Growing mushrooms

They may be small in size, but mushrooms are big on nutritional benefits.

With virtually no sodium or fat, they’re cholesterol free, contain the B vitamins niacin and riboflavin, and are a good source of dietary fibre.

Tasty and versatile, they’re used raw or cooked in a number of ways.

More than 85% of Australian households purchase fresh mushrooms on a regular basis. According to the Australian Mushroom Growers’ Association, they are the second most valuable fresh vegetable crop grown in this country after potatoes.

Mushrooms can be grown at home without any special equipment, and you don’t need a garden as you can use a kit and cultivate them indoors.

To grow white button and Swiss brown mushrooms indoors, just add water and keep the kit in a dark, moist spot. The spore of the more exotic oyster and shiitake can be grown on a mushroom board, wood or straw.

Depending on the variety, you can be harvesting mushrooms in three to five weeks’ time.

Use the kit contents as fertiliser when finished.

To cultivate your own mushrooms purchase a grow your own mushroom kit from your local hardware or garden store.

Most come with instructions and pasteurised compost that is pre-seeded with spawn and casing.

Open the large bag of mushroom compost.

Leave it in the box and spread the small bag of peat moss on top.

Water with a fine spray and keep moist while the mushrooms are growing.

Put the box in a dark, moist spot away from direct light or draughts. In about seven days, a white or light green mould will appear and the mushrooms will grow from this.

Commercial mushroom growing in Australia dates back to 1933, when they were grown in railway tunnels, including the Circular Quay to St James line before it was completed.

The industry moved outdoors in the late 1930s and mushrooms were grown in raised beds in open fields, covered in straw and hessian bags.

The mushroom industry is the ultimate recycler. The nutrient-rich compost in which they’re grown is made from stable bedding, straw, poultry litter and other organic materials. The finished waste is sold as garden mulch and fertiliser.

In Australia, you can pick wild mushrooms, and many mushroom lovers make the pilgrimage to pine forests in autumn to harvest slippery jacks and saffron milk caps, the two edible varieties.

Never eat wild mushrooms unless you can identify them accurately, as fatal poisoning can occur.

Take heed of the saying, ‘If in doubt, go without’.

Saffron milk caps or Lactarius deliciosus are bright orange and mild tasting.

They are popular sautéed, in rice dishes and pastas, and may also be dried or pickled.

Slippery jacks or Suillus luteus have brown caps and yellow gills.

They also have slimy skins that need to be peeled before eating.

They have a strong taste and can be used in a variety of recipes, including sauces and casseroles, or fried.

Also called champignons and table mushrooms, if picked when very young their delicate flavour makes them perfect for eating raw or cooked. If picked when starting to open, button mushrooms have a deeper colour and taste, and are great for stir-fries and casseroles.

The deep, earthy taste and firm flesh of Swiss brown mushrooms makes them an ideal ingredient for casseroles and risottos.

They’re also delicious marinated and added to an antipasto plate.

You can pick them young or allow them to grow larger. The large ones are usually sold as Portabello mushrooms.