earticle

영어

Cultivation of brown mushrooms, rather than that of white variants is preferred by Korean mushroom farmers, as the former are resistant to diseases. However, brown mushrooms were cultivated only in selective eco-friendly agricultural farms due to lack of consumer awareness. After providing information about brown mushrooms to respondents through a 1-minute video clip, a survey was conducted on social network service (SNS) to assess recognition and preference for brown mushrooms. A food evaluation was then conducted among 200 people randomly selected from the survey respondents. Most respondents (83%) had not encountered brown button mushrooms previously, and 98% of the respondents were willing to buy these mushrooms because they were “curious about its taste” (44%). In the food evaluation, 32% of the respondents found the brown button mushrooms to be delicious, 28% reported a good flavor, and 31% described a good texture. In addition, we confirmed that 95% of respondents were interested in purchasing brown mushrooms after sampling. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated public perception, preference, and taste of brown button mushrooms, and confirmed that availability of information on nutrition and benefits s of mushroom consumption could induce consumers to buy brown button mushrooms.