Mushrooms are a diverse group of vegetables. There are over a hundred different species, and most are edible. However, not all mushrooms have legs, spines, or a cap.
These features make it easier to identify them for safety purposes. Their placement in the underground kingdom makes them more difficult to find than easy-to-forage vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts.
Because of this, it is important to learn how to grow sufficient amounts of mushroom for your diet in a safe way. This article will talk about how to do that!
This article will also talk about some tips for cooking with mushrooms, which can create some tricky situations to handle safely.
Contents:
White button mushrooms
White button mushrooms, also known as giant button mushrooms, are one of the more interesting mushrooms to grow. These guys can grow to be up to five inches in diameter!
The white portion comes from the beta glucan in the mushroom that triggers a white coat. The button is also notable for having a very distinctive taste, which is probably what inspired its name.
Button mushrooms are not for the faint of heart, as they can be VERY poisonous. They are also rather expensive to buy, being sold at high-end food stores and grocery stores.
However, they do come out dryly packaged so you can grow them yourself.
Baby Portobello
The baby portobello is also known as the tiny mushroom. These mushrooms are only about a half to one inch in length!
To grow a baby portobello, you must first purchase some cultivated oyster mushrooms. They can be found either fresh or frozen, so you can begin growing them.
Once they are grown, they must be chilled and maintained this way. This includes putting them in the freezer and pulling them out when needed.
Baby portobellos taste great if cooked right. If done right, it will have a soft buttery texture and slight sweet flavor. If done wrong, you will have a mushroom that is hard and stringy.
Baby portobellos are perfect for cooking because they taste different from what they looks like.
Chanterelles
Chanterelles are a cool-toned brown with hints of red or purple. They are a genus of mushrooms, or a species, named Pentacystus albidus.
Chanterelles are usually found in spring and summer, depending on the area. They vary in size from a pea to an eggplant-shaped food source.
They are typically enjoyed steamed, so start starting your season off right by growing them at home. Chanterelles can either be fresh or dried. Trying to grow them at home will depend on the type if course, as some require more space than others.
Pearl onions
Pearl onions are a relatively new crop being introduced to home gardens and farms. They come in several colors, including red, white, and pink.
Like other onions, your onion will produce a brown root system that runs in the soil. The rest of the plant is silvery and grows in the air via supported roots. These support roots can grow in the soil or liveware.
Producing onions this way allows for more growing room as well as more varieties due to different shapes and sizes of onion roots. It also allows for more plants to be sent into production since less space is required for growth.
To produce them at home, you will need to use either the fresh or dried plant material. To start growing them, you will need to take some winter protection measures such as protecting your onion roots from direct sunlight or overhanging heat source.
Sweetbread mushrooms
These mushrooms, also called sweetbread mushrooms, are a little scary looking. They look almost like an octopus or squid, with six arms that wrap around the plate and grow longer.
When they are young, they are very large and look more like a button mushroom. They need to be careful as they grow, as some come off as being harder to maintain.
When they are about a year old, they start to achieve some brownish color and the cap starts to thin. At this point, it is time to plant them!
During the growing season (autumn through spring) these mushrooms can be a little challenging to find.
Shii-take mushrooms
Shii-take mushrooms are a relatively new class of mushroom to the summer landscape. While not rare, these mushrooms look amazing up on a shii-take mushroom roof.
Their name refers to the sound made when they move. When they turn over their caps, they can rapidly spin with each cap covered in mushrooms. This action creates a unique silhouette against the plants that it grows on.
Shii-takis are brownish orange or red with occasional white markings, and may have a soft flesh that is sometimes salty or sour. They taste similar to an earthy mushroom broth, but less salty than traditional broth.
They can be very expensive to purchase, so growing your own is an excellent way to learn how to grow them.
Pleurotus species
Pleurotus species is a small mushroom that can grow quite large. It is also known as gill fungus or saprobic vegetation.
These mushrooms are usually found in wet environments such as ponds and rainforests. They are also commonly found in farmer’s markets and farmer’s warehouses, making it a readily available food source for local wildlife.
Because of this, there are often regulations about how much people can have with their mushroom, including how you get it. Most common ways to obtain the Pleurotus species is by eating it or by growing it.
Pleurotus septemlugis is a hardier variant of the species that can be grown in soil and temperatures below freezing. It does not require summer heat to grow so do not go thinking that you cannot do this if the summer weather does not cooperate.
Swiss brown mushrooms
Swiss brown mushrooms are a hard to find even in supermarkets. They are a dark purple or brownish-purple and have an addictive taste.
Swiss brown mushrooms grow in the fall and winter, coming out of the ground as a round, squat plant. It looks like a mushroom but is hollow!
You can only find it when it is ready, which is when it turns dark purple and grows slightly. It takes about a month for it to consistently produce mushrooms, though!
Because they grow in such small increments, Swiss brown mushrooms can be very special.