Mushroom Farmers of Pennsylvania to Feature New Flavorful Food Court Menu Item Plus Offer Assorted Favorites at the 2024 Pa Farm Show

Mushroom Farmers of Pennsylvania (MFPA) will present the NEWEST flavor sensation, savory “Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms, at their Mushroom Booth, starting January 5 with the 2024 PA Farm Show Food Court opening at noon.  The full Pennsylvania Farm Show runs from January 6 – 13, 2024 at the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg. It’s the largest indoor agricultural exhibition in the U.S.

The Mushroom Farmers tasty Mushroom Food Booth menu items will include:

  • NEW Stuffed Baby Bella Mushrooms: Savory Baby Bella Mushrooms are stuffed with either Fiesta Cheese Blend or Artichoke, Spinach, and Cheese, then cooked to hot, cheesy perfection. Enjoy two of each flavor as a satisfying vegetarian meal or to share as a hearty, flavorful snack.
  • Blended Mushroom Steakhouse Burger: Back again for 2024, this popular burger is a blend of grass-fed beef and Pennsylvania Mushrooms to create a juicy, delicious burger patty. It’s served on a Martin’s Potato Roll and topped with cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and a tangy Alabama-style barbeque sauce. A great burger made better—less fat, less sodium, more nutritious and lots of bold flavor!
  • RoRo’s Mushroom Salad: A longtime favorite, this 100% gluten free, vegan option is a bowl full of marinated mushrooms with chopped onion, celery, carrots and olives in olive oil and vinegar, seasoned with salt, pepper and parsley.
  • Original Breaded Mushrooms: The best-selling mushroom item since 1978, with more than 6,000 pounds prepared annually, the Original Breaded Mushroom are crispy, whole white mushrooms fried in 100% vegetable oil and served with ketchup or ranch dressings on the side. Vegetarian.
  • Savory Portabella Nachos: These are ‘nacho’ father’s nachos! This super snack or meal includes 100% Diced Portabella mushrooms in a tangy barbeque sauce topped on crispy tortilla chips with shredded cheese and drizzled with sour cream. No meat. No soy. All flavor! Gluten Free and Vegetarian.
  • Cream of Mushroom Soup:  Loaded with mushrooms made with real milk, real butter, onions, vegetable broth, and seasonings, this soup is the quintessential mushroom dish. Vegetarian.
  • Savory Wild Mushroom Jerky: What happens when one of the planet’s most sustainable foods is paired with some of the most bold, authentic flavor combinations from around the world? Savory Wild Portabella mushroom jerky snacks, packed with nutrients and bursting with flavor! This year we are kicking it up with a new flavor, hot & spicy Cajun!
  • 100% Mushroom Gourmet Crumble: Baby Bella, White, and Portabella mushrooms grown and harvested in PA are diced together in 8 oz cups for a versatile and convenient way to incorporate mushroom flavor in all your dishes. Blend them into burgers, tacos, or meatloaf; add to eggs, soups, and pastas; top on pizzas and flatbreads; and elevate chicken, steaks, and chops.

Gale Ferranto, Committee Member, Mushroom Farmers of PA, President, Buona Foods said, “We are always excited to bring our versatile, locally-grown mushrooms to the PA Farm Show from Kennett Square, the Mushroom Capital of the World, and provide a new tasty dish for fans to enjoy. We’re confident our NEW Stuffed Baby Bellas will be a hit, along with our many other delicious mushroom dishes. The Gourmet Crumble is another convenient and simple way to incorporate the powerhouse mushroom into your daily diet so we will be offering that to attendees to take home. We are looking forward to sharing the many nutritional benefits of mushrooms this upcoming year, and in educating everyone about how super easy it is to blend their favorite dishes with healthy mushrooms at home to elevate a meal and to boost their immune systems.”

 Mushroom Facts:

  • PA is the Mushroom Capital of the World. Mushrooms are big business in PA, with an economic impact of $1.3 billion, supporting nearly 9,400 jobs.
  • Mushroom growers are the original recyclers: growing one pound of mushrooms uses less than 2 gallons of water, just 1 kw of energy, and less than 1 pound of CO2 equivalents.
  • More than 60% of all mushroom production occurs in southeastern PA, specifically Chester and Berks counties. That means if you eat mushrooms on your pizza, salads or with your chicken and beef dishes, chances are good they were grown and harvested in Pennsylvania.
  • Mushrooms are a plant-based superfood; high in vitamins and minerals, low in calories and sodium, and fat-, cholesterol-, and gluten-free. Mushrooms are grown year-round.
  • The most popular mushroom variety grown in the U.S. is white button, followed by crimini (brown or baby bellas), portabellas, oyster, shiitake, and maitake.
  • Mushrooms double in size every 24 hours.
  • Every mushroom harvested in the U.S. is harvested by hand.
  • One Portabella mushroom has more Potassium than 1 medium banana.
  • Mushrooms are the leading source of the antioxidant nutrient selenium in the produce aisle. Antioxidants, like selenium, protect body cells from damage that might lead to chronic diseases and help to strengthen the immune system, as well.  In addition, mushrooms provide ergothioneine, a naturally occurring antioxidant that may help protect the body’s cells.

About Mushroom Farmers of Pennsylvania:
Mushroom Farmers of Pennsylvania (MFPA), headquartered in Avondale, Pennsylvania, is a statewide, voluntary group representing the growers, processors and marketers of cultivated mushrooms in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.pamushrooms.org