NosH&Jumper

NosH&Jumper

Down on the Farm - in East London?

Tuesday June 17th 2008

Down on the Farm - in East London?

At H&J we’re always keen to support local farmers and try to keep down food miles, so we were thrilled when one of our veg suppliers, 4 Degrees C, told us about the Datta brothers’ mushroom farm under the North Circular in Newham, E12.  Obviously this was worth a visit so on a cool May morning a number of keen chefs hopped on the DLR to be shown around this fascinating business.

The Dattas used to farm mushrooms in Kenya and when they came to Britain in the 90’s decided to continue to do so here.  They now have 15 sheds where they harvest up to 18,000 lbs of mushrooms every week.  The sheds are computer controlled to get the correct humidity and temperature as mushrooms are quite tricky to grow, requiring a warm humid atmosphere for spawning, but preferring it a cooler with a light breeze once they are above ground. 

At this stage they double in size every day so at 2 to 3 days can be picked as button mushrooms or they can be left to grow into cups and eventually after around 7 days can be harvested as flat mushrooms the size of a dinner plate.  The whole process takes 5 weeks and can be maintained throughout the year.  Once the mushrooms have been picked, the compost is steamed to sterilise it and is then taken by a local landscape gardener as it is still full of nutrients and plants love it.

Our chefs came away full of new found respect for the humble mushroom and its ability to thrive in the heart of London. 

Down on the Farm - in East London? 
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