FOOD NEWS
Why Mushroom Cultivation Is A Booming Craft Among Many Chefs
BY CLAIRE REDDEN
There are over 2,000 varieties of edible mushrooms, each inspiring chefs and home cooks around the world, so much so that mushroom cultivation is becoming a booming craft.
Primarily, cultivation is popular thanks to mushroom's high yield-to-space ratio. With just a little bit of dedicated space, you can produce a steady supply of mushrooms.
However, cultivation isn't just about an everlasting supply of mushrooms. It's part of a larger trend toward more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of eating.
Revered for their meat-like textures, mushrooms allow chefs to expand their menus to include options for their vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian guests.
Cultivated mushrooms are accessible to many diets and easy to grow in urban environments, plus they don’t need to be refrigerated since you pick them right before eating.
However, even low-tech setups like bags of mycelium can provide consistent availability — something that's become more and more unpredictable for foraged mushrooms.