2022: Year of the mushroom?

Mushrooms are showing up everywhere these days — as meat substitutes, in coffee, in environmentally friendly packaging and in a promising treatment for depression.

Driving the news: Produce Blue Book has declared mushrooms one of the "top five food trends for 2022." (The others are potato milk, indoor farming, restaurant evolution and packaging innovation.)

• "Out of all the produce categories to pick as "trendy," I think mushrooms are going to be the one that continues to gain popularity with consumers," writes Pamela Riemenschneider, retail editor for Blue Book Services, which provides marketing information for the fruit and vegetable industry.
• "From oyster mushrooms masquerading as scallops to consumer interest beyond buttons and criminis, consumers are looking for a meaty umami flavor without the meaty calorie load."

Details: 'Shroomy new products are flooding the market.

• Pan's Mushroom Jerky is made with shiitakes.
• Giorgio's Shredded Portabella Mushrooms come in two flavors, Sriracha and barbecue.
• Shrooms Crispy Mushrooms are a potato chip alternative that come in flavors like sea salt, spicy jalapeno and mesquite barbecue. (The manufacturer also sells Shrooms Snack Bars in flavors like Crispy Mushroom Chocolate Chunk.)

Mushroom coffee is cropping up everywhere — it's even sold at Walmart — and a new line of mushroom oat milk drinks has hit the market.

• Drinksfeed.com offers a primer on "how to choose your first mushroom coffee."
• "When they are used for beverages, they are typically dehydrated, made into an extract, and blended into coffee or other drinks," per Feast and Field.
• While the health benefits are likely overblown, "proponents claim mushroom beverages have the potential to boost immune function, reduce inflammation, and support energy levels throughout the day."

Bonus: Our colleague Asher Price at Axios Austin has been brewing up broccoli tea.