county fare su19
by Diana Cercone
Some have a blue tint to them. Others display petals that lean on the rosy side or burst into a brilliant bouquet of sunset orange. Still others are more sedate hiding in their mass of creamy browns or grays. A few are scruffy looking and globe-shaped with long, shaggy spines. Or have gumdrop-shapes sporting honeycomb caps. None, however, look like the tidy, white button mushrooms found in supermarkets. But mushrooms they are. Glorious, delicious cultivated and wild mushrooms grown and foraged by Joe Seif and Brad Wuerstle of 5th Street Mushrooms in Pipersville.
I first made the acquaintance of their culinary captivators last summer at the Doylestown Farmers Market. And captivating they are. Both in their looks and in any dish where they preside. Not to mention their nutritional and health benefits (I’ll get to more on this later.)
On a bright spring day I caught up with Brad and Joe at Brad’s home (btw—an eye-popping timber-frame home he built totally by himself for him and his wife) in Pipersville. That’s where Joe and Brad do most of their mushroom growing—both in an environmentally controlled “grow room” in the basement and in the barn on the property.
Though Joe, 41, and Brad, 40, were high school friends at BC East, it wasn’t until 2016 that they reunited as good buds—and mushroom partners. It was Brad’s motorcycle accident that brought them back together. Facing multiple surgeries—seven in all including an amputation of his left leg from the knee down—Brad says he had time on his hands which he spent surfing the net. That’s where he came across his old friend Joe’s YouTube videos on the Arduino (micro-controller) projects he built with his two sons, ages 10 and 12.
Thinking that Joe could build an Arduino for his prosthetic, Brad called him. And that’s when the two discovered they were interested in growing mushrooms. Instead of growing them separately, they decided to team up.
“Sounded easier than making feet,” Joe says. “Plus I’ve always been interested in science and nature.” Both men are something of science nerds. They always have some project to work on, adds Joe, the forager of the two. This summer look for his foraged chanterelles, Old Man of the Woods, chicken of the woods and black trumpets. Come fall, they’ll have Turkey tail and reishi (which they also have in the spring). Pheasant back and morels are only found in the spring.
The growing season for their cultivated mushrooms, such as their various oyster mushrooms (around 12 kinds), Lion’s Mane and Bear’s Tooth, spans spring through fall. These are grown in 12-lb. plastic bags of straw or hardwood sawdust and inoculated with mushroom tissue or mycellum. Unlike other crops, Brad says, you never know what’s going to happen. “It’s not like a plant where you see it growing.” It could look like there’s nothing growing and then all of a sudden there’s a profusion of mushrooms.”
Such as on this day. I was in luck. One of the grey oyster bags was fruiting; its delicate petals unfurled. Nodding to Joe, Brad harvested the lot—one and a half pounds of divine delicacy.
Nothing can be simpler to cook—nor more satisfying to eat—than cultivated and foraged mushrooms. (Note: unlike the white button variety, these mushrooms must be cooked.) Slice and toss them in a pan with olive oil then finish with butter, salt and freshly ground black pepper. They’re so good, you’ll need to double the number of mushrooms next time. Just mind the temperature of the pan and cooking time, Joe says.
Oyster mushrooms like it hot and fast, where Lion’s Mane prefers its temperature low and its cooking time slow. Some mushrooms have more distinct flavors than others. Lion’s Mane is a dead ringer for crab and lobster and makes a terrific “crab cake.” Chicken of the Wood tastes like—well—its namesake. Perfect as a stand-in for chicken in a chicken salad. Yellow oyster mushrooms have a delicate flavor, while gray ones lend a meaty texture. The combination of the two, Brad says, works well in dishes. I often mix several different mushrooms together in a dish for their distinct colors and textures.
Not sure how to cook them or need a recipe? No problem. Joe and Brad have cobbled together recipes which they’ve created, suggested by their customers or gleaned from the net. You’ll find these in a binder at their farmer’s market stalls. And with plenty copies of each, so feel free to take a recipe or two.
Always store mushrooms loosely in brown paper bags and in fridge for no more than a few days. If you find you’ve bought more than you can use, or a few are showing signs of age, make duxelles, a marvelous French cooking method for extending their shelf-life and flavor. Simply chop mushrooms with a shallot or two and sauté in olive oil or a combination of butter and oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. Freeze the duxelles to add to soups, sauces or to finish a dish. Of course, they’re lovely on crostini.
Because mushrooms soak up water, washing them is not advisable. Instead, lightly blot them with a damp paper towel before cooking.
But it’s not only for their culinary uses that mushrooms are prized. They’re also known for their many health benefits. Low in calories, they’re a good source of B vitamins, including cholesterol-lowering folate and niacin. Mushrooms are rich in the anticancer antioxidant mineral selenium and a good source of protein for vegetarians and dieters. In addition they contain compounds that can help to prevent cancers, infections and auto-immune diseases such as lupus and arthritis. In particular of health interest to Joe and Brad are reishi, lion’s mane and turkey’s tail.
So much so that, along with selling these mushrooms fresh, they also make tinctures of them. (These can be purchased at their farmer’s markets, at The Doylestown Food Market and on their website (www.5thstreetmushrooms.com). Add a few drops of the tinctures to several times a day to your favorite hot or cold drink, yogurt, smoothie, soups and sauces for an added punch of flavor and one of nature’s medicinal gifts.
Oh, about the gray oyster mushrooms that had fruited and Brad picked. He divided the lot between Joe and me. I carried mine home in a paper bag as if I were carrying Cinderella’s slippers. That evening I invited a friend for dinner.
I placed a large pot of salted water to boil for pappardelle pasta and started sautéing garlic and shallots in extra-virgin olive oil in a large fry pan. By this time my friend had cleaned and sliced the oyster mushrooms. Turning up the heat in the pan, I quickly fried the mushrooms, adding chopped Italian parsley, salt and a healthy grinding of black pepper. Then reduced the heat to a slow simmer.
When the water boiled, I added the pasta, cooking a little before al dente. Reserving about a cup of the water, I drained the pasta and added it to the mushroom pan. Turning up the heat, I added the reserved water, swirling the pasta to nicely coat with the mushroom sauce. Then I placed the mushroom pasta in serving bowls, passed the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and poured the wine. Nothing could be easier or more delicious. Buon Appetito!
5th Street Mushrooms have stalls at the Doylestown Farmer’s Market, the Perkasie Farmer’s Market and the Yardley Farmers Market.
(bio)
Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food, art and travel.