Grow Exotic Mushrooms At Home

Grow Exotic Mushrooms At Home: It’s Easy

May 24, 2021 at 7:34 am · Filed under Food Fun, Giftable, The Nibble, Tip Of The Day, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

If you like to cook with fresh mushrooms, grow some at home. It’s easy, fun, and, as you can see from the photos, have grat eye appeal.

North Spore offers mushroom kits of exotic mushrooms. These are beauties, not [with no disrespect] plain white button mushrooms or brown creminis.

The varieties are gourmet mushrooms, highly esteemed by chefs worldwide.

Watching your mushrooms grow is a fascinating experience for adults and kids alike, and the crop will be ready in two weeks.

The simple “Spray and Grow” Kits from North Spore are rectangular boxes of light cardboard containing a block of substrate (compacted sawdust) colonized with mushroom mycelium*.

You spray the substrate twice daily (sprayer included) and wait for the magic to happen.

The mushrooms are eye-catching (or in modern terms, Instagrammable).

The mushrooms can be used in conventional preparations—omelets, sauces, sides, tarts, quiches, etc. But they have specialty uses, too.

PICK YOUR MUSHROOMS

Choose from:

Blue Oyster Mushrooms (photo #3). Great for sautés with butter, garlic and fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme or whatever you have on hand). Turn them into a sauce when you deglaze a pan. Show them off in a salad.

Golden Oyster Mushrooms (photo #2). Use them like blue oyster mushrooms. They’re beautiful raw† in salads, marinated raw as a plate accent, and on vegetable skewers.

Pink Oyster Mushrooms (photo #1). Pink oyster mushrooms are so glamorous. They pair well with many cuisines and flavors; but more important, we think, is their wow factor when served whole. We marinate them whole and served them as a plate accent. You can crisp them in a pan with butter or olive oil. Make a stunning spinach or arugula salad with whole marinated mushrooms.

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms (photo #4). With a unique consistency and flavor, Lion’s Mane can be used as a vegan seafood substitute. You can slice them into rounds and pan-fry them in olive oil or butter. Or, shred them into a crab meat consistency and make crab cakes.

HOW THE MUSHROOMS GROW

Open the box, cut open the perforated window, and spray the substrate, per the directions. Place the box in a more humid place—as opposed to a dry spot of direct sunlight.

In two weeks you’ll have full-grown mushrooms. And that’s not all.

After the first flush‡ (fruiting), you may get a second and even a third flush, especially if you can keep the box in a humid location. If your home is dry, it’s easy to make a humidity tent. (Also check out how to add good humidity to your home.)

When your kit has produced two or more flushes indoors, you may be able to get another flush by putting the substrate outside, where rain and humidity can encourage more growth.

Questions? Check out the FAQ.

GET YOUR MUSHROOM KITS

Get them for yourself.

Get them for your friends who love to cook.

Get them for kids, to inspire them.

It’s a gift that no one is likely to have received before, or likely to forget!

Head to Northspore.com.

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUSHROOMS

> THE HISTORY OF MUSHROOMS

[1] Pink oyster mushrooms, growing from a medium inside a box (all photos © North Spore).

[2] Golden oyster mushrooms.

[3] Blue oyster mushrooms.

[4] Lion’s mane mushrooms.

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*The mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of fine white filaments (hyphae). Here’s more about it.

†If you are concerned about eating raw mushrooms, speak with your healthcare provider.

‡A flush is the growth for harvesting during the same season. After you harvest the first growth (flush) a second growth may occur, and even successive flushes after that. The more humid the mushrooms’ environment, the likely you’ll get additional flushes. Fruiting means the same thing as flush.

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