Hearth and Field: At the Crossroads: the Amazing Mushroom

In a small strip mall next to the local hardware and feed store sits an unassuming lab that deals in culinary alchemy. Sawdust, spent soybean husks, and unused cotton hulls – the refuse of other industries – are sterilized, inoculated, and then left to decompose. This is where biology borders alchemy. The decaying mass acts as a substrate for the fungus that is carefully introduced to it. It germinates, multiplies and propagates through a network of fungal fibers known as mycelium. Under the watchful eye of its caretaker, and in a carefully controlled environment, bags of substrate soon teem with new life. Mushrooms begin to grow, pushing through the bags in clusters of flavorful fungi. These mushrooms go from lab to table in a matter of weeks and are served at some of Nashville’s finest restaurants. One industry’s waste becomes another’s treasure…. Read more