Gourmet mushrooms grow at farm near Oakdale

Twin brothers Jason and Jeremy Ellis thought about growing something unusual on a small farm near Oakdale. Maybe wasabi, also known as Japanese horseradish. Maybe bamboo.

“Mushrooms kept on popping up,” Jason said of what eventually became E&H Farms. It grows six types of organic oyster mushrooms for restaurants, farmers markets and, soon, Raley’s grocery stores.

The mushrooms grow over about 25 days on 6-foot-tall plastic sacks filled with straw from organic rice fields in the Sacramento Valley. This takes place inside rooms kept at about 70 degrees and high humidity to mimic wild mushroom habitat.

Production started in February at E&H, named for the brothers and partner Ryan Hogan of Escalon, a longtime friend. All are 38. They produce about 1,000 pounds a month but have capacity for 18,000.

The farm grows elm oyster mushrooms, which are white, along with types that are silver, blue, brown, rose and golden. They vary in size and shape, but all impart a rich, earthy flavor when cooked. They also are good sources of vitamin D and antioxidants.

Customers can purchase the mushrooms at the Pioneer Avenue farm by appointment, starting at $5 for a 3-ounce package, and at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market. E&H sells to much of the central and southern state through Abundant Harvest Organics in Kingsburg, which delivers boxes of seasonal produce to people who pay in advance.

The mushrooms also go to chefs at the Oakdale and Del Rio country clubs; Rivi’s in Oakdale; and Tressetti’s, Surla’s, Concetta and Dewz in Modesto.

Tresetti’s co-owner Jordan Maisetti visited the farm and became a customer. He uses the mushrooms in burgers, coq au vin, cordon bleu and other dishes.

“They’re killer,” Maisetti said. “They’ve got an excellent product. It’s sustainable and it’s year-round farming.”

Monterey County led the way in California mushroom production last year, at about $95 million in gross income to growers. Most are the familiar white button type. Santa Clara, San Diego and Fresno counties also are players. And then there are wild mushrooms gathered and sold by foragers in Tuolumne and other forested counties.

Mushrooms did not show up on 2015 crop reports in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, but the launch of E&H will change that. It has two employees, along with the partners, and help when needed from extended family.

The production is on a 3-acre parcel owned by Jeremy Ellis, who also is a production supervisor at Hilmar Cheese Co. Jason, who has an MBA from California State University, Stanislaus, works full time on the mushrooms.

The process starts with chopping of the rice straw, which then is chlorinated – something allowed under federal organic standards. The straw then goes into the sacks and is inoculated with spawn, the mushroom version of seed, from a company in Carson City. Workers have to wear protective suits and dip their shoes in sanitizer to keep the crop pure.

The mushrooms develop inside the sacks, also known as columns, which have slits cut in them where the edible part emerges.

“All we do when we harvest is we grasp the cluster and twist,” Jeremy Ellis said, as one mushroom came off the column with a satisfying crackle.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Gourmet mushrooms grow at farm near Oakdale."