a firm texture and satin finish that holds up beautifully in cooking.
Royal Trumpet mushrooms, Pleurotus eryngii, have light brown trumpet-shaped caps resting on tender white stems. This delicately flavored exotic mushroom is also known as the King oyster.
Oyster mushrooms include a variety of different Pleurotus species and are available in an amazing array of colors and sizes. These oyster mushrooms are dark gray. They have a texture much like their seafood namesake, with a mild pleasant taste.
These are also oyster mushrooms in a lighter gray. The oyster mushroom was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during World War I and is now grown commercially around the world for food. It is related to the similarly cultivated King oyster mushroom.
Here is another gray oyster mushroom. The oyster mushroom is one of the more commonly sought wild mushrooms, though it can be cultivated on straw and other media as seen here. It has the bittersweet aroma of benzaldehyde, similar to bitter almonds.
And here is an even lighter colored gray oyster mushroom. The colors range from white to gray or tan to dark grayish-brown. The flesh is white, firm, and varies in thickness.
And this is a pink oyster mushroom, Pleurotus djamor. Pink oyster mushrooms grow in layered clusters like their gray and yellow relatives. Their color is intensely pink when raw and changes to an orange brown color when cooked.
Here is a yellow, or golden, oyster mushroom. Golden oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus cornucopiae, are luminous citrine yellow mushrooms with a tangy flavor that’s perfect in small quantities as an edible garnish. This mushroom lightens in color when sautéed.
Portabella and Crimini mushrooms are the more flavorful cousins of the white button mushroom. The Portabellas are allowed to ripen further and open up. As a result, they have a rich, robust mushroom taste and a texture that has been compared to filet mignon.
Criminis, Agaricus bisporus, are tan to brown in color with a firm, buttery texture. They’re picked while they are still closed, with their veil covering the gill surface. Here they are in a pre-conditioned pasteurized substrate.
Here you can see white Agaricus mushroom pins in the substrate. They can be harvested after 19-days.
Hardwoods such as oak, beech and maple make a great substrate for many types of mushrooms, especially when combined with a bran supplement. Saw dust is often used as part of the substrate material for Pom Pom, Royal Trumpet, and Maitake mushrooms.
Hulls can be mixed with hardwood saw dust at different ratios to produce extremely effective and high yielding substrates. This is often done for growing oyster mushrooms.
Some of the different grain mixes include wheat bran, rice bran, maize powder, and combinations of the same.
Millet is another popular grain used for substrate.
Using straw as a substrate works well for many types of mushroom species and can be much less expensive than other materials.
Near the actual growing facility are these painted mushrooms on the driveway leading from the growing exhibit to the store. This is how visitors are guided from one building to the other.
The shop is housed in the original 1828 family farm home that the Phillips acquired in 1890. Called “The Woodlands”, the shop offers fresh, jarred and dried mushrooms, as well as unique mushroom gifts and recommended books. Visitors can also see the Farm’s mushroom exhibit to learn about the Farm’s history and the science behind mushroom growing.
This well on the back porch of the store is original to the property. It is no longer used, but on this day, we did see water in there.
Outside the shop are some of the whimsical ceramic mushrooms that is available at the store.
Many of the outdoor mushroom garden ornaments are handcrafted and glazed in the United States by ceramic artisans.
Visitors can browse the many books about mushrooms – how to grown them, cook with them and use them for their many medicinal properties.
And Phillips Gourmet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phillips Mushroom Farms, sells this Blended Burger, which is 60-percent beef and 40-percent mushroom, with fewer calories and less saturated fat. For more information about Phillips Mushroom Farms, click on the highlighted link above. How do you like to cook with mushrooms? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!
If you love spicy foods and dishes with an extra flavorful kick, then consider making your own prepared horseradish.
Horseradish, Amoracia rusticana, is a hardy perennial herb that has been cultivated since antiquity. It's easy to grow and is best harvested in the fall, winter, and early spring when the soil is still very cool. Cool soil promotes the formation of compounds that give horseradish roots their pungency. My gardeners recently harvested a bounty of horseradish from my garden. It was then cleaned and stored in the refrigerator until I made a large batch of “prepared horseradish” - it was delicious.
Here are some photos.
This wheelbarrow is filled with freshly harvested horseradish root. I grow it at the end of a garden bed next to my rhubarb in the flower cutting garden. When harvesting, use a sturdy shovel to dig up eight to 10-inch long tubers of horseradish.
The plant is native to southeastern Europe and western Asia and is popular worldwide. It grows up to almost five-feet tall, and is cultivated primarily for its large, white, tapered root. The plant itself, once established, propagates with tubers, and is very hardy.
Choose firm roots with cut ends that look fresh. The roots are covered with a somewhat hairy brown peel. Avoid any that are wilted, desiccated, or soft.
The horseradish was placed in crates and then put into my Flower Room kitchen to be washed and cut.
Enma uses a vegetable peeler to peel the surface skin off of the tuber.
She takes all the skin off to expose the clean, white root.
Then she cuts off the knobby end.
Once peeled, Enma places the root stalks into a stainless steel bowl of cold water. Once exposed to air or heat horseradish begins to lose its pungency, darken in color, and become unpleasantly bitter tasting over time.
Working in batches, Enma then washes the horseradish to make sure the pieces are all free of any dirt.
Mixing it with some citrus juice keeps the horseradish from discoloring. In another large bowl, Enma squeezes a lemon from one of my citrus trees here at the farm. This citrus press is from my collection at Macy’s – it is among my favorite kitchen gadgets. goo.gl/qpKagG
Enma then adds cold water to the bowl.
And places all the washed horseradish into this bowl. The horseradish will sit in the bowl while Enma peels more.
After all the horseradish is peeled and washed, it is loosely wrapped in a towel, placed in a plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator. It could stay here for up to four-weeks.
A few days later, I had just enough time to make some prepared horseradish the morning of my business dinner. Look how beautiful this fresh horseradish is – so white and very aromatic.
Working in batches, I cut up the horseradish into large chunks.
Then I cut them into cubes. Working with horseradish is similar to working with onions – you may want to cut the horseradish in a well ventilated area, where the fumes won’t burn your eyes. As the flesh is exposed to air, enzymes cause substances in the roots to change to spicy mustard oil, which could cause a little stinging. Some are more sensitive to it than others. This process stops when the root is submerged in vinegar.
Using a food processor, pulverize the peeled horseradish root until well ground. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary.
Making prepared horseradish is so easy. Once processed, move the horseradish into a bowl and add vinegar. For about a cup of horseradish, add about 3/4-cup white vinegar. Homemade prepared horseradish is about twice as strong as store-bought versions, and can last several weeks in the refrigerator.
Then add some sugar.
And finally, add a couple tablespoons of salt to taste.
I have a lot of horseradish to make, so I made one bowl at a time.
Using a spoon, thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
And then give it a taste – it has just the perfect kick. I am so excited with this fresh prepared horseradish. I shared it with my housekeepers, outdoor grounds crew and with my gardeners – everyone loved it.
Here it is in the center – we served it that night for my business dinner. It was the perfect accompaniment to our delicious pot-au-feu. Bright and pungent, fresh horseradish perks up any meal. If you don’t already, I hope this inspires you to grow some of your own! You’ll love it too.
The mighty ginkgo tree in my Summer House garden is bare once again.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back about 300-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. I have several ginkgo trees planted around my home, but the majestic ginkgo in my sunken garden is original to the property and about 250-years old. Although not as large as others I've seen, my tree is quite massive. Ginkgo trees have beautiful green leaves that turn a luminous gold-yellow in fall. And on one day, after the hard frost sweeps down the east coast, my mighty ginkgo, along with the others at my farm and countless more in the area, drops its leaves to the ground leaving a gorgeous carpet of color below.
This happened over the weekend. Enjoy these photos.
This is the sunken garden behind my Summer House. The main focal point is this great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space. This is how it looked earlier this month – I showed a similar photo of it on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. The bright golden yellow leaves tower over many of the trees in this corner…
This is how it looks before the leaves turn – it’s filled with beautiful bright green foliage.
And then one day over the weekend, it got so cold that the leaves of this gingko tree seemed to drop at once. Look at this soft blanket of leaves on the ground – it’s quite amazing.
Here is a closer look. Everyone here at the farm checks on the tree daily during this time of year, and finally the great ginkgo in this garden is bare once again.
It’s hard to see the stone footpath beneath all the leaves. Ginkgos are grown as hedges in China to supply the leaves for western herbal medicine. The leaves contain ginkgolides, which are used to improve blood circulation to the brain and to treat many cardiovascular diseases. It is usually Europe’s number one selling herbal medication.
Everything is covered in yellow. Here is the area directly below the tree – the trunk of the ginkgo is on the right.
Here are the boxwoods lining both sides of the stone footpath in this garden – all covered in ginkgo leaves.
And so is the lawn outside the garden. Why does this all happen? In autumn, deciduous trees form a scar between their leaves and stems to protect themselves from diseases and cold. Most flowering trees form scars at different rates, in different parts of the tree, over several weeks. Their leaves then fall off individually. Ginkgo trees form scars across all their stems at once. And when the first hard frost of the season arrives, it finishes severing every leaf, and they fall to the ground in unison.
The word ginkgo comes from the Chinese yinxing meaning ‘silver apricot’. It was named the maidenhair tree in England because the leaves look similar to the native maidenhair fern.
The trunk of the ginkgo tree is a light brown to brownish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and highly ridged. The ridges become more pronounced as the tree ages. The trunk circumference of this tree measures more than 14-feet.
My great ginkgo tree is a female specimen. Female ginkgo trees produce tan-orange oval fruits that fall to the ground in October and November.
Here are many fruits lying among the fallen leaves.
The leaves are unusually fan-shaped, up to three-inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three-inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
Each mature leaf often has a single vertical slit in the top center. This forms the fan with a cavity in the middle separating it into two lobes. Bi-loba means “with two lobes”.
Here is a ginkgo tree fruit. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell – it is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta.
The ginkgo seeds inside contain urushiol, which is the same chemical that causes poison oak, ivy and sumac, so always wear gloves and protect your skin whenever handling the fruit.
Here, the ginkgo fruit is separated from the ginkgo nut – a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines.
Some of the younger trees in the garden hung on to a few leaves, but most of them also dropped over the weekend.
This is a photo taken last week of two smaller ginkgo trees at the corners of my herbaceous peony bed – there is one on each corner of the bed…
These trees also lost all their leaves over this weekend.
The ginkgo is such a fascinating deciduous tree. When did your ginkgo trees lose their leaves? Let me know in the comments section – I am very curious to hear.
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