King Oyster Mushroom
The King Oyster Mushrooms come in a dizzying variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Unique in many of its characteristics, the King Oyster has a stately appearance and culinary flexibility making it well deserved of its name.
Unlike other oyster mushrooms varieties, the King Oyster Mushrooms doesn’t usually produce a shelf like formation, but instead produces a mushroom with a round cap and a defined stem. The cap usually unrolls with age, becoming flat and eventually uncurled. If grown indoors with minimal fresh air and low light levels, the mushroom will grow a fat tall stem and a tiny cap, while lots of fresh air and light will produce a mushroom with a small stem and large dark cap. King Oysters Mushrooms can be quite large, sometimes producing single fruits weighing well over one pound.
Natural Habitat Of King Oysters Mushrooms
Found growing from the roots of hardwood trees, emerging from underneath the soil. Can be found in Southern Europe, North Africa, Central Asia and Russia.
Difficulty: Medium.
Spawn Types: Grains, especially Rye. Can also use millet, or wild bird seed. Hardwood sawdust is also an effective spawn medium.
Substrate Types: King oyster grows best on supplemented hardwood sawdust in autoclavable grow bags. Supplement with wheat bran at 10-15%. King Oysters will also grow well on straw, however, unlike other Oyster species, the yield will be reduced. Cultivators also report that the King Oyster Mushrooms will have a longer shelf life and a better texture if grown on hardwood sawdust rather than straw.
Fruiting Containers: Large gusseted autoclavable grow bags with a filter patch will produce the best results. For straw logs use poly tubing. Can also be grown with success outdoors in garden beds.
Casing Layer: Unlike other Oyster mushrooms, the King Oyster will benefit from a casing layer. Use 50/50 peat moss and vermiculite with 1% hydrated lime to prevent casing contamination.
Yield: Typically, 1 kg can be grown from a 5 kg supplemented sawdust block on the first flush. Multiple flushes can be achieved. Some cultivators get 2kg from a block on a single flush.
Harvest Time
When to harvest the King Oyster Mushrooms depends on cultivators preference. Smaller younger mushrooms will generally have a better texture and flavor, but less yield will be achieved. King Oysters are unique among oysters in that the stem is highly desired for culinary uses, so allowing the stem to grow large may be desired. Harvest by removing the mushrooms at the base of the stem, being careful not to damage the top of the block if subsequent flushes are desired.
Weakness: King Oysters Mushroom are generally resilient against contamination but can be susceptible to blotch. Blotch is a bacterial infection generally caused by excessive humidity. It is shown by dark spots on the mushroom fruitbody. Remedy by reducing the humidity and ensuring water droplets do not remain on fruitbody for too long. Increase air exchanges.
Cooking: King Oyster mushrooms have a thick meaty texture and a bold unique taste. They are quite versatile and highly desired as a culinary treat. The thick texture will even stand up to grilling on a BBQ!
You will not be disappointed choosing to Buy King Oyster Mushroom!
Where to buy King Oyster Mushrooms is here with Mind Trip Masters
To see All of our Dried Magic Mushrooms check here
Jim Ferranto –
Exceeded expectations
I’ve been a dried mushroom enthusiast for years as they’re foundational for so many recipes
Nancy Bull –
Look and smell goid
They look great. I haven’t had a chance to try them yet but I’m expecting they’ll be good
Fast shipping too.
Jarka Kabela –
very gut soecial Ervin
Michael Heffner –
I am grateful for the wonderful mushrooms, easy transaction, the fact I did not get SCAMMED, and for being able to properly prepare the best I can moving forward into the unknown. Much gratitude for the Forest Mushroom team.
Kerin beri –
I rehydrated these in hot water. I then cut them into pieces. They seemed soft. I added them to chicken I was sauteeing. But when I went to eat them, they were like pieces of rubber! The chicken was tender and easy to chew. The mushrooms were not. I will try soaking them longer, although they seem soft enough. I have a big bag of them so I don’t want to just throw it all away.
Cathy R –
This is very good quality oyster mushroom, the flavor is mild and good, it’s not as strong as shiitake mushroom so it’s very easy to use it in hot and cold dishes. After soak in water for an hour, they expended to pretty good size, so I sliced them and use them for stir fried vegetables and in soups. I will purchase them again and recommend to others.
Mary Vanek –
Excellent mushrooms
cedric baetche –
Great dried shrooms
Very flavorful. Great texture. I throw a generous handful “as is” in my soup and let them in for 15-20min.
Lochlan long –
Very high quality oysters. Once hydrated they are almost as good as fresh. Just remember to cut off the rubbery “feet” or stalks and then slice them up. You can still use the stalks either to make broth or to put in a food processor to destroy the rubbery texture. I prefer to slice these from the crown to the stalk base to make slivers. Excellent if you are trying to go vegan. With some smoked paprika and smoked salt these are good replacements for ham in navy bean soup. I just wish the price wouldn’t keep going up.
Carol –
This was my first try of oyster mushrooms. Upon opening the bag, I found they have a pungent odor at first a little off putting. It’s apparently supposed to smell like that. They are a strong woody flavor plus something else I cannot describe. The texture is is squishy like rehydrated mushroom, which I love. The bag is really chock full of mushrooms and I’m hoping it’s not a lot of stems because those are inedible as I have just learned. The stems are very fibrous and no amount of soaking will make them easy to chew.
I cooked all the moisture out of them after soak, with garlic, shallots and salt I didn’t want to over power the flavor. These absorb flavors nicely.
Lori –
I have used various dried mushrooms for many, many years. These are by far, the WORST that I have ever used. I soak mine overnight to soften and to develop a wonderful gravy. Then, I slow cook the dried mushrooms with fresh mushrooms, season and it always comes out perfect and is a hit in my home. NOT THE CASE WITH THESE! No matter how long they cook, they are rubbery, chewy and inedible. The flavor is fine, but the texture is horrendous. I actually picked out the dried mushrooms one by one in my finished gravy because I did not want to be embarrassed serving this garbage dried mushroom junk to my guests. It took an hour to do this, but I would do it again to avoid serving this horrible product. Never again!
Melenie Lopane –
These dried mushrooms r a good deal n they r tasty im having them tonight with chicken n rice mmm