1 week Ago By Kiran Mehta
I’m a fun-gi’ is embroidered in blazing red on a lime green mushroom-shaped hat; ‘You’re as cute as a button’, reads a greeting card with the image of a button mushroom; ‘Shroom-shroom’ is emblazoned on a toy car...
all these quirky knick-knacks and more can be spotted at The Mushroom Cap store, in the borough of Kennett Square, the Countryside of Philadelphia. Aptly named, the store comes stocked with all things mushroom. Walk through the gift shop, chat with the staff, sit through a snappy, educational video, and you’ll learn of the region’s fascinating history: The tiny borough may have a population of about 6,000, and yet is heralded as the ‘Mushroom Capital of the World’.
This little-known area—a speedy one-hour drive from the city centre of Philadelphia—produces more than half of the US’s entire mushroom crop. Like all good things, the mushroom boom in Philly occurred unexpectedly. Up until the late 1800s this area was known for its flowers, carnations in particular.
A creative florist, William Swayne, was bothered by the fact that the space beneath the flower beds in his greenhouse, was wasted. An idea mushroomed, literally. Given the dark, humid conditions, this space was perfect for growing mushrooms.
He secured spores from Europe and emerged as the region’s first fungi farmer. The secret to a good mushroom crop lies in the compost. Or as a fridge magnet cheekily reveals, ‘Shiit-ake happens’.
On a humid, summer’s day, you may catch a whiff of the manure, or what locals politely refer to as ‘the Kennett Square perfume’. While a variety of ingredients go into the compost, rumour has it that discarded cocoa shells from the nearby Hershey’s chocolate factory add a distinctive flavour to this region’s shrooms. Today, the small borough and its surrounds produce over 500 million pounds of mushrooms annually.
To celebrate the success story, a mushroom festival is held every year in September. Also, foraging in the wild is an adventure best reserved for those who know their fungi, as some varieties can be poisonous. There are select places where you can forage for mushrooms in the wild while marvelling at the surreal wood wide web beneath your feet; one of the most fascinating facts about mushrooms is that their root systems contain mycelium threads, which intertwine and connect different trees.
Think of these as bonds between trees, even entire forests. After all, Kennett Square is where the best ideas mushroom (no pun intended)..
