GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

CHAPTER 14
Evaluating a
Mushroom Strain
When a mushroom is brought into culture from the wild, little
is known about its performance until trials are conducted.
Each mushroom strain is unique. Most saprophytic fungi, especially
primary saprophytes, are easy to isolate from nature. Whether or not
they can be grown under "artificial" conditions, however, remains to
be seen. Only after the cultivator has worked with a strain, through
all the stages of the culturing process, does a recognizable pattern of
characteristics evolve. Even within the same species, mushroom strains
vary to surprising degrees.
A cultivator develops an intimate, co-dependent relationship with
every mushroom strain. The features listed below represent a mosaic
of characteristics, helping a cultivator define the unique nature of any
culture. By observing a culture's daily transformations, a complex
field of features emerges, expressing the idiosyncrasies of each strain.
Since tons of mushrooms are generated from a few petri dish cultures
in a matter of weeks, these and other factors play essential roles in
the success of each production run.
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