September is National Mushroom Month, and the Stropharia Mushroom Farm in Naples is a great place to celebrate.
Since 2020, brothers Jor'El and Sheth Schustrin have been growing several varieties of the fungi and selling them at their storefront location, during farmer's markets and to local restaurants.
"A lot of people look at mushrooms and say they're pretty, but they don't know how to cook them," Jor'El Schustrin said. "Sometimes, we will cook them at the farmer's markets, so people have a place to try something different. People come from Cape Coral and Port Charlotte for our deep-fried mushroom sandwich."
Though thousands of mushroom species exist, the brothers concentrate on about a dozen. Blue oysters and Italian oysters grow quickly and produce a lot of mushrooms. Jor'El Schustrin said chefs like chestnut mushrooms because they have a typical mushroom shape that diners are familiar with. Pioppino, also known as the black poplar, has a nutty flavor that Italian restaurants like to buy.
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