There’s a steel barn located on an old country road in Gonzales, just 90 minutes outside of Austin. But you won’t find cows seeking shelter from the winds that blow harder and colder these days. Instead, the unmistakably earthy odor of fungus smacks you in the face as soon as you step inside. You’re now at Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farms, and it smells like the inside of a plastic produce bag full of creminis. Greg McLain, son of Kitchen Pride founder Darrell McLain, was kind enough to show me around last month.

The first mushroom farm clue was the massive pile outside the barn. Growing mushrooms starts with making compost from straw. Greg  showed me the intricate compost system in different stages of decomposition– it takes about four weeks to complete. The steaming piles towered over my height of 5 foot 4 inches, and the smell was distinct. It was reminiscent of the caves of my cheesemonger days, with a nostril burning ammonia aroma mixed with chicken coop elements. The compost is later pasteurized in a steam room to refine it.

The result is the perfect substrate for growing mushrooms. Each room in the barn contains raised beds, stacked six high, full of the stuff.… Read the rest