For the third year in a row, Vroegop-Windig and sister company De Kweker are organising The World of Mushrooms in response to a growing demand. Part of the range will also be offered in consumer packaging, to reach an even wider target audience.
The hours of sunlight are decreasing, the days are getting shorter and the air is getting wetter. Autumn has arrived, the season of the mushrooms. This year, Vroegop-Windig and De Kweker once again put their mushroom assortment in the spotlight with The World of Mushrooms. The importer and catering wholesaler have mushrooms in their ranges year-round, but the range of The World of Mushrooms consists of as many as 30 special mushrooms, and the varieties are both cultivated and wild. “Mushrooms and autumn are inextricably connected to each other. Cultivated mushrooms can be supplied year-round, but wild mushrooms are practically only available in autumn,” says Xander Rodenburg of Vroegop-Windig. “Supply coincides with the game season as well. Mushrooms and game are still a popular combination.”
With The World of Mushrooms, Vroegop-Windig and sister company De Kweker respond to the increasing popularity of mushrooms. According to Xander, special mushrooms are experimented with more often, and the increasing number of vegetarians and vegans also contributes to growing demand. “Mushrooms are considered a good alternative to meat, as are nuts and legumes. Restaurants respond to that by putting more vegetarian meals with mushrooms on their menus, and mushroom burgers can be seen more often as well. We want to introduce customers to a broad range of special mushrooms, and we also offer culinary inspiration. Not just for food service, but for fresh produce specialists as well for the first time this year. In specialist shops, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, white and chestnut mushrooms are still very popular. By now also offering special mushrooms in a consumer packaging, we’re hoping to reach a more extensive target audience.”
Fewer wild mushrooms due to warm summer
From October to late December, the permanent assortment of mushrooms is complemented with cultivated varieties such as clustered coral, golden enoki, eryngii, wood ear, maitake, pink oyster mushrooms and pom pom blanc. The availability of wild mushrooms is more difficult to predict. The supply of various chanterelles, cep, chicken-of-the-woods, pied de mouton, lactaire and lobster mushrooms therefore differs per week. “As their name suggests, these mushrooms are actually picked in the wild. People go into the woods and sell their harvest to buyers who are usually waiting for them just outside of the forests. Some of them really make their living this way,” Jaap Wolters says. He is Vroegop-Windig’s mushroom specialist, and he knows these wild mushrooms can’t be cultivated. “These are nature’s products. These mushrooms often need a certain type of soil or tree and the right circumstances. This can’t be imitated in cultivation.”
It’s impossible to predict supply, quality and price of the wild mushrooms in advance. “We always have to wait and see to find out how much we’ll receive, but that’s the challenge. Wild mushrooms are one of the few product groups that still experience actual seasons. We can be distinctive because of that,” Xander adds. “Supply is expected to be smaller this year. It was warm and dry, which will affect the growth of the mushrooms.” The first chanterelles were available in September. The other wild mushroom varieties will follow later.
More information:
Vroegop-Windig
Xander Rodenburg
www.vroegop.nl