June 30, 2024 - 3:20pm
Rye for mushrooms = rye for baking?
For some reason, local organic rye berries are stupid-expensive, four times more than the flour! So I'm casting about for a different source for organic rye berries. I've noticed that some vendors market their product exclusively to the mushroom-growers, with no mention of baking, flour, bread, etc.
Is there a difference between the rye used to grown 'shrooms in, and that used for baking?
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Not sure if they are interchangeable. I know with wheat berries you don't want to use feed grade because they aren't always fit for human consumption. Rye for mushrooms may be an AG version of that?
If you have a Natural Grocers near you, they often carry 1# bags for a decent price. They may be able to order bulk if you want?
Our NG was out for quite a while, and said they were having sourcing issues. I am now ordering from Central Milling. Twenty pounds (four 5# bags) delivered here in WY is $48. I didn't need 50# and after playing with the number of bags with shipping (calculated costs for 2 vs 3 vs 4 bags), that worked out to be the best price per pound with shipping.
Link: Central Milling organic rye berries
Mary
Breadtopia has rye berries that look inexpensive to me. Have a look.
But it would make sense to me that rye sold for baking would be of higher grade with a more rigorous quality control. If the end product is not rye bread then I would assume the rye chosen would possibly be lower quality.
Then again... i'm not into growing mushrooms.
I have no actual knowledge but I'd worry about ergot contamination with the mushroom feed. There must be a reason the grower is selling it for mushroom feed instead of for baking or animal feed. Maybe that's it.
What can they do with rye that doesn't pass FDA standards to sell as grain for bread? Sell it for growing mushrooms.
and asked them, will post their response, if any.
Curious to know what the difference may be.
Thank you.
The question I sent to two suppliers:
"Is there a difference between rye berries intended for consumption (baking, cereals, etc.) and those intended for mushroom spawn? Your product descriptions only mention the latter."
The reply from https://www.mycohaus.com/ :
"Hello. No there is no difference between rye grain use for baking and rye used for mushroom growing. They are processed the same and can be used interchangeably. Please let us know if you have any other questions, comments or concerns."
Thank you for letting me know Precaud.
I think they should make this known. Something like "Rye for mushroom growing and and baking" on the packaging. Even though they are a dedicated mushroom growing site.
and that's how I responded to them. "Perhaps you should make some mention of it in your descriptions. I would bet that there are at last as many people eating rye than growing mushrooms in it..."
Great to know, thanks for sharing the info!
Mary
from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Berries-Mushroom-Substrate-locally/dp/B0C6TY5ZM8
Our local Nat Grocers doesn't stock rye berries.
If you search "organic rye berries" on Amazon you'll see they're pretty evenly split, marketing to either mushrooms or baking.
So the Amazon one is $2/lb delivered. Central Milling works out to $2.40/lb delivered, and Breadtopia $2.50/lb delivered. Those last 2 calculations are based on getting 20#, and using my address of course ("your mileage may vary", literally).
I'm with TomP re: avoiding any potential for ergot issues. Having bought some other grain online (oats, barley , hard white wheat) that had too many non-grain "inclusions" that rendered the grain unusable, I now prefer to stick to places like Central Milling, Breadtopia, and a limited few others.
to NM than WY, but similar to you I'd need to order 20 lbs to have it make sense.
I got some of Azure's rye berries but find them not as good (milder taste, less-aromatic CLAS) as the local stuff (which is from Heartland Mill in KS). I figgered the Azure would be better due to all the moisture they typically get up in the PNW, but apparently that doesn't make the difference... :(
Funny what you learn on this site. Apparently, mushrooms are very finicky about what they grow in. Some resources said to use organic berries that could be examined by hand, most sites said to sterilize the rye before using it for mushroom medium. So, the assumption that inferior, or contaminated, grain is good enough for mushrooms is bogus. Who knew?
by reading how picky the mushroom growers are about the rye for their mushrooms... intolerant of even a twig or any debris... multiple rinses to ensure cleanliness... way more than I do when making rye bread!
They grow in the wild in non sterile environments. On the ground, in warm wet places under trees. No one checking it's dirt or twig free either. I imagine there's plenty of dirt where they grow and plenty of twigs.
What mushroom supplies vendors were you looking at? They could most likely tell you the source. Mushroom growers prefer grains produced without pesticides because certain toxins can become concentrated in the final product. Small scale mushroom producers tend to be organic, and in order be certified organic the inputs must also be organic. This only applies to those who grow 'culinary' mushrooms of course.
All that said, there are many varieties of Rye that will not make good bread. You want plump berries with a higher starch content. If you are ordering online there are much better sources for Rye than the 'shroomy' stores. Also a lot of the grains being sold online for mushroom hobbyists have been pre cooked and sterilized, which wouldn't be so good for grinding into flour
I punted on this for a while but am back to it now and will need to decide shortly.
Has anyone gotten rye berries from Central Milling ?
Yup. Their rye berries are very clean and I have been very happy with them.
As noted above, getting 20# (= four 5# bags) is the most cost effective price per pound for "smaller" amounts. I've never priced anything larger than that, because baking with rye has always been a bit of a sporadic thing for me. They ship quickly and CM backs their products. (I have never had any issues, but per comments posted on other forums re: issues are rare to see, and CM always dealt with things quickly and appropriately.)
Great, thanks for your input. Yeah, 20 lbs of rye will last me many months too. I'll post some feedback after I've used them.