Farrons Operate Mushroom Spawn Lab
The only mushroom spawn
making laboratory in Lancaster
County is located on Route 472 at
Kirkwood and is owned and
operated by Mr. and Mrs. Paul
W. Farron.
Mr. Farron came from Kelton,
Chester County, in the heart of
the mushroom country. He is a
highly skilled and trained
laboratory technician who knows
the business from A to Z.
His good wife, Ruthanna, helps
him with every phase of the
operation except one. They
produce three kinds of spawn
combination spawn, plain
manure spawn and grain spawn.
Their spawn not only is sold
locally, but is flown to distant
places such as Florida, California
and Canada. They advertise in
the magazine put out by The
American Mushroom Institute
A spawn making laboratory
operates under conditions as
sterile as a hospital operating
room The Farron lab is probably
the most interesting and
fascinating place you could
imagine
Mrs. Farron says the question
that is asked the most is “How do
you get started with the
process?”
Mr. Farron has a very in
teresting exhibit to show folks,
which he explains very well. He
has a plastic case about three
inches in diameter and about two
inches high. In it he has a large
mushroom that just fits in and
you can look underneath the
mushroom and see the gills. They
are the thin, brownish, leaflike,
radiating plates on the un
dersurface of the mushroom. Did
you really ever think of them
having a purpose? Well, they hold
the invisible little spores from
Paul Farron is innoculating bottles of medium with spores.
Mrs. Farron's Favorite Mushroom Recipes
Mrs. Farron emphasizes that
mushrooms should be washed
before using, but “do NOT ever
peel them.” These are some of
the ways she likes them:
TO SAUTE MUSHROOMS
Use heavy Skillet with plenty of
surface. Do not stack slices or
caps. Allow at least 2 tablespoons
butter to half pound mushrooms.
Keep heat medium and turn with
broad spatula or pancake turner.
As edges begin to brown lightly
and the mushroom turns golden,
turn and watch closely. Do not
overcook They should never be
black and rubbery. Salt with light
hand, and take out of skillet as
they are ready. May now be used
in sauces, omelettes, casseroles,
meat pies, pizza and spaghetti. Of
course, they are ready and right
for chicken, fish and veal; also
stews and many beef servings.
XXX
MUSHROOM FILLING
(STUFFING)
(For 4-5 lb. chicken or turkey)
2 cups stale bread cubes (4 bread
which new growth develops.
First you select a large perfect
mushroom. Sometimes one that
looks perfect on top is not perfect
underneath. The little gills must
be straight. You clean the
mushroom with a mercury
bichloride solution. Cut the stem
off with a sterilized knife.
A small section of the gills is
removed and the spores are
taken from the gills of the
mushroom and placed on a
nutritive agar in a sterilized test
tube for germination.
It takes about six weeks for the
spores to germinate into culture
stage. The culture is pretested
before the spawn is made up from
the culture.
Then they are transferred from
the tube to bottles of grain
Previously the grain (wheat or
milo or rye) is soaked in water by
a very special process until it has
they right moisture content
There are two types of medium
gram or manure
Next it is put in bottles, the
bottles put on iron cars, and
sterilized in a retort at 15 pounds
steam pressure (250 degrees F ).
Manure is sterilized four hours
and grain two hours. The retort
holds 700 bottles or three cars of
bottles.
Then the cars are taken from
the retort into the cooling room
for about 48 hours.
From there they go to the m
noculatmg room which is kept
free from germs by germicidal
lamps. Two technicians, wearing
white masks, caps and gowns
innoculate the grain. The open
end of the bottle of grain or
manure is held over a Bunsen
burner to keep everything sterile
while innoculating
Prior to innoculating, the bottle
slices)
Vs cup chicken stock or water
Vt cup melted butter or
margarine
l A teaspoon salt
Vs teaspoon pepper
Vs cup finely chopped onion
V 4 cup finely chopped celery
iy 2 cups chopped mushrooms
(fresh or canned)
3 tablespoons butter or
margarine
Vs teaspoon grated nutmeg
Mix die dried bread cubes with
the stock or water and the melted
butter. Add salt and pepper
Saute the celery and onions in the
3 tablespoons butter; add the
mushrooms and saute them;
sprinkle with the nutmeg Add to
other ingredients and mix well.
Stuff loosely into the cavity of the
chicken and truss. For 12-15 lb.
turkey, increase ingredients
three times; for larger birds,
increase proportionately.
XXX
MUSHROOMS IN CREAM
2 4-oz. cans mushroom stems and
IWf
/lt **
Mrs. Farron holds one of the bottles stored in the 32 degree storage room
of medium has been put on a
boring machine and a hole drilled
into the center of the medium
The mnoculated bottles are put
on an agitator to mix the culture
through the bottle It is then put
on racks and in eight days the
bottles are shaken again. This
growing room is held at 75
degrees
At the end of the next seven
days it is ready to go in cold
storage or to go out to the grower
It is stored at 32 degrees tem
perature
Farrons make more of the
grain culture than the manure
culture, according to demand
A bottle of spawn plants on the
average of 30 to 33 square feet of
bed space in the mushroom house
and costs 65 cents for a 45 ounce
bottle
Before it goes to the grower,
the gram spawn is removed from
the bottle and put in a paper bag
For the manure spawn, the bottle
has to be broken before the spawn
can be removed and put in paper
bags This means the loss of those
bottles. The bottles used for grain
spawn can be used again.
Before winter sets m Mr
Farron has to have horse manure
put in the building so it is
available. He gets it from
growers of mushrooms.
Mr. Farron tests the pH of
manure, also to determine if any
nematodes are m it, for the
growers.
Mrs. Farron helps with all the
pieces
Vi teaspoon salt
Vz cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
In saucepan, bring mushrooms
to boil m own liquid. Add
seasonings. Combine flour with
milk m cup, add to mushrooms.
Reduce heat to simmering and
continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add butter and mix well when
melted. Add 3 or 4 slices white
American cheese Melt and
serve Serves 4 to 6
XXX
TEENAGER SHISH KEBAB
Mother prepares the meat, lays
out the skewers and leaves the
kitchen to the gang with in
structions to clean up after the
fun. Chicken livers are favorites,
beef is next and lamb a runner
up. Cut one and a half inch
chunks of beef from shoulder or
from sirloin or top round.
Marinate in plain French
dressing (3 parts oil to 1 of
(Continued on Page 19)
operations in the spawn making
lab except preparing the grain to
be used She does a lot of m
noculatmg, gets orders ready,
uses the boring machine and
sends out bills The only other
help they have are some teenage
boys to fill spawn bottles with
manure.
When Mrs. Farron isn’t
working in the spawn lab, the
mushroom house or keeping
house she finds time to address
the church presses for the Union
Presbyterian Church where she
is a member These go out every
This is a sterilizer or retort—where they put cars of bottles
of grain or manure for spawn. Grain is left there two hours
and manure for four at 15 pounds of steam pressure. The
retort holds three cars or 700 bottles.
Mrs. Farron is starting another afghan. A completed one is
on the sofa and one of her sweaters is on the sofa arm.
Lancaster Farming. Saturday, November 27,1971
Saturday morning to all the
members She has taught a
Sunday School class there in the
past also
Her mam hobby is collecting
cut glass pieces She has many
beautiful ones
She says,“l love to knit ’’She
has made three or four afghans,
and several sweaters for herself,
her husband and her father She
took a course last winter in
painting from Charles X Carlson
at Kirks Mills
15