About Our Mushrooms
Culinary Mushrooms are a great supplement to many gourmet preparations and can even be their own main dish! All of our culinary varieties can be prepared just like you would any other mushroom, including exotic types like Lion’s Mane and Coral Tooth.
Many of our cultivars are tree-borne species and have much less of an earthy flavor than the typical mushrooms you would find at your local grocery store (white button, portabella, and dried porcini). All of them are a complete protein source with all nine essential amino acids, and they are a perfect choice for “Meatless Mondays” or any other vegan or vegetarian preparations. They also go well as a side dish or enhancement to any omnivorous menu.
Oyster Mushroom Varieties have distinct flavor and texture profiles that readily pair well with meat and poultry, while Lion’s Mane and Coral Tooth will easily take on the seasoning of the dish you prepare. We have a wide range of Oyster mushroom varieties. Blue, pink, black, and pearl (white) oyster mushrooms feature larger caps and smaller stems (or “stipes” in mushroom-speak) which are great for sautés and soups. Other oyster mushrooms like our Black-King Hybrid or King Oyster feature thicker, denser stems and smaller caps which can be crosscut to make vegan scallops, vertically for some meaty strips, or cubed to do with as you please!
Lion’s Mane and Coral Tooth, both have a lobster or crab-like flavor with a light texture and flavor. These two varieties are popular for their ability to simulate different textures. The spines from Lion’s Mane can be pulled apart and used to simulate crab meat, especially in vegan preparations like crab-less crab-cakes. It can also be cut cross-sectionally which produces a nice chicken-tender effect, or you can squeeze some of the water out of a fresh mushroom into your sauce to retain its nutrients, but then add the flesh back into your cooking to simulate a “pulled-pork” feel. Interestingly, Coral Tooth simulates beef crumbles or crawfish tails. Additionally, Lion’s Mane is known and desired for its holistic medicinal benefits of promoting neuro-motor function and boosting memory recall! †
Medicinal Mushrooms come in all different types and varieties. Most of them are sought for their various uses in traditional or holistic medicine. While we don't specialize in holistic health, we do know a lot about growing mushrooms, so we produce some of the more common varieties that our consumers have requested. Some mushrooms can only be wild-foraged and we work with partnering foragers across the country to bring a few culinary and medicinal varieties to our customers when the season permits.
Continue reading on for descriptions of the kinds of mushrooms that we offer:
Oyster Mushrooms
King Blue Oyster
Black-King Oyster
King Blue Oyster
Black-King Oyster
- Pearl Oyster – Off-white with small to medium caps. They feature a narrow stipe (mushroom stem) and are perfect for cooking whole. They have a robust savory flavor.
- Blue Oyster – Dark blue caps in cold weather when they're young, which lighten to a bluish-gray in warmer environments or as they mature. They have a slightly more dense texture than Pearl Oyster and medium savory flavor. These often grow small to medium caps. Clusters of Blue Oyster can be pressed between two hot cast-iron pans to make the perfect mushroom "steak" to enjoy.
- King Blue – Larger, robust stems with a meaty texture, same medium savory flavor profile as traditional Blue Oyster. These often produce medium to large caps that are great for cutting into strips or dicing prior to cooking.
- Black-King (Black Pearl-King Oyster Hybrid) – Black-King has the most dense texture of our oyster mushroom lineup, with the lightest of the savory flavor profiles. These are excellent for cutting into strips, medallions, or diced or shredded for a delicious meat-replacement option.
- Princess Pearl (Silver) – Similar to Blue Oyster in shape and size with small to medium caps, but with a slightly stronger savory flavor than Pearl Oyster. These appear silver when young, and lighten to a light-gray color as they mature.
- Golden Treasure (Yellow) – Small to large caps, these grow bright canary yellow to golden yellow and have a light crisp texture akin to properly-cooked calamari, but with a light oyster mushroom flavor. Hints of young coconut may be present when this mushroom is cooked without any other seasoning.
- Pink Oyster – Large meaty stems with wide medium sized caps appear as pastel to bright pink versions King Blue. The flavor ranges from intense savory when young to meaty, seafood-like when mature.
- Pathfinder Oyster – Very large but delicate caps with a robust stem and gills that almost give it a "tongue-like" appearance and a strong savory flavor.
- Snow Oyster – Bright-white caps and stems that share the same robust savory flavor as our traditional Pearl Oyster.
- Elm Oyster – Pearl Oyster variant with the same flavor and color profile, able to grow in cooler temperatures.
- Medusa (Pearl Variant) – This is our traditional Pearl Oyster grown in a low-oxygen environment to illicit longer stems and smaller caps. These produce a savory, noodle-like flavor and texture that goes well in stir-fry dishes, soups, or stews.
Hericium Varieties
Lion's Mane
Coral Tooth
Lion's Mane
Coral Tooth
- Lion's Mane – These mushrooms have spines instead of caps and are an off-white color. They can be used to simulate different textures, depending on how they are prepared. The spines can be pulled apart to simulate lobster or crabmeat. Whole pieces can be cut cross-wise to to simulate chicken tenders or steaks. If squeezed prior to cooking, they will produce a pulled-pork-like texture after cooking. If unseasoned, the mushroom has a light savory flavor when cooked thoroughly, but it really soaks up any seasoning or sauces like a flavor bomb.
- Cauliflower Lion's Mane – Essentially the same as traditional Lion's Mane but the spines are much smaller and the mushroom is more dense. This has a more meaty texture than regular Lion's Mane.
- Coral Tooth – The same family as Lion's Mane, the spines on this mushroom grow into forked shapes that appear similar to coral. The clusters can be pulled apart into chunks that feel similar to shrimp when cooked in larger pieces or ground beef when cooked in smaller crumbles. The color and flavor is the same as traditional Lion's Mane.
- Medusa (Lion's Mane Variant) – This low-oxygen variant of Lion's Mane is great for preparing Lion's Mane steaks or tenders, when a large section of Lion's Mane is desired over smaller pieces.
Common Specialty
Chestnut Mushroom
Chestnut Mushroom
- Shiitake – You're probably familiar with this mushroom, but for those who aren't, these have a savory, smoky flavor that packs in the umami to any dish you wish.
- Chestnut – These mushrooms have a nutty flavor, and their skin gets crispy when you cook them. Be sure to start with a dry pan for the first few minutes to evaporate some of their moisture off to add to that effect.
- Pioppino – They have a "pork-like" flavor that you can add to soups, stew, or stir-fry dishes and the stems (or "stipes") of these mushrooms can have an interesting texture similar to asparagus as they mature and grow larger.
Other Specialty
- Golden Enoki – Enoki are small caps and small stems, excellent for mixing into soups, sauces, or stews. They cook up like any other mushroom, however, and can go very well into stir-fry or rice dishes. Try them out!
- Shimeji – These are larger than Enoki, similarly with small caps and long stems. They have a noodle-like texture and go very well into any dish.
- Amber Nameko – The caps of these mushrooms have a jelly-like coating that makes these mushrooms look like glazed chestnut mushrooms, but they are traditionally used in soups. We prefer to cook them into any dish, and we're sure you'll enjoy them just the same.
- Maitake – Known colloquially as "hen of the woods" and also featured in many soup dishes, these mushrooms have a beautiful ruffled texture. They have a light savory, light bitter taste on their own, but they really shine with savory seasonings in whichever dish they're added.
Medicinal Varieties
- Reishi – Ganoderma lucidum. Valued for holistic rest and relaxation.†
- Turkey Tail – Trametes versicolor. The immune booster in traditional medicine.†
- Cordyceps – Cordyceps militaris. Homeopathic help for energy and pep.†
Wild-Foraged
- Chaga – This medicinal variety is sourced from partnering foragers in Alaska; cleaned and dried. Traditional medicine for healthy hair, skin, and gut lining health.†
- Morels – Depending on the season, these culinary delights are sourced from partnering foragers in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Upstate New York; cleaned and dried. Sought for their amazing flavor!
- Chicken of the Woods – These mushrooms have a lemony chicken flavor, with the texture of real chicken that can't be beat. Their color ranges from bright yellow to reddish orange. Try them whenever you can!
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
