The History of Cultivation of the Button Mushroom in France

From around 1450 BC the button mushroom was already known, and a picture of one has been found in an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb. The Romans were very fond of button mushrooms and particularly appreciated them as a condiment. They gained royal attention in 17th century France, when they were produced in the gardens of Versailles for Louis XIV.

This was open air cultivation, during favourable weather in spring and autumn. In 1678 a paper on their cultivation was presented to the French Academy of Sciences and botanists corresponded on the subject of how to grow them in the open air.

Traces of 20th century mushroom cultivation in an abandoned limestone quarry under the Chateau of Le Grand Pressigny.

In the 18th century mushroom production becomes continuous, as mushrooms are 'domesticated' by being brought under shelter from the weather.

Chambray, a French horticulturalist and agronomist, had the idea of cultivating mushrooms in abandoned quarries under Paris all year round so as to lengthen their productive period. At the time, the button mushroom was the only one that the police allowed to be sold in the markets.

Crates of mushrooms being cultivated in the former limestone quarry at Bourré.

By the 19th century most of the underground quarries of Paris were being used for the cultivation of button mushrooms. This cultivation spread very rapidly into the suburbs of Paris, then into the provinces, especially the Loire Valley, in the old quarries that had provided the white limestone for the chateaux. As a result of the extensive cultivation under Paris, these button mushrooms became known in French as champignons de Paris, the name they retain today.

I've previously written about mushroom cultivation:

Growing Exotic Mushrooms on an Old Army Base

The Mushroom Caves at Bourré

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