Forest Hills Brothers Launch Gourmet Mushroom Farm In Queens

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Queens native Jeff Novzen was living in Palmer, Alaska, when he discovered his passion for foraging mushrooms.

"In the fall, the woods would explode with mushrooms," Novzen recalled. "I was so interested in the different types and varieties."

What he didn't yet know was that his brother, Adam, who was then living in Colorado, had picked up the same hobby.

"It was completely by coincidence," Novzen said. "It was something we were both craving: getting out in the woods and finding nature that we weren't able to find before."

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The brothers decided they wanted to bring their shared love of fungi back home to Forest Hills, where they were born and raised.

After months of research, they built their very own gourmet mushroom farm in neighboring Rego Park and started selling their homegrown fungi this month under the name Mushroom Queens.

Growing mushrooms takes exactly the right environment, as Novzen describes it. As the spores grow on hardwood logs, sawdust and straw bales, the brothers have to keep their makeshift farm at a temperature of 70 degrees and a humidity level of 80 to 90 percent.

But the biggest challenge is keeping the farm clean so they are growing mushrooms, not mold, Novzen said.

Thanks to coronavirus-related closures, the brothers are mostly selling to neighbors in Forest Hills and Rego Park, but they hope to turn Mushroom Queens into a full-time business by selling their wares to restaurants and farmers markets.

Their current offerings include shiitake, lions mane, golden oyster, pink oyster and black king oyster mushrooms — varieties they chose based on their popularity in the culinary world.

Novzen names the lions mane as his favorite variety and suggests making it into a burger topped with caramelized onions.

"It almost has a lobster-like consistency and flavor," he said.

The brothers also sauté the mushrooms and add them to everything from pizzas and omelettes.

As Novzen puts it: "It adds a whole other dimension."

This article originally appeared on the Forest Hills Patch