Mushrooms
There are thousands of varieties of mushrooms, with different colors, shapes, and sizes. Because some wild mushrooms can cause stomach upset or allergic reactions, or may even be poisonous, your safest bet is to stick to store or farmers’ market varieties and avoid picking and eating raw wild mushrooms on your own.
Although considered a vegetable, mushrooms are neither a plant- nor animal-based food. They are a type of fungus containing a substance called ergosterol, similar in structure to cholesterol in animals. Ergosterol can be transformed into vitamin D with exposure to ultraviolet light. Mushrooms vary in appearance with more than 10,000 known types, but generally they are distinguished by a stem, fleshy rounded cap, and gills underneath the cap. China and the United States are among the top five producers of mushrooms worldwide.
Sweet and Spicy Mushroom Tongseng is a classic Indonesian recipe. Shamu Datshi is a mushroom and cheese dish eaten in Bhutan. Mushroom and tomato curry is eaten in Myanmar. Pidpenky is a Ukrainian mushroom and sour cream dish served over cabbage or pierogi but can also be eaten by itself.
This webpage includes a variety of educational materials, activities, recipes, and more about mushrooms for use at home, in youth or family programming, in the classroom, and in the cafeteria. For more New Hampshire Harvest of the Month resources for April, click here.
Home Kit for Mushrooms
Teacher, families, youth programs, and anyone
interested in incorporating mushrooms into activities,
meals, and learning can use this home kit. This kit includes information, cooking tips, recipes, mini-activities,
and more. Also check out an additional parsnip resource below!
Poster for Mushrooms
Display your love for mushrooms! Download the
New Hampshire Harvest of the Month poster at the
link below. The file is in PDF format and is sized to
print on 11×17 inch paper.
Videos about Mushrooms
Coming soon!
Books about Mushrooms
Coming soon!
Lesson Plan for Mushrooms
Developed in partnership with UNH Extension, NH Farm to School, and the UNH Education department, the Harvest Lessons lesson plan and curricular activities can be used by education professionals to incorporate mushrooms into dynamic, long-lasting learning in the classroom and other education-based settings.
Mushrooms Recipes for
Home Cooking
Lentil Soup with Quinoa and Mushrooms
Spinach Mushroom Strata
Shamu Datshi-Bhutanese (Mushrooms and Cheese)
Ukrainian Barley + Mushroom Soup (Krupnyk z Hrybamy Sup)
Mushroom, Sweet Potato + Kale Breakfast Skillet
Mushrooms Recipes for
School + Institutional Food Service
Shepherds Pie
Italian Marinated Mushroom Salad
Umami Burger
Creamy Mushroom sauce
Beef Burrito Grande
Vegetarian Miso Noodle Soup
Find Mushrooms in
New Hampshire
NH Department of Agriculture, Markets
and Food’s Farmers’ Markets, including
Winter markets, Farm Stand, and
CSA listings
UNH Extension’s Farm Products map
Dunks Mushrooms, Brentwood, NH
Cindy’s Mushroom Farm, Glen, NH
New Hampshire Mushroom Company, Tamworth, NH
Joyberry Farms, Mason, NH