Market Report: Make room for mushrooms
All about what’s popping at local farmers markets this time of the year.
Thanks to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
And now, BiL’s weekly look at what’s happening at local farmers markets this time of the year.
By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette
Full disclaimer: I love mushrooms, and I eat them almost every day. They are No. 1 on my Desert Island list – you know, if you could have only one thing to eat on a desert island, what would it be? Portobello mushrooms have always topped my list. If you’re like me and don’t eat a lot of animal protein, mushrooms are a great way to bulk up and add meaty texture to a recipe. I add them to oatmeal, turn them into burgers, toss them into soups and stews and make a killer Reuben sandwich using mushrooms in place of corned beef.
Bottom line: today’s column on gourmet mushrooms will be biased.
I say that because mushrooms can be polarizing. I don’t know many people who are ambivalent to mushrooms – you either love them or really, really hate them. Mention adding mushrooms to a pizza, and I know people who suddenly claim a mushroom allergy to avoid seeing the fungi anywhere near their favorite pizza topping (you know who you are)! From conversations with the haters, it seems that the look, texture and taste are the only non-negotiables. Geez. Is that all? These objections are, admittedly, difficult to overcome, and if you’re dead set against giving mushrooms a try, it’s probably time to stop reading this, take a minute and maybe eat a bagel.
But for those of us who love mushrooms – or are curious about ways to use them – look no farther than the farmers markets. I’m not talking cremini/button or portobello mushrooms, but gorgeous gourmet varieties. Two vendors – Mr. Woody’s Mushrooms and Fungi Meadows – offer mushrooms that are thoughtfully and carefully cultivated and provide an opportunity to see these fungi in all their glorious shapes and colors.
At Mr. Woody’s Mushrooms, James Mundell grows and sells up to nine mushroom varieties, with oyster and lion’s mane being the most popular. I always imagined mushrooms being cultivated in dark caves, where they were tended by people wearing coal miners helmets to get the work done. I would be wrong.
Mundell’s gourmet selections are cultivated in Delphi in his converted two-car garage. The process may not be as exotic as I’d envisioned, but it is pretty cool. It starts with mycelium, which are kind of the “roots” of the mushroom, and involves a substrate and other steps that I don’t fully understand – but I’m glad these growers do!
The mushrooms don’t sit alone in the dark. They get 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of dark until they’re ready to harvest. What you see in the pretty cardboard boxes are the result of a fine balance of light and dark, temperature and humidity.
Gourmet mushrooms can be used as you would more common varieties. Mundell says lion’s mane is porous and takes on flavors well. He recommends a simple sauté with oil, salt and pepper (a great way to get a true taste of this variety) or in a smash burger. Oysters also are great sautéed – try them with garlic and thyme – and work well in stews and casseroles to add an earthy, meaty element.
For those who are turned off by the texture but love the taste of mushrooms, Mr. Woody’s offers dried mushroom powders.
On the other side of Fifth Street and down a way, you’ll find Fungi Meadows, where more neat rows of boxes hold five to six mushroom varieties. Glenna Myers was working at the booth when I stopped by, and she says that while all the mushrooms taste like, well, mushrooms, there are subtle differences. She recommends dry sautéing them, which removes 80 percent of the moisture, before adding seasonings. She says oysters and lion’s mane are the most popular with her customers as well and recommends oysters for first-time users. She suggests trying them in pasta dishes, sautéed or roasted.
Both vendors sell the fungi clean and ready to eat. Store them in the fridge in the pretty cardboard boxes they are sold in. They will last about a week.
This Market Report may not convert any mushroom haters, but I hope it convinces the curious to try gourmet mushrooms while they are available at our farmers markets. True, the fungi are grown year-round and sold to restaurants and specialty shops, but buying locally grown produce of any kind is what the farmers market experience is all about.
Learn more:
Find Mr. Woody’s Mushrooms on Facebook
Find Fungi Meadows on Facebook or at fungimeadows.com
Other late-August fruits and vegetables at the market include:
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Onions (red, yellow, shallots, cipollini)
Garlic
Select greens
Green beans
Herbs
Carrots
Okra
Peppers: Sweet and hot varieties
Potatoes (new and russet)
Eggplant
Sweet corn (last gasp!)
Zucchini, zucchini blossoms, summer squash and other squash varieties
Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes
Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries
Cherries, peaches, plums, apricots (from Michigan and Georgia)
DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.
Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street, and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.
Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.
Thanks, again, to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for continued support of the Based in Lafayette reporting project.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
This post was a mushroom celebration and a wonderful art gallery!