In recent years, consumption of commercially grown mushrooms in the U.S. has been in the 750 million pound range. Although quite common in this day, mushrooms in the past have been more in the realm of magic and mystique. Egyptian Pharaohs reserved mushrooms for themselves, forbidding the commoners to eat them and the Romans passed laws declaring mushrooms as “Food of the Gods”.

Mushroom cultivation can be traced back to around the 1600s in Europe but it wasn’t until the 18th century in France that modern mushroom cultivation techniques began to form. Outside of Paris, cultivation was done in limestone quarries where they produced “champignons de Paris”. Although they did cultivate mushrooms in these abandon quarries, modern mushroom growing has come a long, long way. (continued)