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ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:[email protected] Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.
MushroomHow Produced–Thelifeofmushroomsbeginsinalabora-toryastinygrains,buttheywilleventuallygrowintoflavorfulmushroomsinjustfivesteps.Step 1 – Composting:At the farm, thegrower prepares a growing mediumcalled compost. The compost is oftenmade from wetted straw, hay and/orcrushed corncobs. The grower mixesthe ingredients and waits for them todecompose.Once thematerial is bro-ken down, they bring the compost in-side to pasteurize it. Pasteurizing killsany insectsorpestsandremovesam-monia,which formedduringdecompo-sition. This step is important becausethe compost provides nutrients for themushrooms.Step 2 – Spawning: The mushroomcompostmustbeinoculatedwithmush-room spawn for mushrooms to grow.Growersstarttheprocessbysterilizingamixtureoftencom-posedofryegrain,waterandchalk.Thegrowerspreadsthismixtureacrossthecompostandthespawnwillbegintoap-pearasawhitetoblue-whitemassthroughoutthecompost.Thecompostwillfullygrowwithspawnin14to21days.Step 3 – Casing: The pasteurized compost is placed instacked,woodentrays.Atop-dressing,calledcasing,islay-ered onto the compost. This is where themushrooms willeventuallyform.Step4 – Pinning:Thisisthegrowthstagewheretheshapeofthemushroomforms,appearinglikepins.Fromthispoint,it takes about amonth to produce the firstmushrooms forharvest.Step 5 – Cropping:Mushroomsdevelopatvaryingrates,soharvestcantakesixto10weeks.Onceallofthemushroomsarepicked,thetraysareemptiedandthegrowingareaispas-teurizedwithsteambeforeanewcropisstarted.Mushroomfarms today are highly technical operationswith computer-izedsystemstomonitoreachpointinproduction.
History–AncientEgyptiansbelievedmushroomswere theplantof immortality,according to thehieroglyphicsof4,600yearsago.Thedeliciousflavorofmushrooms intrigued thepharaohssomuchthattheythoughtmushroomswerefoodfor royalty and no commoner could touch them. In othercivilizations throughout the world, including Russia, China,Greece, Mexico and LatinAmerica, communities practicedmushroomrituals.Manybelievedthatmushroomshadprop-ertiesthatcouldproducesuper-humanstrength,helpfindlostobjectsandleadthesoultothegods.
FrancewastheleaderintheformalcultivationofmushroomsandsomesaythatLouisXIVwasthefirstmushroomgrow-er. In the seventeenth century, mushrooms were grown in
special caves near Paris setaside for this unique form ofagriculture.
Varieties – The most popular mush-room is thewhite button, representingapproximately90percentofmushroomsconsumedintheUnitedStates.Criminimushrooms, also known as baby ‘bel-lasorbrowns,aresimilarinappearancetothewhitebutton,buthavealight-tantorich-browncapandafirmer texture.Portabella mushrooms are anotherpopularvariety.Knownasthe“vegetar-ianmeat,”theyhaveameat-liketextureand flavor. Specialty mushroom vari-eties include shiitake, maitake, enoki,
oyster,beechandbluetrumpet.
Commodity Value – Today, mushrooms are commerciallyproduced inalmosteverystate.As the topmushroompro-ducing state, Pennsylvania accounts for approximately 60percentofthetotalU.S.production.Californiaisthesecondlargestmushroomproducingstate,accountingfor20percentoftotalU.S.mushroomproduction.
Top Producing Counties – In California, mushrooms areprimarilygrownonthecoastalstripbetweenSanMateoandSanDiego.TheleadingmushroomgrowingcountiesincludeMonterey,SantaClara,Ventura,SanDiegoandSanMateo.Asthetopproducingcounty,MontereyCountyaloneaccountsfornearly40percentofCalifornia’stotalproduction.
Nutritional Value–Mushroomsareaproducepowerhouseofnutrients.FewfoodsnaturallycontainvitaminD,butmush-roomsareunique forbeing theonlysource in theproduceaisle and one of the few non-fortified food sources.Mush-roomsarelowincalories,fat-free,cholesterol-freeandlowinsodium.Mushroomsprovideselenium,potassium,Bvita-minsandergothioneine,anaturallyoccurringantioxidantthathelpsprotectthebody’scells.
For additional information:TheMushroomCouncil2880ZankerRoad,Suite203SanJose,CA95134(408)432-7210Email:[email protected]:www.mushroominfo.com
Information compiled by the Mushroom Council
Commodity Fact Sheet
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ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:[email protected] Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.
Mushroom Activity Sheet
Lesson Plan: Mushroom Dissection
Fantastic Facts1. WhichcountyproducesthemostmushroomsinCalifornia?2. Whatisthemostpopularvarietyofmushroom?3. Whatmushroomvarietyisknownasthe“VegetarianMeat?”4. Whichancientcivilizationbelievedmushroomsweretheplant
ofimmortality?5. Namethreenutrientsthatarefoundinmushrooms.6. Howlongdoesatypicalmushroomharvestlast?7. Trueorfalse?Light,highhumidityandwarmtemperatureare
requiredformushroomgrowth.8. Whichprocesskillsinsectsorpestsandremovesammonia
fromthecompost?9. Trueorfalse?Itissafetoeatmushroomsfoundoutdoors.10. Whichcountrywastheleaderintheformalcultivationof
mushrooms?11. Whichmushroomvarietyisknownasbaby‘bellasorbrowns?
1)Monterey2)WhiteButton3)Portabella4)Egyptians5)Potassium,copper,vitaminD,phosphorusandergothioneine6)Sixto10weeks7)False.Mushroomgrowthdoesnotrequirelight.8)Pasteurization9)False.Onlyeatmushroomsboughtatamarket.10)France11)Crimini
Lesson Ideas• Persuadetheclassthatyourchosenmushroomvarietyisthebest.Createaconvincing,fact-basedadvertisementanddevelopasupportingsalespresentation.
• Determinethecurrentmarketprice(perpound)fordifferentmushroomvarieties.Weighthemushrooms,convertdatafromdollarsperpoundtodollarspergramandcomparetheprice.
• Egyptiansbelievedmushroomsweretheplantofimmortality.Researchspecificmushroomritualsforancientcivilizations.Createaworkofartthatcommunicatesthetraditionsandmythsofselectedcultures.
• Comparetheenergyflowofautotrophicplantsandhet-erotrophicfungi.CreateaVenndiagramshowingthesimilari-tiesanddifferences.
• Identifynutrientsfoundinmushroomsandtheireffectsonhumanhealth.Developatri-foldbrochuretoillustratethehealthbenefits.
• Researcheachmushroomvariety.Createafictional,multi-paragraphstorythatfeaturesoneofthemushroomvarietiesasthemaincharacter.Followthemushroom’sexperiencefromspawntosupper.
Introduction:Mushroomsarenaturalwonders.Verydifferentfromplants,thesefungihavecellwallsmadeofchitinanddonotgothroughthepro-cessofphotosynthesis.Thisactivityallowsstudentstoidentifyanddissectseveralvarietiesofmushrooms.
Materials:Scalpels,tweezers,microscopes,microscopeslidesandcoverslips,magnifyingglasses,paper,tape.
Procedure:1. Reviewmushroomanatomywiththeclass.Discussvarieties
ofmushroomsandmakeobservationsaboutvisualdifferencesandstructuralsimilarities.Discusstheimportantrolemush-roomsandallfungiserveintheecosystem.
2. Distributethreedifferentvarietiesofstore-boughtmushroomstotheclass.Eachstudent/groupshouldhaveonemushroom.
3. Instructstudentstoidentifyandrecordtheirgivenmushroomvariety.Havestudentscarefullybisectthemushroomtorevealtheinternalcomponents.Studentsmayeitherdrawtheirmushroomspecimenortapetheirspecimentoapieceofpaper.Guidestudentsinlabelingthefollowingparts:hyphae,fruitingbody,mycelium,cap,gills,stipe(stalk),ring,poresandscales.
4. Demonstrateuseofthescalpeltotakeasmallsampleofmushroomtissueformicroscopicobservation.Studentsplacetheirmushroomsampleonaslide,viewandrecordobserva-tions.Challengestudentstoalsodrawtheirmagnifiedtissuesampleandlabelcellwall,crosswall,nucleiandcytoplasm.
5. Studentscomparefindingsandsubmitcompletedlabreports.
6. Concludetheexperimentbyreviewingtheuniquequalitiesofmushroomsandtheirexceptionalnutritionalvalue.
2. Spawn production1. Compost production 3. Mushroom growing 4. Mushroom harvesting 5. Mushroom packaging
6. Mushroom transporting 7. Mushroom sales 8. Mushroom cooking 9. Enjoyment
Mushrooms to Market
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