Mushrooms

The word mushroom is derived from the French word for fungi and moulds. One day, around 1650, a melon grower near Paris discovered mushrooms growing on his growth fertiliser. He decided to cultivate this new exotic delicacy commercially and to introduce it in exclusive Parisian restaurants. It was at that time that the mushroom was given the nickname ‘Parisian mushroom’. Later on, the French gardener, Chambry, discovered that the caves had just the right cool and moist environment for cultivating mushrooms, afterwich a large-scale mushroom cultivation developed in the caves around Paris.