Courtesy Of River Valley Ranch
River Valley Ranch
When Chicago restaurateur Bill Rose had difficulty finding quality fresh mushrooms for his restaurants, he decided to just start growing them himself. He purchased land in Burlington, Wis., in 1976 to begin the venture that would grow into River Valley Ranch (39900 60th St., Burlington). Today, Bill’s son, Eric, owns and operates River Valley Ranch, offering value-added products like dips and spreads, a community grocery store, vegetable crops—and thousands and thousands of mushrooms.
In recent years, Eric has noticed more curiosity about a wider array of mushrooms for flavor and culinary uses. He consistently grows white button, cremini (baby bella) portobello, shiitake and oyster. Others include lion’s mane, king oyster and maitake. He also dabbles in seasonal wild mushrooms and some medicinal varieties. He’s helping another farmer set up production for reishi and cordyceps, two fungi varieties that have gained attention for medicinal and health benefits.
Eric has 10 grow houses dedicated to mushrooms. Indoor cultivation gives the farmer the ability to control temperature, humidity and ventilation in sanitized growing conditions. “Outdoors, that would be difficult to always provide the right conditions at the right time,” Eric notes. “We produce 15,000 pounds of mushrooms a week.” At any given time, they have 10 crops in rotation, so they have a continuous supply of fresh mushrooms.
The grocery store specializes in an ever-growing collection of locally produced, artisan foods including Purple Door Ice Cream, Anodyne Coffee, Valentine Coffee and Mavra’s Greek Oil, along with assorted cheeses and craft beers. Customers can find River Valley Ranch’s fresh mushrooms and produce, as well as grass-fed meats from neighboring Starry Nights Farm.
Also at the store is River Valley Ranch’s line of foods like pickled mushrooms, which Eric says are a customer favorite, along with their Portobello Salsa. Others in the line include Spinach Artichoke Dip Mix; Five Cheese Garlic Spread; Vidalia Onion Relish; and Wild Mushroom Burgundy Pasta Sauce. They also make granola, grab-and-go foods, frozen, pre-cooked foods including a mushroom medley burger made with six mushrooms, organic black beans and brown rice flour, and tamales made with organic corn masa and mushrooms.
For nearly a decade, Eric and the River Valley Ranch team had worked with Chicago-based chef Rick Bayless, best known for Frontera Grill and Frontera Foods line, to develop recipes. Together, they also crafted a seasonal heirloom tomato salsa, which they market under River Valley Ranch and make as a private label for Frontera.
Out in the field, River Valley Ranch grows tomatoes, eggplant, onions, garlic, and shallots used primarily for their products. They sell mushrooms and produce at Riverwest Co-op, as well as the South Shore Farmers Market, West Allis Farmers Market and the Wauwatosa and Fox Point farmers markets. Their spreads and salsas are on shelves at West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shop and on the menus at several fine restaurants throughout Milwaukee. Eric’s son, Jordan, operates a River Valley Ranch’s farm-to-table restaurant and store in Chicago.
This year, Eric is in the process of growing 1,500 hemp plants, most of which are the Uno and Tres strains, to make cannabidiol products. Tune in to the Shepherd Express’ “Cannabis Connection” column later this fall to check Eric’s hemp harvest progress.
For more information, visit rvrvalley.com.
