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BUSINESS SUCCESS STORIES part four SECTION A Tilt HERALD Wednesday December Page From dark damp cellars Herald Staff Monday after a lapse ID years Mushroom Growers Ltd started selling their crop fresh and canned This means Hills residents can skip the grocery chain lineups and buy fresh picked mushrooms from Williams plant on Mount Road North Owner Em Skrow said the move to retail sales the plant followed requests from the public and tour groups Because of daily truck traffic in and out of the plant he said be never allowed It before Long an in the Glen Meadowglen was founded in the early 1940s by of Georgetown and tales George Bob Jones and Will Anderson In i960 Mr bought the business with father Back then the company grew 177 pounds of mushrooms and lust into the mushroom business Mr Skrow said There were orchards of Grown In Glen Williams these fleshy while mushrooms are all hand picked Over years Manuel has been working In the mushroom bouses at Mushroom rowers Lid Using a miners hlslabor Mr works in he dark mushroom houses where two floors of sis beds each produce the mushrooms that are sent across Canada and the world All mushrooms are hand picked because machine picking causes too much waste Herald photo fru t being grown and sold as well Cutting out the harvest from the orchards the Skrows concentrated on mushrooms Back in I960 mush rooms could only be grown nine months of the year The growing season de pended entirely on conditions and rarely were any mush rooms harvested in the summer Mr Skrow said YEAR ROUND Through years of mushrooms are now grown all year round and today Meadowglen grows over five million pounds of the white annually To match Ihe growth In production since 19C0 the company has swelled from lft to 150 and the company has expanded from merely growing mushrooms to processing them as well What do mushrooms like in order to bloom Mr Skrow said they like pro tein which they get In Ihe form of nitrogen and phosphorous potash urea alfalfa timothy hay brewers grain gypsum Thats quite a smell but its sure worth it What that earthy smell on foggy das Most Glen Williams dents arc ready to tell you where s coming from with little prompting and a lot of nose pinching That earthy smell that gels strong on foggy days and goes down to hang in valley Is coming from Ihe compost piles at the Meadowglen Mushroom Growers Ltd company an Mountalnview Road South We re the original re cyclers claims Mead owner Ernie Skrow We turn waste into food Collected from the Mo hawk and Greenwood racetracks as well as ABC Farms horse dropp ings hay and straw arc plied up on the rotting acres of Meadowglen property to mature When a compost pile sits undisturbed for some time it builds up heat which causes the smell As the compost heap matures steam beg rolling off the top and he temperature reaches 17j degrees At this point it a forked onto two floors of six beds deep Into a house In the house begins the process which prepares the compost to that umbrella shaped fleshy Last year he said his because of flies They company was down only produced 3 million pounds from 1300 pounds of mushrooms fungus room The compost Is pas lied with steam covered with a plastic sheet so that mould called young mushroom begins Thi bed is next over with one and a half inches of soil so hat oxygen supply is cut of the grow I mushroom This soil I he mycelium to root up to reach the upon which It sprouts into Us familiar umbrella shape It takes das for mushrooms to come to maturation from he compost stage foil a cycle of picking from the same Mr Skrow said mush picked by because with machines there s a per cent waste Most his employees are local or commute from Toronto or ton Before he used to bring In a lot of Jamaican and offshore Me van help Now with the cutr stale of unemptoy meal he able to fill staffing needs with Can adians he said FUea especially fruit flies are the biggest en to the mushroom harvest Mr Skrow said Inventive recipes A million ways to eat mushrooms I ookinjj or ways get more of that great mushroom flavor Your local mushroom grower is he one to ask Mushroom Growers Lid owner has of suggestions Met en get Mushrooms Home published b Ihe Canadian Mushroom Growers you like mushrooms you II LOVE these recipes CRABSTUFFbD MUSHROOMS l pound medium mushrooms about 24 ounce tin 1 egg well beaten cup fine bread crumbs cup tomato juice 1 teaspoon lemon juice Dash of Tabasco teaspoon finely chopped onion teaspoons finely chopped celery teaspoon soil cup bread crumbs cup melted butter or margarine Early In day wash mushrooms and dry throughly Remove stems and store in frig for use in other dishes Mix together egg cup bread crumbs tomato Juice lemon Juice Tabasco onion celery and salt Fill mushroom caps with mixture Toss the cup bread crumbs with he melted butter Sprinkle over mushroom caps Place on baking Cover with nil and refrigerate ready lo cook Remove foil Broil Inches from heal to fl minutes or until crumbs are I browned or bake in degree oven lo minutes SUPREME A nice way to serve Sunday chicken dinner tablespoons chopped onion cup finely chopped celery i pound pint mushrooms chopped cup butter or margarine Salt and pepper I tablespoon lemon juice cup chopped almonds toasted optional whole chicken breasts boned cup melted butler 1 cup fine cereal bread or potato chip crumbs strips bacon halved For caw preparation usa whole double chicken breasts Saute onion celery and mush rooms in butter for about minutes Add season lemon juice and nuts Divide stuffing Into equal portions and spoon Into the centre of each breast and skin over the fill and secure with skewers Roll In melted butler then in crumbs pan and cover bacon strips Bake at degrees until lender and golden brown about minutes servings May be served with a mushroom sauce HUNGARIAN MUSHROOMS This recipe indicates the fine blend of flavors achieved when mushrooms and sour cream are looked together These are par good with noodles and pork chops or meat loaf To make a delicious supper casserole add cooked ham ihlcAen canned salmon or tuna to the mushrooms pound pint mushrooms teaspoons sliced green onion cup butter I teaspoons chopped parsley teaspoon paprika cup flour scant 1 cup chicken bouillon cup dairy sour cream teaspoon salt Pepper Cracker crumbs Wash mushrooms cut large ones In pieces but leave small ones whole Saute onion in half the butler about I minutes Pour into a shallow casserole and toss with parsley and paprika Blend flour into the rest of ihe butler and any juice left In frying pan Gradually stir in bouillon and then tour cream salt and pepper Heat until thickened stirring constantly Pour over mushrooms in casserole sprinkle with a few cracker crumbs and a dash of paprika Bake until ns are tender a crumbs begin to brown 13 to JO minutes 350 degree oven servings a number of pre cautions taken this year against files Mr Is hopeful his mushroom harvest will be up again and per cent humidity They also prefer a temp erature between 58 and degrees Fahrenheit Mr Skrow said Once the mushrooms are picked if ihey re re frigerated at degrees Ihey II three to four weeks he said As long as they from a cool place they stay fresh for hat length of time Discoloring of mush rooms has nothing to do with loss of flavor Mr explained In fact as brown they be came more flavorful as long as they re not mushy or black PURE WHITE People think mush rooms should be a pure while and that what ihey look for In the supermark els but Mr thinks re tastier if they re brown He should know he cats them at least three times a week However if you buy hem brown he advises using them Mushrooms good travellers so Meadowglen supplies them fresh only to nearby large population like Toronto and Hamilton To more distant Canadian cities and inter nationally sends Its mushrooms off In cans On a trip to Antigua once Mr Skrow found to his delight and amuse ment a ten ounce can of mushrooms sitting on a store shelf selling for the hefty price of Because his pro duct is distributed by other companies like Stafford Foods and Canada Pack he never knows where he II find It The that fresh mushrooms don travel well serves as protection from offshore competition for Mr s business However there is no pro tection for his canned goods The cannery was opened in 1971 and only operates twice a week because demand is low due the foreign competition in Canada Mr said The modem which can produce three four million pounds of canned mushrooms a month is only running at per cent capacity canning about two million pounds All in all Its a minute procedure to bathe grade blanche inspect chop and fill Ihe cans with Meadowglen mushrooms Mr said proudly With 14 em Ihe machinery can run pounds of mushrooms an hour A lot of people think there s no benefit in mush rooms Mr Skrow said But it the second highest lowcalorie protein vegetable II s second to green peas This Is according lo a very recent university study in California on he nutritional value of mush rooms which found that the much maligned vegct able is high in protein and phosphorous The federal government Is currently undertaking a similar study Mr said A real mushroom lover Mr Skrow has visions for the future of mushrooms in the Glen He dreams of opening a mushroom bout que Everything Mush roam where aprons and of pickled and restaurant with crafts decorated with breaded mushrooms can menu specialising In mushrooms along with be sold As well bed like mushrooms Over 000 graduates recommend Young Drivers of Canada framing t tor all ages Course tee income ts deduct bio by the student Your cho ot automat c or standard cars re Pr vale on home car on Approved by Ihe Sslety You only loam to once do light SPECIAL 4 DAY PROGRAM DECEMBER 27th 30th 9 330pm 4 Consecutive Days 16 Rd S Georgetown 8770751 A Your Search Is Over Santa always seems to know the right kinds of gifts to choose but what about you If you re like most people buying gifts for everyone on your list can present quite a dilemma When you shop local stores you II find help lots of Local stores take pnde in the fact that their knowledgeable staffs provide you with the kind of service you want and deserve Great gift suggestions help with sizes and lots more await you when you shop locally Shopping locally saves you time trouble and money No need to roam the best shoppings here at home I LOVE HALTON HILLS Sponsored by The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce