<p>To-Jo Fresh Mushrooms is announcing a successful new partnership with the Southwest Minnesota State University Culinology Department.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">To-Jo has teamed up with students from the Culinology Department to create "blended" mushroom recipes to be submitted into the 2014 Research Chefs Association annual student recipe competition in Portland, OR, according to a press release.<img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/tojo_page_033114.jpg" alt="cropped_Image_032814" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Having young aspiring chefs ideate with mushrooms in Culinology course work is a win-win for everyone. It exposes the next generation of food technologists to the health benefits and functionality of Mushrooms while giving consumers an opportunity to experience healthy alternatives to Iconic menu items. Mushrooms are one of the most versatile items in the produce aisle and can be used seamlessly in blended recipes with a variety of proteins," said Anthony D’Amico, To-Jo’s President.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The Culinology® department at SWMSU is run by Professor Michael Cheng. Culinology® is the blending of the culinary arts and the science of food. It is defined as "the collaboration between culinary expertise and food science and how this collaboration affects the food we prepare and serve for consumption."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">During the fall semester, To-Jo provided all the materials for students to use in their Food Product Development Course.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This resulted in a variety of dishes that utilized To-Jo’s value-added line of White and Baby Bella mushrooms. "Mushroom Blendability" is the idea of replacing a portion of protein with chopped mushrooms in familiar recipes to deliver healthy, low calorie, flavorful dishes.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The finalists submitted their recipes to the RCA for consideration. Team Pufflings created three items which all included a mushroom infused formulation that made it to the finals of the competition.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.to-jo.com/" target="_new"> To-Jo Fresh Mushrooms </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
