Page 20 - Valley Table - September/Novemebr 2024

Shroom for Improvement
Awlocal mushroom grower is helping consumers cut their meat consumption in half—for their health and the environment. BY DAVE ZUCKER
hen mushrooms are harvested, the edible root, or mycelia, stays underground. That’s a lot of food
being left on the table—or off it, as the case may be. A new Hudson Valley company is changing that with an innovative food blend that can be mixed with animal products to reduce meat consumption.
Mush Foods is headquartered in New York City, but the “root” of its operations is a vertical farm in Hyde Park, just minutes from the Culinary Institute of America, where the company’s culinary director AJ Schaller earned her degree.
“We considered the Northeast as well as California and Chicago,” says CEO and co-founder Shalom Daniel, eventually deciding on the Hudson Valley as “as a leader in culinary concept.”
Utilizing pioneering farming techniques, Mush Foods takes local food and farm waste and turns it into its proprietary growing substrate, raising whole fungi above ground in eight days—with 50 percent more yield and twice the protein of traditionally grown mushrooms.
After harvesting, mycelia is ground, roasted, and mixed into Mush’s “50CUT” blends of up to 14 distinct mushroom varieties—oyster, trumpet, shiitake, lion’s mane, and more—specifically designed to pair with beef, chicken, fish, pork, or lamb. The result is a nutrient dense whole-protein food source, rich in amino acids, antioxidants, and fiber, that fully melds with an animal protein in flavor, texture, and color—with a punch of umami and a near-zero carbon footprint.
Curious locals can get a taste of 50CUT for themselves at Farmers & Chefs in Poughkeepsie,
where juicy 50CUT burgers are being served alongside 50CUT meatballs with spaghetti or polenta, and 50CUT Bolognese with house-made pasta.
“When we started, we had a regular burger. 100 percent beef. Within a few weeks 80 percent of the orders were for the 50CUT burger,” says owner/chef John Lekic. “The biggest test is the customer response.”
And the kicker is: Mush doesn’t expect anyone to ditch their beef burgers for portobello. The company’s website suggests, “It’s time to eat your meat and have it too.”
18 ValleyTable | September–November2024
The nutrients found in up to 14 mushroom varieties supplement real meat
in 50CUT burgers.
Hot Stuff
As Americans continue to crave all things spicy, an old-school ingredient finds its way to the grocery store and local Asian fusion menus.
BY MEGAN WILSON
Thick, spicy-sweet, and vibrant red, gochujang is a chili paste made from fermented soybeans, chili powder, malt, salt, and glutinous rice. It’s
not quite a sauce: The condiment
is classified as a “jang,” one of the foundational ingredients of Korean cuisine. According to The Journal of Ethnic Foods, jangs are often used
in place of salt in Korean cooking. Gochujang adds a spicy, slightly
sweet, umami flavor to dishes—
from soups and stews to rice and noodle bowls, dipping sauces, and more.
Gochujang has been used for hundreds of years, with some records dating the jang back to 9th-century Korea. Traditionally, it’s slowly fermented in an earthenware pot (called a jangdok) which transforms the rice starch into a sugar, giving it a subtle sweetness.
According to Google Trends, the popularity of gochujang as a search term has increased steadily over the past five years in the U.S. Statista, an international statistics portal, estimates the global market value for fermented goods will reach nearly $990 billion by 2032, up from $575.6 billion in 2022—and the trendcasters at Whole Foods predicted that 2024 would be the year of “complex heat.”
The condiment, which is typically packaged in red tubs or jars, is easy to find in the international aisle; popular brands include Mother in Law’s, Bibigo, Sempio, O’Food, and Haechandle.
Don’t feel like trying it at home? You can sample gochujang-forward dishes at
several spots across the Valley. Good Night in Woodstock uses the condiment with butter and pickled daikon in their fried chicken drumette and wing small plate; Beacon-based Eat Church food truck frequently serves up Korean chicken wings topped with gochujang; and Korean tacos— filled with a choice of protein, kimchi, and
gochujang mayo—are on the menu at Yum Yum Noodle Bar (in Kingston, Red Hook,
and Woodstock).
PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) COURTESY OF MUSH FOODS; RESPECTIVE GOCHUJANG BRANDS