In much of the northern hemisphere, Fall is a time of year that people associate with hearty savory food, family gatherings, and, of course mushrooms. Peak foraging periods generally begin in early Fall and continue up past the first frosts. Fall is also a period of increased appetite (the Japanese call it shokuyoku no aki, which means Fall cravings), theorized to do with the reduced UV radiation and shorter days causing changes to the human body’s metabolism and hormonal balance.

The combination of cooler temperatures, more hot food, more home meals and big celebratory spreads, make the Fall season critical for mushroom farmers, all the more for those whose focus is in direct-to-consumer sales. Even restaurant sales are likely to see upticks as restaurants switch in seasonal Fall dishes, which should contain mushrooms! In Japan, demand spikes sharply starting in October, and then continues rising steadily until December, when it spikes again and the high demand continues until the beginning of February when it starts to slide down again, gradually at first and then rapidly after the arrival of Spring.

I’m talking maitake green bean casserole or even better, maitake stuffing, even something as crazy and exotic as julienned wood ears in jambalaya (which I’ve done; it works very well). I am seeing a missed opportunity in pitching mushrooms as a small, unobtrusive, healthy addition to daily diets. Japan’s Kinoko Meister Association, a mushroom-promoting and educational organization, highlights in its training the wide body of epidemiological studies and nutrition research done in Japan that show the various health benefits from eating mushrooms require at least 50 grams of mushroom consumption daily and being consistent about this dietary addition. Adjacent research into cacao polyphenols, and coffee and olive oil as well, show that while the health benefits appear to be statistically significant, they require extremely consistent consumption patterns otherwise most of the effect disappears. Well, hardly anyone would be surprised to discover their medicine doesn’t work when they only take it three times a week, but we are starting to learn that nutrition works in a similar way, though with a lot of different biological pathways, whose complexity I have outlined a little bit in past issues.