Are fungi the key to a healthy belly and a happy planet?
Reproduced in association with Culinaire Magazine
Mushrooms are having a moment, and new varieties like oyster and lionâs mane are giving meat a run for their money.
Many gourmet mushrooms add an earthy or nutty flavour, and for vegetarians, a great, meat-textured protein to press together into steaks or shred, like pork. Theyâre an affordable, clean protein, wellness shot, and earth healer, and they arenât going away anytime soon â especially with many grow-at-home kits allowing us to take part in the farm-to-table movement in our own backyards. Luckily for us, Alberta is also home to many young, inspired, and passionate growers who are making a large-scale difference â one mushroom at a time.
For Chantal Wang, of Planet Mushrooms, growing fungi was simply walking in her parentsâ mushroom-growing footsteps. 10 years ago, she left China to study at the University of Alberta, but she struggled to find the mushrooms she used to eat. Albertaâs climate resembled her home in China, so she started growing her own mushrooms, eventually selling them at farmerâs markets.
Some were skeptical of the mysterious mushrooms, but with the help of Albertansâ growing interest and Wangâs love of âthe great fungi world,â Planet Mushrooms was born. Today, Wang grows shiitake, oyster, shimeji, enoki, reishi, and turkey tail mushrooms, to help you spice up a dish and shake up your proteins. Sheâs continuing to add to her inventory of mushroom grow kits, and is in the process of developing mushroom extracts to help with anxiety, immunity, and memory.
With plans to expand to Calgary markets, she invites customers to explore. You can find info on new products, mushroom research, and recipes in her e-newsletters (go to the footer of planetmushrooms.com to sign up!). Most of all, âbe brave and be curious,â she says, âafter you try them, you will be so surprised because they taste so good.â
Nearly 60 years ago, Dr. Murray Roy OâNeil dreamt of a future of healthy protein and clean production, and this passion and drive soon turned into Highline Mushrooms, the worldâs largest organic mushroom farm. Today, Highline Mushrooms has farms across Canada, including one in Crossfield, near Airdrie, where Albertans can pick up fresh mushrooms. The Highline Mushrooms line-up includes button, mini bella, portobello, shiitake, enoki, oyster mushrooms, as well as king oyster, and with the help of Dutch growing techniques, the company grows millions of nutrient-packed, recycle-loving fungi on a one-acre plot.
Highline Mushrooms is also committed to continuing its water-conscious operation using evaporation to ensure no freshwater is wasted. And to further give back to Albertans, the nitrogen-rich soil left behind after their harvests is gifted to community gardens to keep the cycle of local, healthy, earth-friendly food going.
But this isnât it for Highline Mushrooms. Dr. OâNeilâs dreams live on, and the company is always looking for ways to âembrace every opportunity to grow,â says Marketing Manager Stephanie Myles, âto grow as a company, grow our communities, and grow pretty amazing mushrooms.â
For husband and wife duo, Rachel and Carleton Gruger, the future is fungi. With a passion for clean protein, wellness, affordability, and sustainability, the two set out in 2017 to establish Gruger Family Fungi to share their love of mushrooms with others. According to Rachel, âit was a no brainer.â
In 2018, their first mushrooms sprouted, bringing about an eventual expansion into king, gold, pink, and blue oysters, as protein alternatives as well as lionâs mane, reishi, and cordyceps for a boost to mental health, immunity, and energy, respectively. To shake things up, Gruger Family Fungi also offers an array of products, including Umami Bomb spices, dry oyster mix, reishi tea, and king mushroom flour, or you can try their mushrooms fresh. Theyâve also got recipes on their website like Rainy Day Blue Mushroom soup to help you get started.
If you fancy a farm-to-table mushroom patch of your own, Gruger Family Fungi offers mycologs for the spring and summer months. Itâs all part of their mission: âkeep providing nutrition in uncertain times,â Rachel says. âHealing the earth ⌠and providing good food people can trust.â
Just outside Strathmore is Red Fox Fungi, a small operation with big dreams run by Janine Aube and Brad Wandzura. The two met while in law enforcement, but after visiting Wandzuraâs property in 2018, Aube saw an opportunity: gourmet mushrooms, and more specifically, pink and blue oyster and lionâs mane mushrooms.
A mechanic by trade, Wandzura balanced his corrections job with building their equipment and facilities, and Aube now works full-time on the marketing and value-added side. Theyâre the yin and yang of the Alberta mushroom game, and a force to be reckoned with. Sustainability has become a buzzword, but Aube and Wandzura have vowed to be ahead of the curve: they use biodegradable fruiting bags and purchase honey from a beekeeper up the road (rather than plastic Petri dishes) to grow the mushroomsâ growing base, mycelium. In the spring, Red Fox Fungi also offers gardening soil from their fruiting bags that you can pick up by donating to Kids Cancer Care.
A past collaboration with Inglewoodâs Cold Garden (a lionâs mane mushroom and chocolate, dark beer!), grow-at-home mushroom kits, and âsecondsâ mushroom spices now available means we can expect exciting things from Red Fox Fungi in the years to come.