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The white button mushroom and its various forms (Crimini, Portobello, and Portobellini) are grown on compost. Straw, either alone or with horse manure (a little horse manure in straw, usually from racetrack bedding) is the starting material
of compost and provides structural and chemical properties.
The straw is supplemented with nitrogen in the form of various agricultural wastes such as cottonseed meal and chicken manure. During composting, certain physical qualities (permeability to air and water holding ability) and chemical properties (nutrient availability to the mushroom and the exhaustion of nutrients for competitors) are developed as organic matter is consumed and heat is released by generations of microorganisms. The heat needed for these reactions requires a pile of straw of considerable size. The labor and/or machinery required for handling the compost pile generally prevents the small grower from producing good quality compost.
Special rooms with controlled temperature, humidity, and fresh air are also necessary to produce the appropriate conditions to pasteurize and condition the finished compost. Unless compost is available, the production of the button mushroom is fairly technical and generally beyond the ability of the hobbyist or small grower.
The Portobello mushroom (sometimes portobella) is a large brown strain of the same fungus, left to mature and take on a broader, more open shape before picking. Portobello mushrooms are distinguished by their large size, thick cap and stem, and a distinctive musky smell. Because of their size and the thickness of their fleshy caps, these mushrooms can be cooked in a range of different ways, including grilling and frying.
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