• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

  • Markets
    • Our Markets
  • Vendors
    • Vendor Directory
    • Becoming a Vendor
  • About Us
    • SFM Association
    • History
  • Programs
    • SNAP/EBT & FMNP
    • POP Club for Kids
    • Summer Internships
    • Compost Collection
  • Get Involved
  • News
    • Featured Article
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • Weekly Newsletter
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
    • Message us!

fungi

The Mushroom Shop offers fungi for every season

October 19, 2021 By marketeditor

By Emily Meagher

Jacob Howard of The Mushroom Shop at the market, photo by Emily Meagher

Saratoga’s Wednesday farmers’ market, which concludes its 2021 season at the end of October, is a gem for finding less conventional varieties of fresh, local produce. This season, a crowd favorite has been the diverse offering of seasonal mushrooms by The Mushroom Shop, a new vendor.

Partners Jacob Howard and Elise Olsen have always enjoyed gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, and keeping houseplants. About six years ago, they decided to try growing something new, one of their favorite ingredients to cook with: mushrooms. That hobby turned more serious this past winter when a local farmer offered a part of their land in Salem to build a proper mushroom farm. Thus The Mushroom Shop began.

Elise Olsen tending to the mushroom crops, photo provided

The past year has been full of learning curves for the young farmers. Through the seasons, weather affects how mushrooms grow – even in a controlled environment. To provide fresh, quality products, they don’t sell mushrooms cut more than three days before markets, so preparing the crop for harvest close to market days can be challenging.

The unpredictability of the crop also makes for happy surprises. This summer, Howard and Olsen changed the recipe for the medium they use to grow their fungi. The lion’s mane variety took very well to this change – just 4 of the mushrooms weighed over 15 pounds!

An abundance of lion’s mane wasn’t a problem for the couple since it’s their favorite variety to cook.

“It’s so versatile. Its tender, meaty texture makes for a great seafood substitute, perfect for recipes like lion’s mane “crab” cakes, “shrimp” scampi, or hearty chowder. Or cook it like steak by searing thick slabs in a cast-iron skillet or on the grill,” says Howard.

Mushroom offering at the market, photo by Emily Meagher

The Mushroom Shop offers a variety of seasonal mushrooms, both farm-grown and foraged during the couple’s woods walks in Salem. Their products also include dried mushrooms, mushroom seasonings, and grow kits.

This November, The Mushroom Shop will join the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s winter season at the Wilton Mall with 50 other local vendors. Howard and Olsen look forward to sharing their enthusiasm for all things fungi with market customers, who can expect to see several new cold-weather varieties at their stand this winter, like enoki, beech, black pearl oysters, king trumpets, and nameko.

This week’s recipe: Lion’s Mane Scampi

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: farming, foraging, fungi, grow kits, lions mane, mushrooms, new vendor, Salem, seasonings, summer 2021, The Mushroom Shop, winter 2021/22

Sweet dreams are made… from mushrooms

February 24, 2020 By marketeditor

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Mariaville Mushroom Men, photo by Pattie Garrett

Mushrooms from the Saratoga Farmers’ Market often find their way into my meals. Farms such as Mariaville Mushroom Men and Ramble Creek offer a wide array of these low-calorie, high-protein fungi. All are easy to prepare, taste wonderful, and once in a while, I’ve found, lead to pleasant dreams.

What makes mushrooms stand out from other fresh farm offerings? For starters, they are in a category of foods by themselves. As Brie Mazurek of the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Education writes in A Guide to Specialty Mushrooms, “Mushrooms are not vegetables. They are closer to animals than plants and belong to their own distinct kingdom, Fungi. As a fruit is to a tree, mushrooms are the spore-bearing fruiting bodies that allow fungi to produce.”

Farmers’ market mushrooms generally are grown in sawdust or logs. For many years, the varieties available were primarily shiitake and oysters. Now, farmers also are growing lions mane, nameko, chestnuts, and king oysters.

Is there a huge difference in flavor or preparation method for these varieties?

To me, no. There are subtle variations that make trying the different mushrooms an intriguing experience. Often, I pick up a different variety each week to sample and experiment with.

Ramble Creek Farm, photo provided

Vendors can offer cooking tips. You also can try this simple roasting preparation, which works for nearly all fresh varieties:

First, give the mushrooms a quick rinse. After they have drip-dried, remove the harder stem edges with a knife and chop the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Heat a skillet. Place the mushrooms in the skillet and cook them quickly on medium-high heat, tossing them frequently with two wooden spoons to keep them from sticking to the pan. This roasting method releases the mushroom’s juices and helps bring out their flavor.

After about five minutes, turn off the heat and quickly add a liquid of choice, such as oil, butter, wine, vinegar or lemon juice, or broth. Often, I add olive oil with a little wine. Continue to toss the mushrooms so they do not stick, and add seasonings such as black pepper, garlic, onions, shallots, chopped rosemary and/or thyme. Remove from the pan and serve.

 

This week’s recipe: Mushroom Kale Pizza

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: chestnut, cooking guide, cooking tips, fungi, how to, king oyster, lions mane, Mariaville Mushroom Men, mushrooms, nameko, oyster, Ramble Creek Farm, shiitake

Before Footer

Instagram

Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendo Produce from some of our amazing agriculture vendors at today’s market!
Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Grano Attention granola lovers!! Today is National Granola Day. In honor of this, all sales with our friends from @toganola are 10% off this Saturday only! Their granola products are packaged in sustainable packaging and free of gluten, dairy & soy. 

Our winter market runs today from 9:3-1:30 in the Wilton Mall food court. Hope you can make it!

Photo of and provided by @toganola 

#saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #granola #toganola #thingstodoinupstateny #organic #shopsmall #shoplocal #nationalgranoladay
Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today Our new 2023 Freshconnect $2 coupons arrived today! For every $5 you spend using your SNAP/EBT card at our market, receive $2 in coupons. FreshConnect bucks can be used to buy: vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, honey, baked items, jams, plants that bear food, and prepared foods that are packed to eat at home. Plus, there’s no cap on issuance! Stop by our information stand to learn more. We’ll be open 9:30-1:30 tomorrow. ❄️🌾

#freshconnect #snap #ebt #nutrition #health #agriculture #shoplocal #shopssmall #farmtotable #saratogasprings #saratogafarmersmarket #farmersmarket #thingstodoinupstateny @wilton_mall_leasing
Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ ma Interested in growing your business? Farmers’ markets are a great way to start networking and finding your customer base. For 45 years, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has provided a platform for local farmers, artisans, bakers and more build their businesses into what they are today. If you’d like to join our community, please submit your 2023 Summer Vendor application. The link can be found in our bio. Last day to apply is January 31st. DM us here or email me at sfma.manager@gmail.com with any questions!! 

#farmersmarket #startup #smallbusiness #shoplocal #entrepreneur #community #saratogasprings #thingstodoinupstateny #growyourbusiness
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

Footer

With support from our friends at:

Copyright © 2023 · Saratoga Farmers Market · Design by REACH CREATIVE

    COVID-19: Check our latest Safety Guidelines!
  • Markets
    • Our Markets
  • Vendors
    • Vendor Directory
    • Becoming a Vendor
  • About Us
    • SFM Association
    • History
  • Programs
    • SNAP/EBT & FMNP
    • POP Club for Kids
    • Summer Internships
    • Compost Collection
  • Get Involved
  • News
    • Featured Article
    • Seasonal Recipes
    • Weekly Newsletter
  • FAQ
  • Contact us
    • Message us!