Oyster mushrooms, as the name suggest, are like an oyster-cap shaped mushroom, its colour ranges from white to tan to dark brown. The flesh is white and firm. The gills are white to cream in colour and descend on a stalk. It has a bittersweet aroma and is easy to cook. They are locally available in North East India.
These mushrooms are high yielding and fast growing. They are good for lowering cholesterol levels and are a great source of potassium, protein and iron. They are used widely in the culinary world and are widely used in Asian cuisines in stir fries, soups and many more. They are very easy to grow; they require warm and moist temperature.
There are two methods that you can grow them; organically and with the use of fertilizers. We are going to show you how Oyster mushrooms are organically cultivated which is safe and healthy.
Here are a few steps you can follow and you can grow your own at home.
There are basically two steps we need to follow; preparation of the straw and the planting.
A.Preparation of the straw:
1.Select good quality paddy straw.
2.Chop them up into small pieces (2-4 inches).
3.Put the chopped straw in a pot of water till it covers the straw well and boil for 15mins.
4.Drain all the water from the straw.
5.Keep it aside for the next step.
B.Planting of Oyster mushrooms. Follow these steps below;
1.Take polythene plastics of 3-4 liters in volume, depending on how much straw you want to put in one bag.
2.Now take the boiled straw and put in one layer into the plastic and spread the oyster mushroom spawn.
3.Make another layer of the straw in the plastic and spread the spawn again. Continue this till it nearly fills the plastic.
4.When you have filled all the layers, pack up the plastic, tie them tight with a rubber band.
5.Keep them in a dark damp room on top of shelves for 20 days.
6.After these 20 days, you will start seeing a few mushrooms growing.
7.Remove them from the plastic and tie them with a very thin yet strong string. Hang them on post parallel to the ceiling but make sure they are 3-4 feet off the ground level to prevent from mice and worms feeding off from the straw beds.
8.After these straw beds are hung by the string, spray them with water for 2-3 days.
9.Within 2-3 days, the mushrooms will be fully grown and are ready for consumption.
We hope this article has stirred up more interest on these mushrooms and you will look forward to try our different recipes on oyster mushrooms.
Photo Credit: freefoodphotos.com