Promos
Save The Food
More Gatherers than Hunters
As the saying goes, when life gives you a basket, go mushroom picking - or simply cultivate them yourself! Matthias Kroll has been growing his gourmet mushrooms for over eleven years now. The former nurse ventures into the dark depths of a former ice cellar in Bieberer Berg, where he cultivates up to seven different types of mushrooms per year. The vaulted cellar is a good 12 meters deep and thus offers the optimal climate for the high-quality mushrooms, which can be grown all year round.
A Team Full of Lucky Mushrooms
The small team around Matthias also includes Christian and Larissa, who have turned their hobby into a profession. Christian is a trained chef, which is why he was already familiar with mushrooms before, when he was providing culinary delights at the Frankfurt restaurant Zenzakan. Now it is no longer his task to prepare mushrooms, but to sell them at the Offenbach weekly market. The trained carpenter Larissa is the youngest in the group and has been working in the manufactory for gourmet mushroom delicacies for about three years. Nevertheless, she is already a professional in the field and sometimes ensures on her own that the shop runs smoothly.
Not every mushroom is a fly agaric
Why do they do all this? Because mushrooms simply have the potential to be world champion ingredients. There's the well-known and tasty king oyster mushroom – a true classic. Or the Shimeji, also known as beech mushroom – a perfect companion to bread dumplings, fresh pasta, or briefly fried meat. The Nameko or Japanese Pholiota is a popular edible mushroom used in miso soups, soba, and nabemono.
Mushrooms and Their Function
The Maitake is ideal for salads or tempura. The Velvet Shank mushroom, on the other hand, is versatile for ragouts, croustade, cream soups, in salads, or with pasta. And last but not least, the Shiitake: slightly aromatic, with a fine hint of smokiness. Processed into powder when dried, it is one of the most popular flavorings in Japan and China. Prepared with rice noodles and vegetables, it delivers the Asian taste in the kitchen.
