Edible Sacramento Fall 2022

ON THE FARM

The Fungus Among Us Local specialty mushroom growers find their niche. WRITTEN BY DEBBIE ARRINGTON PHOTOS BY LOU MANNA I n small spaces throughout the Greater Sac ramento area, enormous volumes of mush rooms grow. “We grow 150 to 200 pounds a week out of a pretty small space,” says Brendan Linnane, own er of Foggy Dew Fungi in Newcastle. His “fruiting room” is an8-by-10-foot, environmentally controlled shed linedwith racks of maturingmushrooms. Dillon and Emily Yialouris started their Cool Mushroom Farm in a corner of their garage (in Cool, Calif., of course). They grow lion’s mane and oystermushrooms, both relatively fragile fungi that are best sourced locally. “Lion’s mane is crazy looking, like coral or cau liflower,” Dillon says. “It grows in big pu’alls with shaggy manes. People started growing it for brain benefits and use it in dehydrated form, mix it in smoothies. But it has this wonderful texture and flavor. Fresh, it’s a great seafood alternative.” Mushrooms love oak, and Foggy Dew’s Linnane has shiitakes growing outdoors on shady logs. “They just fascinate me,” he says. “They’re quite a struggle to get started, but they’re beautiful and taste amazing.” Otherwise, most of Linnane’s mushrooms grow indoors with air conditioning. He sells them at two farmers’ markets, online, and to local restaurants and grocery stores. (Prices start at $10 a half pound.) “I grow oysters of all varieties — blue, white, pink, Phoenix, king trumpets, black pearl — plus li on’s mane, chestnut, and reishi,” he says. “Reishi, or turkey tails, are becoming very popular because of their potent medicinal properties. It makes good ex tracts and tinctures.”

Pathfinder oyster mushroom at Cool Mushroom Farm

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