Visiting Phillips Mushroom Farms
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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Here you can see white Agaricus mushroom pins in the substrate. They can be harvested after 19-days.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Some of the different grain mixes include wheat bran, rice bran, maize powder, and combinations of the same.
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- Millet is another popular grain used for substrate.
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- Using straw as a substrate works well for many types of mushroom species and can be much less expensive than other materials.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Outside the shop are some of the whimsical ceramic mushrooms that is available at the store.
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- Many of the outdoor mushroom garden ornaments are handcrafted and glazed in the United States by ceramic artisans.
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- Visitors can browse the many books about mushrooms – how to grown them, cook with them and use them for their many medicinal properties.
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- 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!
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