In addition to my years in radio, I spent a good portion of my adult life working in restaurants. As I've mentioned before, I even owned a couple. So I've had the opportunity to try every imaginable food I could get my taste buds onto. Raw fish, veal brains, sweet breads (organ/glandular meats), and of course... mushrooms.

Most folks associate shrooms with plain old white button mushrooms that you see in the grocery store, which is not even the tip of the shroom-berg. In my opinion, there's a criminal lack in variety of mushrooms in the average veggie section. Sure, you see buttons, criminis, portabellos, maybe some oyster mushrooms and shiitakes.

But where are the morels? Where matsutakis? Where are the trumpet mushrooms? A lot of the wide varieties there are, exist in the wild during different times of year, right here in Maine. But naturally, you shouldn't EVER eat a mushroom in the wild if you're not 10,000,000% positive what it is.

So how can we get more of these tasty fungi in our lives, without relying on the store, or a potential trip to the ER? Have you considered growing your own at home? These days, that's super easy, thanks to home grow kits. In as little as a few weeks, you can have your own mushrooms, ready to get in your belly.

Thanks to a partnership between two Maine companies, Maine Mushroom Company and Maine Cap and Stem, this is very much a reality. The demand started to soar during the pandemic, with people nervous about going to stores and wanting a more direct connection to their food.

Amanda Olson of the Maine Mushroom Company said this to WABI - TV5:

We specialize in growing boutique quality, gourmet mushrooms. We’ve actually seen a growth in sales this year rather than a decline, but the markets that we’re selling to have changed a lot. There’s been a huge increase in demand for grow kits.... You can purchase a grow kit and within 7-21 days, you have mushrooms that you can eat. Even overnight, you can see them growing. Parents at home with children want to purchase grow kits as kind of an at home science project.

At the end of the day, growing your own mushrooms doesn't require a lot of work. Mother Nature does most of it for you. But the reward, especially if your a fan of shrooms, is totally worth it. Plus, like I said.... growing your own food can be really fun, guy.

Ugh, I'll show myself out.....

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