General Information
The baby Oyster Mushroom can be found in the wild as an autumn harvest, but commercially, these are cultivated in controlled environments with spawns and considered one of the most commonly cultivated mushrooms in the world. Oyster mushrooms have absolutely nothing to do with the mollusk but they do have similar coloring and sizing to an oyster with a color palette that varies from almost white to a deep tan. This mushroom should have a uniformly shaped ‘scallop’ top that’s free from moisture or decay with a thin leading edge that curls under. The long, vertical veins that run from root to tip should be continuous and free from bruising. Baby oyster mushrooms are harvested as a young mushroom and have a more delicate flavor than their mature version.
History
Baby oyster mushrooms can be found growing wild in autumn forests, cascading in tight shelf-like patterns along dead hardwood deciduous trees, especially beech and willow. Most often, though, oyster mushrooms are cultivated in controlled environments – in spawns filled with rice, grains, cotton, straw, wheat, millet and maize that serve as the mushrooms’ food and protein source. The most effective way to harvest the mushrooms is to remove the entire colony from the spawn’s stem so that a new crop can grow all at once. One spawn bag can cultivate about 3-5 harvests. These mushrooms can be harvested fresh and dried to yield year-round availability.
