Get ’Em Fresh: Mushrooms Are Grown Year Round
Cold, snowy, dark and long… What is a typical Canadian winter? Correct!
How many of you are just about ready for the first day of spring? I know I am! But the first day of spring doesn’t only mean (potential) better weather, it also means that we are close to getting back some of the foods that are grown locally, including greenhouse peppers & tomatoes, radishes and asparagus.
You see, the dead of winter in Canada often means that produce in your local grocery store is imported from warm, sunny places such as Florida, California and Mexico. Mushrooms are different! They are grown locally, never imported and always fresh, seven days a week, 12 months of the year!
Growing mushrooms is not like growing other vegetables. Mushrooms are a type of edible fungus that do not contain chlorophyll, which means that they do not require sunlight to grow.
Mushrooms are grown in dark, in climate controlled buildings. The ideal growing conditions for mushrooms (dark, humid and damp) are kept constant in these buildings throughout the entire year. Therefore, production and harvesting of fresh mushrooms occurs year round – even when it’s -15 degree outside!
Mushrooms are all harvested by hand, which ensures that only the highest quality mushrooms are
picked for your dinner table. As soon as a mushroom is picked, it is packaged and shipped to your local grocery store. Within 12 hours of harvest, you and your family are eating the freshest mushrooms possible. Yum!
Recipes to keep you warm:
- Baked Mushroom Parmesan
- Beef & Portabello Stew from Canadian Beef
- Mushroom and Chicken Chili
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Are you ready for spring to arrive? What’s your favourite spring recipe?
