3 Local Mail-Order Mushroom Kits to Start Growing at Home
Normally, we’re trying to get rid of fungus in the house. But here are three mail-order mushroom kits to start growing at home—if not for their sculptural beauty, then for a delicious dinner.
Mushrooms breathe oxygen, exhale carbon dioxide and will double in size every 24 hours.
Photo: Martha Cheng
Pink Oyster
Go from fungi to fork in about two weeks. You’ll see tiny pink specks (a stage that’s called “pinning”) within seven to 10 days, and then, overnight, these mushrooms, ruffled like a flamenco dancer’s dress, will burst through in hues ranging from pale pink to coral. To coax the most flavor from these mild yet meaty mushrooms, dry sear them in a pan over medium-high heat. Once they’ve browned and released some of their moisture, add butter, garlic, salt and a splash of white wine.
Photo: Martha Cheng
White Oyster
Oyster mushrooms are among the easiest fungi to grow. When you receive your bag, cut a slit, mist it every day, and soon enough these delicate white umbrellas will pop up like those little caps that surface on the lawn after rain. As with the other kits, you’ll harvest about a pound of mushrooms over one or two harvests. These mushrooms are thinner but similar in flavor to the pinks and can be prepared the same way.
Photo: Martha Cheng
Lion’s mane
This fascinating fungus resembles a shaggy ottoman, but is much more suitable as food than furniture. It requires more maintenance and is harder to grow than oyster mushrooms, but the payoff—a mushroom with the sweetness and texture of crab meat (it makes excellent crab cakes and even faux lobster rolls)—is worth it. Volcano Mushrooms on the Big Island makes these grow kits with sawdust from the local mill and inoculates them with mycelium, the threadlike network that eventually bears fruit, aka the magical mushroom.
$25 plus shipping, volcanomushrooms.com
