Hang in there. I promise there is a mushroom in this story. A very wealthy man, named O. C. (Ohio Columbus ) Barber, the founder of the Diamond Match Company, owned a large estate in a little town called Barberton, near where I grew up. There were several huge barns. I remember us driving by just once, and seeing one far off in the distance, maybe Barn #3. My parents told me they grew mushrooms inside the barn. This amazed me as a child. I've never been able to verify it with a picture, but did find this today. "...Established as a partnership in 1920 by Mennonite farming brothers Ira and Menno Yoder — who previously managed the vast greenhouses on O.C. Barber’s farm and purchased them after his death — the business initially raised vegetables, mushrooms, and flowers for Northeastern Ohio sales." Folks used to raise mushrooms in caves and dark buildings. An old picture of a mushroom farm in a quarry in England. Maybe it was greenhouses with mushrooms, but it could have been a barn. Close enough.
Why a Small Pennsylvania Town Is the Mushroom Capital of the World Half of America's mushrooms come from the area around Kennett Square, which is intensely proud of its mushroom heritage. The town closes its streets every year for a two-day mushroom festival. This past New Year's Eve, they dropped an 800-pound mushroom in lieu of a ball.
Thanks, Nancy! I've been having great fun checking out the old photos and articles about the Anna Dean Farm in Barberton, Ohio. I love the internet!!! https://alchetron.com/Anna-Dean-Farm http://www.annadeanfarm.com/
Thanks for the links, Bea. I'm with you on the internet. One day we will be walking encyclopedias of trivia. I'll go watch some toadstools grow now. "The terms 'mushroom' and 'toadstool' are purely unscientific labels applied to different varieties of fungus. While there’s no real scientific difference or definition, the two terms have come to mean different things in the common parlance. The name 'toadstool' is often given to those fungi that are inedible or poisonous, while 'mushroom' is generally reserved for those that are safe to eat."
We have mushrooms/toadstool growing in our garden usually after the rains.. some grow right up through the membrane and the bark chips... against the wood edging... something has taken a bite out of them... Sometimes we get flat top mushrooms growing in rings on the lawns.... I'd never dare eat them...
Campbell's cream of mushroom used to be my favorite canned soup, but sometime back in the last century they changed it. I suspect they substituted flour for cream, as a thickener. It got a lot whiter, chalkier, and thicker, but not better, imo. Of course you always needed a magnifying glass to find the mushrooms. lol Now I don't have a favorite canned soup. {sniff}
I agree, remember when Campbell's cream soups used to come out of the can in one thick can-shaped blob. These days I add a small can of mushroom stems and pieces that I've sauteed in butter with a splash of cognac to my can of soup. Mmm, mmm, Good!!!
Oh I hate mushroom soup.... I remember Campbell or Heinz canned soups when I was a kid... Campbells were condensed... we usually were given Tomato flavour..couldn't have any of those now, far too sweet and acidic for me
Yes, The Blob,. and I always thinned it down gradually to avoid lumps, but according to this video, the lumps go away when you heat it. Or do they, looking closer? A while back I ran across canned mushrooms at one of the dollar stores, and picked up a little can to add to something, I forget what now. I'm not a picky eater, but these were awful!!! I even drained the liquid off and rinsed them and it didn't help. Label said Made in China. What on earth do they do to them?