Fungi Taste: Feeding the Many with Mushrooms.

As many as 47% of Danes would like to eat a more plant-rich diet. Nevertheless, the average daily meat consumption remains around 142 grams. Skepticism related to taste and ingrained habits are among the main barriers preventing a shift toward more plant-based eating.

Since 63% of Danes have access to workplace canteens, these represent an important setting for promoting plant-based meals. When such meals become a regular part of lunch offerings in canteens, they may also influence cooking practices at home. This creates the potential for a spillover effect, where behavior adopted in one context, is transferred to another.

Mushrooms hold considerable potential for expanding the canteen repertoire of plant-based dishes, as 65% of Danes who wish to reduce their meat intake believe that mushrooms are a good alternative. Mushrooms are a particularly suitable ingredient for plant-based meals, as their umami character provides the sensory richness and depth typically associated with meat-based dishes.

Experiences from the projects Tempeh (GUDP) and Green Transition (Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science) have shown that food professionals often lack knowledge about the culinary potential of new ingredients and access to recipes that fit into established production processes – both of which constitute barriers to their adoption.

The purpose of Fungi Taste is to promote the use of mushrooms in plant-based dishes in large-scale kitchens. However, as seen in previous projects (Tempeh, Green Transition), limited knowledge and skills can make it challenging for food professionals to work with new ingredients or to use familiar ones in new ways. The project therefore aims to generate new knowledge about the competence needs and product demands of food professionals, while also mapping the culinary potential of mushrooms.

This knowledge will be applied in co-creation workshops designed to upskill kitchen professionals and support the development of mushroom-based plant dishes. The developed dishes, considering production flow, health, taste, and climate impact, will form the basis for implementation in selected canteens. Both food professionals and canteen guests will evaluate the dishes in terms of suitability and taste, with the aim of ensuring that mushroom-based meals are perceived as easy to implement, delicious, and economically sustainable.

Finally, the project seeks to generate new knowledge about spillover effects from the canteen context to participants’ home cooking, thereby contributing to the development of strategies that can promote healthy and climate-friendly eating behaviors among Danes.