When Lindsey Godlove and Matt Doyle found fungi that could grow quickly on limited land—as plants that are high in protein, naturally salty and chock-full of nutrition—they didn’t waste any time bringing their mushrooms to market in 2016.
The couple’s VA Mushroom Farm sticks to the culinary end of the mushroom family, selling oysters, shitakes, criminis and others at farmers markets in Manassas and Stafford, as well as online. But their bread-and-butter has become a mashup of mushroom-based spice mixes, from buffalo and Cajun to Moroccan and lemon pepper.
“We found that not everyone likes the texture or taste of mushrooms, but they want the nutritional value,” says Godlove. “So we started drying them as the basis for spice blends.”
The packets have less sodium than comparable spice mixes and come with the fungi’s natural immune-boosting properties. Italian and Jamaican are the most popular. The spices are also sold in stores like Manassas Olive Oil, Calico Jack’s in Manassas and The Apple House in Linden.
The fresh and dried mushrooms are grown on logs at a 5-acre property in Franklin County. Production continues to expand, with a new product on the horizon: mushroom-based teas.
