Mushroom workshops provide tips for preserving mushrooms and experimenting with mushroom dishes

Helsieni Oy is a circular economy-based company. Operating in Kera, it farms mushrooms, sells kits for growing mushrooms at home and organises mushroom-themed workshops. Helsieni aims to promote the use of mushrooms and increase the appreciation of mushrooming and mushroom dishes.

This pilot project aims to increase knowledge of mushroom-preserving methods and inspire people to grow and pick mushrooms and try new mushroom dishes. The methods are old, but many have forgotten them with the advent of freezers and supermarkets. They are no longer taught to young people, further reducing the use of mushrooms. Learning the preservation methods enables using mushrooms year-round, thus helping to reduce the consumption of energy-intensive foods.

“If you gather or grow mushrooms yourself, it is very mush possible you get mushrooms more than you can consume, so it is only practical to learn different ways to preserve them for later use,” says Chris Holtslag, Helsieni founder and organiser of the workshops.

The workshops teach various preservation methods, the instructions for which will also be published on Helsieni’s website. The methods of preserving and using mushrooms experimented with in the workshops include drying, pickling, fermenting, infusing oils and making mushroom powder, jerky and spreads. Besides mushroom recipes, the participants get a self-made jar of pickled oyster mushrooms to take home.

The workshops are open to all, with special attention paid to involving young people. Therefore, mushroom workshops are also organised in schools in connection with home economics education.

Project workshops and registration instructions:

• Espoo Adult Education Centre’s course in Leppävaara (paid, requires registration): https:(external link)//ilmonet.fi/course/E231337(external link)
• Lippulaiva Library’s course in Leppävaara (free, requires registration): https:(external link)//www.helmet.fi/en-US/Libraries_and_services/Lippulaiva_Library/Events/Mushroom_preservation_workshop(247626)(external link)

All the Green Transition Demonstrations will be implemented in late 2022 and early 2023. You can follow the progress of the demonstrations through the media channels of the City of Espoo.