BBC2 carried an interesting programme on the growing and cooking of mushrooms of all sorts on Saturday June 4.
The programme in the Ever Wondered about Food series, part of the Beeb's Open University programming, included footage from two English mushroom farms, Leckford Mushrooms and Kentdown Mushrooms; and also Tunnel Tech, one of the largest compost yards.
Viewers were given the science behind mushroom growth in the wild and in the commercial farm, and were also shown the full production process – how the foodstuff they buy from the supermarket shelves is brought to fruition.
One factoid, that Stalker thought might be counterproductive to increasing consumer demand, was contained in the part explaining that the mushroom comprised 90% water, and that the rest of the mushroom was composed of chitin - the same chitinous material that makes up the exoskeleton of insects and arthropods! It hardly makes the mushroom more appetising to know that.
But nonetheless the programme involved some excellent science and some tasty recipes. There can be no gripes when the positive message about mushrooms is pressed home on telly.
Some of the food cooked on the show looked really scrumptious – anyone interested can search the BBC website for the programme and the recipes.
