growing oyster mushrooms

[blucher]

Life's Pages - Establishing a New World Culture based on the sustainability of frugal living and imagining a new reality where money is not the central motivation. - Mushroom Recipe Blog

4 Pints Canned Oyster Mushrooms & 9 Pints Canned Broth


Ingredients:

~5lbs of Waste Paper
~1 Quart Blue Oyster Mycelium (I sell these, but they're much cheaper to make yourself)
~2 cups flour
~1 onion
~4 cloves garlic
~4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Pretty much any paper will to:
~Cardboard
~Phonebooks
~Newspaper
~Egg Cartons
~Credit card applications
~Delinquency notices
~Traffic tickets
~Any unwanted paper

Boil for 60 minutes to kill any potential contamination. It isn't as vital in this step to kill EVERYTHING you're just knocking down the competition for the mycelium.

After the waste paper is cooked and had a chance to cool down (must be below 120F) Drain. The paper needs to be very wet for the mycelium, but not dripping wet. Just a little bit of squeezing is all it needs. And then add 1 Quart of Mycelium. Of course I sell these, but once you start a culture they're very easy to maintain. Break the mycelium apart and make sure it is evenly spread through the paper mixture.

This mixture can go into anything paper. I will normally use a double lined paper grocery bag or a cardboard box, but just about anything without a wax or plastic coating.

Keep at 80F & 100% humidity for ~2 weeks. I use a plastic tub with a small heater.

Once you start seeing "Coral" growth it's time to start fruiting
Move to 60F and spray with water twice a day.

Stems-



In a large sauce pan heat oil then add diced stems, onions, & garlic.
Cook mixture down for 15 minutes.
Add flour and stir constantly until mixture starts to brown.
Add 10 cups water
Mix thoroughly then simmer for 20 minutes.

Caps-

Soak in cold water for 5 minutes.
Rinse with cold water.
Boil in large sauce pan for 5 minutes.

Using proper pressure cooker practices, fill ~ 4 pint jars with caps & water then ~9 pint jars with Broth. Cook at 11psi for 45 minutes.

[Britney]

I just bought a bunch of canning items and plan on doing it for my first time this weekend! Thanks for this post.

[blucher]

Thought this got posted yesterday???

I just boiled everything and kept everything sterile without a pressure cooker. No failures at all.

[VaporLung]

Growing mushrooms is a fun and rewarding hobby.

Sadly for me, I really dont like mushrooms (at all) otherwise Id be all over this.

My days of mycology were back when I was younger.

[RiponredTJ]

I like to find mushrooms in the woods, and even if there's only a few I will cook them up. But I only pick mushrooms I'm 100% certain about.

I remember walking through our woods with our dad when I was maybe 10 or 11, and all of a sudden he lunged at the ground and came up with a mushroom. He held it up and told us it was edible. And to prove the point he took a big bite of the mushroom.

He almost died. This was back in the early 70's and our cottage didn't have electricity or telephones. It was a propane bomb. Water came from a barrel (i.e. the roof). My parents figured all the heavy particles would settle on the bottom, so we always skimmed the water off the top.

So me and my sister watched him suffer. I think he had a good trip, but I'm pretty sure he did come very close to dying that day.

Now I just want to find a few pounds of Chanterelles because there is nothing better than a Chanterelle Goulash!

[RiponredTJ]

It's the perfect topping for thinly sliced pork tenderloins

[blucher]

Originally Posted by VaporLung

Growing mushrooms is a fun and rewarding hobby.

Sadly for me, I really dont like mushrooms (at all) otherwise Id be all over this.

My days of mycology were back when I was younger.

odd that you were interested but dislike them. Was it a bad experience or doesn't the taste grab you?

I was best man at a wedding up in NY state years ago. I was shooting the reception afterwards when my gf insisted I stop and try the soup.
I'm not big on soups. but this came from a lady who fully understood my addiction to photography so I set down the Nikons and grabbed a spoon. I never touched a camera till my bowl was empty and LICKED CLEAN.

It was this incredibly richly flavored mushroom soup and I've never had anything half as good before or since.

Sometime next winter I'll use a blender to liquefy a quart or two of good mushrooms and use that (after reducing it and adding clarified butter) as the base stock for a try to duplicate it.

The lady downstairs says growing mushrooms on paper gets a mite smelly but that's easily managed.