Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

mushrooms

FirstBuild is Making a Smart Mushroom Fruiting Chamber for the Home

One of my wife and I’s inside jokes is the reason we fell in love was our mutual dislike of mushrooms. When we first met, we both thought most forms of fungi that crossed our plates were gross. A few gray hairs (on my head, not hers) and years of marriage later, we can both be adult enough nowadays to eat the occasional mushroom when offered, even if we both would still prefer to hold the mold.

That said, I have come to marvel at the power of fungi in recent years and am all for people (except me) eating more mushrooms, so I was excited when I saw that FirstBuild is working on taking its mushroom fruiting chamber from prototype to product.

You can catch a glimpse of the new Mella Smart Mushroom Fruiting Chamber in action below in the video from FirstBuild.

Introducing Mella: The Smart Mushroom Fruiting Chamber

With sensors for humidity and temperature monitoring, the ability to monitor the mushrooms via a web dashboard and email alerts, closed-loop humidity control with a small refillable water basin, and air filter with duel inlet fans, the appliance has all the bells and whistles to help the aspiring fungiculurist create a high-tech fruiting chamber on their kitchen countertop. Plus it looks cool. The fruiting chamber is surrounded by glass, which lets you check out the your growing fungi.

So why is FirstBuild creating a mushroom growing appliance? The main reason is probably because weird and interesting new appliance concepts are largely the reason the organization exists. FirstBuild, which became somewhat well known with product concepts like its precision cooking Paragon cooktop and Opal ice maker, essentially acts as a product innovation engine for GE Appliances. The group crowdsources new ideas, builds prototypes, and occasionally – like with the Opal – will take the prototypes to full production.

FirstBuild has a microfactory that can do small batch manufacturing, so oftentimes the group will make small one-off manufacturing runs of products like the Forge clear ice system. Other times, the product never gets out of prototype, like it looks like happened with the Arden in-home smoker (bummer) or the Saucemaster 3000.

The move into a grow system for mushrooms isn’t the only sign that FirstBuild has become home-grow curious since earlier this year the company prototyped a smart garden system. It’s also possibly a sign the innovation group is following its parent company’s lead in exploring home grow systems as part of a broader home appliance offering.

If you want to get in on the mushrooom farming fun, stay tuned. FirstBuild says the campaign (which we presume will be on Indieogo) is coming soon.

Eat the Change Launches Jerky Made From Upcycled Mushrooms

Mushrooms naturally have a meaty texture and savory flavor, which makes them perfect as an ingredient for plant-based meat alternatives, so it’s no surprise that companies in the alt-protein space are using them to create everything from bacon to steak. One company, Eat the Change, recently joined the list of players with the launch its plant-based jerky made from mushrooms.

Eat the Change was founded by Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea and chair of the board at Beyond Meat, and Spike Mendelson, a celebrity chef and restauranteur. To celebrate the launch of the company’s mushroom jerky, I was invited to a virtual tasting, where I got to sample the five flavors of jerky: hickory smokehouse, habanero bbq, maple mustard, sea salt + cracked black pepper, and teriyaki ginger. (Maple mustard is my favorite!) Besides being eaten straight out of the bag, the jerky can also be used in sandwiches, noodle dishes, and other recipes.

Organic crimini and portobello mushrooms are the base of the jerky, and the company uses imperfect mushrooms cosmetically unfit for retail that would otherwise get thrown away. The mushrooms are marinated, and then instead of using liquid smoke flavoring, the company actually smokes the mushrooms over hickory branches. The jerky naturally has high amounts of several B vitamins, and one bag contains 4 grams of protein.

Although plant-based burgers get a lot of attention, there is room for expansion in the plant-based jerky space. Several other companies are also using mushrooms as the key ingredient for their plant-based jerky. Moku Foods uses king oyster mushrooms, while Pan’s Mushroom Jerky uses shiitake. Akua uses both seaweed and mushrooms to create its plant-based jerky.

Eat the Change mushroom jerky is currently available in 300 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Erewhon, MOM’s Organic Market, Fresh Market, and Stop & Shop. It is also available for purchase on the company’s website, and the retail price is around $5.99 for a 2 oz bag.