Kitchen of the Woods
Blue/Grey Oyster Mushroom
Blue Oyster mushrooms have a spongy, dense, and slightly chewy consistency. When raw, the mushrooms bear a scent reminiscent of the seashore combined with anise and have a subtly metallic flavour. Once cooked, Blue Oyster mushrooms soften, developing a velvety, tender texture and contain a mild, earthy, and savoury taste with liquorice-like nuances.
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Blue Oyster mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D to balance phosphate and calcium levels in the body to strengthen bones and teeth. The mushrooms are also a source of B vitamins to increase energy, potassium to regulate fluid levels, vitamin A to maintain optimal organ functioning, and other amounts of iron, copper, and riboflavin. In addition to vitamins and minerals, Blue Oyster mushrooms contain chitin, a polymer that promotes healthy digestive bacteria and antioxidant properties to reduce oxidative stress.
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Blue Oyster mushrooms have a mild, savoury flavour well suited for cooked preparations, including braising, sautéing, roasting, frying, grilling, and stir-frying. The mushrooms can be consumed raw, but the flavour may contain a slightly more metallic taste. Blue Oyster mushrooms are most commonly combined with other mushrooms and sauteed to create an earthy and textural side dish, or they are tossed into soups to contribute umami flavours into the broth. The mushrooms are also roasted and stirred into pasta, cooked into omelettes, breaded and fried, prepared as a vegetarian substitute for seafood, used as a topping over pizza, grilled and layered onto burgers, or served as a simple side dish.
Lion's Mane Mushroom
Lion’s Mane mushrooms are best suited for cooked applications such as baking, frying, roasting, and sautéing. Their meaty texture is often used as a substitute for meat and can be served as a replacement for seafood, lamb, and pork. They are also commonly sautéed and served in pasta, stir-fries, soups, surf and turf, burgers, and salads. This mild mushroom easily picks up the flavours of the accompanying ingredients and can be a part of both side and main dishes.
When prepping, the mushroom should be thoroughly washed or brushed clean and then squeezed out like a sponge to remove excess water. The mushroom is very absorbent and too much water will ruin the flavour and texture of the dish.
Lion’s Mane mushrooms pair well with apples, ginger, garlic, shallots, onions, butter, chiles, paprika, thyme, parsley, rosemary, sage, saffron, white pepper, kohlrabi, spinach, leeks, lemon, carrots, potatoes, pine nuts, meats such as beef and poultry, cashews, dry white wine, pesto, and chicken stock. They will keep for days when stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator. They can also be cooked and then frozen for a couple of months.
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Lions Mane helps protect our memory and fight against dementia, quell symptoms of depression, promote healthy and speedy nerve cell recovery, reduce the risk of stomach ulcers, and reduce inflammation all while supporting the immune system.
King Oyster Mushroom
King oyster mushrooms are a large member of the oyster mushroom family with a meaty texture and rich umami flavor. They're versatile mushrooms that can be grilled, broiled, sautéed, and braised and served as a side dish or as the main component of a meal.
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Because of their firm, meaty texture, king oyster mushrooms can be prepared in various ways as a meat and seafood alternative. Their thick stems can be sliced into rounds and then pan-seared like sea scallops. When cooking them this way, it helps to score the tops and bottoms to help them cook more quickly and to absorb the oil or butter in the pan. They can also be sliced lengthwise, threaded onto skewers, and prepared like satay chicken. And their stems can be shredded with a fork and then braised to produce a result quite similar to braised pulled pork.
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Alternately, they can be sliced or chopped and served in pasta dishes, tempura, added to casseroles, meatballs, and meatloaf, or simply sliced into slabs and sautéed. They're good roasted, grilled, pan-seared, and stir-fried.
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King oyster mushrooms aren't usually served raw, as they are relatively flavourless other than a slightly metallic flavour. Cooking them, however, releases their flavour, and some of their volatile flavour compounds are fat-soluble, which means that cooking them in oil or fat helps to release their flavours and aromas.