Best of the Fest #8: Back To The Roots Mini Mushroom Farm

The Mini Mushroom Farm

Since they started in 2009, Back to the Roots has always been a favorite of Edible Skinny’s. So we were definitely excited to hear that BTTR’s mushroom kits are now USDA certified organic at this year’s Natural Products Expo West (which we found out via the Mushroom Man at this year's convention)! 

Me and the Mushroom Man!

Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez were a few months away from graduation at UC Berkeley when they first heard that you could grow gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds.  Inspired by the idea of turning waster into fresh, local food, they experimented in Alex’s fraternity kitchen, which ultimately lead to growing one test bucket of oyster mushrooms.  With that one bucket they decided to forgo their investment banking and consulting offers to instead become full-time urban mushroom famers and they haven’t looked back since!

Edible Skinny recently took a test spin of BTTR’s Mini Mushroom Farm. Simpler than their standard Mushroom Kit (there’s no mister) there’s only 3 simple steps between you a 1b of organic mushrooms: open, water, and harvest.   

The Mushrooms busting out!

This kit grows gourmet Pearl Oyster mushrooms, a varietal that is commonly found in Europe and Asia and are used increasingly in a variety of cuisines for their velvety texture, smooth taste, and dense nutrient content. The Mushroom Mini Farm is made from all organic recycled waste including corn cob and saw dust. 

Just 10 days later there was a full-realized crop of fungi that were deliciously sautéed with garlic and olive oil. 

  

Martha Stewart selected the Mushroom Kit and AquaFarm as part of her top 10 American Made products for the 2013 holiday season!  Stewart stated that their Mushroom Kit was, “such a fun project.  I love how it’s connecting families to their food again.”

 

The Mushroom Mini Farm is exclusively sold at Whole Foods, Home Depot, and Fresh Market locations nationwide.  And with a price point of under $15 and is perfect for the novice mushroom farmer.