In one week time the Fantastic Fungi Global Summit will take place. A Fungi Community Summit that Feeds you, Heals you, Reveals nature’s mysteries, Helps Save the planet & Unlocks the Power of MUSHROOMS!
40 leading experts will take you in the world of mushrooms, such as mycology, eduction, innovation and health. One of the speakers is Architect & Biodesigner Bob Hendrikx who shares the how and why of the world's first living mycelium-based coffin.

Interested in what Bob and all the others have to say more? Then you should certainly register for the event here!

Generally picking is considered by many as a low education job. But on the other hand, we rely on our picking force to deliver a good quality mushroom, meeting the customer demands. No bruised mushrooms, no nail or knife damage, right stem length, straight cut stem, no weak mushrooms in the punnet and for all, the right size. And that is where many things go wrong. It is fairly easy to learn the pickers the right way of picking. Twist and do not pull. Do not take to many mushrooms in one hand so they do not get damaged and put them caps up into the punnet. But getting the calibration right is a constant struggle. Pickers tend to have the habit to pick too small and this will cost you money. They simply pick the mushrooms that were meant to be picked tomorrow. An extra thing to that is that pickers lose the bonus while working really hard.

For the right calibration there are many tools like fruit grading rings, grading cards and other different tools. But the easiest tool they have in their hands: the knife.
The knife most used in mushroom growing is the curved knife and the length of the blade is exactly 60 mm. The calibration most wanted on many farms is 55 to 60 mm. Generally, this size is picked first before thinning out. And this is just the size of mushroom that is as wide as the length of their knife. They just have to keep the knife just above the mushrooms to judge the size. This way the mushrooms can be calibrated before they are picked and they will not be damaged by any other form of grading tools. The rings only let mushrooms through which are small enough. The bigger mushrooms get stuck and will be damaged. But the mushrooms that go through easily are too small and that is the calibration the picker will harvest. By using the knife not only there will be no damage but it is also faster.

If a smaller calibration is harvested like a 40 mm mushroom, a line can be made on the blade with a marking pen. Especially new pickers will be very fast in learning this trick. By banning the calibration rings also, the hygiene on the farm is served. Because these rings are hard to clean and experience learns that they are always dirty and are taken from room to room.

Give it a try and your harvesting staff will be happy.

It will be more mushroms, more competition and more activity.

Such few words can summarize the discussions at the Russian Mushroom Days 2021. About 160 participants from 9 countries gathered at September 14-15 in Krasnodar EXPOGRAD SOUTH for 26^th Russian Mushroom Days.

General Sponsor- Sylvan

Platinum Sponsor – Master Champ

Gold Sponsor – Agro-Project

Silver Sponsor – Christiaens Group

Mr. Aleksandr Khrenov, General Director of Russian Mushroom School, Mr. Peter Zavgorodniy, the biggest exotic mushrooms producer in the south of Russia and Mr.Andrey Zhuravel, Head of Plant and Mushroom Department at Kranodar Area Ministry of Agricultural have opened the Russian Mushroom Days 2021. They mentioned that Russian Mushroom Industry grew very fast last 3 year and now Russia is the third mushroom producer in Europe, after Poland and Netherlands. In 2021 about 120.000 tons of mushrooms will be grown in Russia. There are big modern mushroom farms built in the country. Russia has a wide diversity of raw materials for mushroom industry which could be used for different types of mushroom growing. Today the level of cultivated mushrooms consumption is only 870 gr per head in Russian. There is still a big opportunity for local market developing. Cost of mushroom production led to expand the mushroom product export. Krasnodar area is a leader among Russian regions in mushroom production. 25% of Agaricus,10% of Pleurotus and 60% of exotic mushrooms are grown here.

EXPO  Equipment and materials for mushroom growing and processing
21 companies were introduced from Russia, Poland, Netherland, Italy, Spain, France and China. First time we have more Russian than foreign companies at the Mushroom EXPO. Compost, spawn, peat, casing soil, packaging, shelves and picking trolley, equipment for Pleurotus and Exotic mushrooms production are produced in Russia now and supplied to Russian and foreign growers.

International Conference about Mushroom Business development in Russia
This was organized in an off-line and on-line format. Because of COVID limitations 4 out of 23 speakers were not able to come to Russia and did their presentations on-line. Main Conference topic was an actual situation and prospects of the Russian local mushroom market.
Three times production expansion led to a price drop of more than 20%. At the same time raw materials, packing materials and labour cost seriously increased. How to keep a profit level of mushroom business and continuy developing? Speakers offered a few options: demand stimulating through mushroom promotions, expand the the product range, standardization of mushroom grades, processing and addition value product creating. 

Innovations from Russian Researchers
Scientists from Moscow State University, Kuban State Agro University and Government Scientist and Research Center of Virology and Biotech “Vector” offered ideas to growers about spend compost processing, spawn production and medicinal mushrooms products.

Agaricus Mushrooms Growing and Pleurotus and Exotic Mushrooms Growing
Main Russian and foreign experts discussed important questions determining production stability, high yield and quality. Conference was held on-line with a conference application.

Agaricus Section Sponsor - GTL Europe
Pleurotus and Exotic Mushrooms Section Sponsor - Теchnik

It was the fisrt time at Russian Mushroom Days that the “MushroomBBQ-Show” was arranged. Three great Chefs from Krasnodar restaurants Ludmila Dikovskaya, Pavel Proskurin и and Vladimir Shabalin showed a master-class about mushroom cooking on a grill Weber. Carpaccio from Agaricus mushrooms, Enoki in the bacon, Burger with Portabelo, Sote from Beach mushrooms and Eringy were easy to cook and fantastically tasty. After the Chefs Show, mushroom growers’ teams started to fight for Prize -Professional Weber grill.
Voronezh Mushrooms, South Mushroom Company, Tula Mushroom Company, Теchnik and “Mushroom School Friends” tried to surprise  the Chefs with mushroom dishes cooked on the grill. All 3 Chefs decide that the best dishes were thePleurotus sausages from “Technik” team. Weber grill was provided by Original – grill Shop. Agaricus Mushrooms and Portobelo were provided by Russian Mushrooms farms. Pleurotus Mushrooms were provided by the Rozmirskiy Farm. Shiitake, Eringy, Beach Mushrooms and Enoki were provided by Eat Mushrooms company.

Russian Mushroom Days confirmed a serious plan of Russian mushroom companies to solve the todays' low-price period and continue to expand business. It will mean that more mushrooms will be produced in Russia, competition will be strong and more powerful with creativity in order to grow their part in the msuhroom industry.

The ISMS organized a live online congress in September, which came to a close on Friday the 17th. 288 delegates, authors and presenters took part in the event.
Big news was provided by Rachel Roberts, President of the American Mushroom Institute (AMI). She announced that the 2024 ISMS Congress will be held in conjunction with the 2024 North American Mushroom Conference.

If you weren't able to attend the unique e-congress in September, you are still able to download interesting information like videos and live stage recordings.

You can find the information and the download material here!

There are plenty of ways to prepare or use mushrooms in a delicious meal. But one of the tastiest ways is to brown the mushrooms. But how do you get them so nice and golden brown? With these 5 tips, what you should definitely not do, it will certainly work the next time!

Do not wash
You should never clean mushrooms with water. This is because they are porous and absorb moisture like a sponge. This will make them mushy and lose their flavor. So clean the mushrooms with a brush or with a piece of kitchen paper.

Not too much butter or oil
If you are going to fry mushrooms, let the pan get very hot. This way the least amount of water will run out of the mushrooms and they will not become dry. Also do not use too much butter or oil because they will absorb it completely and then you will not get nicely browned mushrooms.

Not too much in the pan
Do not fry all the mushrooms at once, but give the mushrooms enough space in the pan. This way the moisture released from the mushrooms has plenty of room to evaporate and you prevent the mushrooms from stewing instead of frying.

Do not add salt too quickly
Salt draws moisture from the mushrooms. So let them fry until golden brown before adding salt. It is also better to wait until the end with adding other spices such as pepper or parsley.

Do not stir
Resist the urge to stir your pan all the time. The mushrooms need enough time to caramelize. Because then do they get that golden brown edge? Only then is it time to start stirring so that the other side can brown nicely.

Good luck and enjoy your mushrooms!

• The global market for alternative proteins is growing fast.
• Mycoprotein from fermented mushrooms can create meat-free alternatives.
• Meat-free proteins are better for the environment than farmed meat.
• They could help create a more sustainable food system

Fungi-focused food startups are starting to sprout almost overnight.

New producers are finding innovative ways to supply the growing market for alternative proteins, alongside plant-based burgers, sausages and “chicken” nugget substitutes made from soy, pea or other proteins.

Fermenting the root-like spores of specific mushrooms (using the same, age-old process that creates beer and bread) produces a protein rich, flavourless foodstuff called mycoprotein.

Please read the full article here.

Source: World Economic Forum

Mushrooming may seem like a fun activity, but it can also be quite dangerous. There are many types of mushrooms and many are edible and very delicious. Unfortunately, this does not apply to all species. Eating non-edible mushrooms that contain chemicals can make you seriously ill and even be fatal.

But how do you tell the difference between an edible and a poisonous mushroom?
Recognizing poisonous mushrooms can be life-saving, so that is why we like to give some very important tips.

Mushrooms with white gills are often poisonous, the same also applies to mushrooms with a ring around the stem and those with a volva. So it's important to dig around the base of a mushroom to look for it.
Mushrooms with a red color on the cap or stem, are also poisonous.

Symptoms of mushroom poisoning can range from stomach upset to organ failure, which can result in death. Severe symptoms do not always appear immediately after eating, often only when the toxin attacks the kidney or liver. This can be days or weeks later. Anyone who becomes ill after eating a poisonous mushroom should seek urgently medical attention.

These are the 7 most poisonous species growing around the world:

1. Death Cap Mushroom (Amanita phalloides)
   - as the name implies, the deadliest of all mushrooms
   - and also be aware that they closely resemble Poland's popular, edible parasol mushroom
   
2. Conocybe Filaris
3. Web Caps (Cortinarius rubellus)
4. Autumn Skullcap (Galerina marginata)
5. Destroying Angel (Amanita verna)
6. Podostroma Cornu-Damae
7. Deadly Dapperling (Lepiota brunneoincarnata)

So are you going out to pick mushrooms? Then make sure you pick an edible one to use in your risotto!

Over the entire world there are tons of days that are pinned to a topic. That’s the reason why on September 26 in Europe and on October 15 in America, people celebrate the fact that there are mushrooms in our lives, under the name (Inter)National Mushroom Day.

This day was created to give extra attention to the mushroom. If you never got beyond (oyster)mushrooms, then a world opens up to you in the forest. Because so much rain has fallen in the recent months, it’s really a 'Party in the forest'.
But on this day there is also the need to make the protection of habitats of rare and endangered mushrooms, more clear to the public.

You can pick mushrooms and easily grow them at home yourself! Or just continue to enjoy the mushrooms in the forest.

In case you didn’t already know, mushrooms are fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi and there are a variety of species. They are known for their high nutritional value and contain vitamins B and C, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium and zinc. If you want to live a healthy life, eating delicious mushrooms are definitely recommended.

So put these dates in your diary and celebrate this day with delicious prepared mushroom dishes. This way you can have a lot of fun celebrating this special day!