You can make tasty stir-fries and soups with oyster mushrooms.
Oyster mushrooms (pleurotus ostreatus) are a common type of edible mushroom. They look very similar to oyster shells, hence the name; some also find the taste similar to oysters. In the wild, oyster mushrooms grow on dead trees. They are cultivated commercially and are easy to grow. Oyster mushrooms can be used in many different recipes. They are nutritious and have been demonstrated to reduce cholesterol.
Appearence and Habitat
Oyster mushrooms grow all over North America, and in temperate and subtropical forests across the globe. They thrive on dead wood, usually deciduous, and especially the wood of beech trees. Oyster mushrooms grow in layers. They are typically pale in color, although they may appear darker towards the end of the year.
Cultivation
The first records of deliberate cultivation are from the era of World War I, when oyster mushrooms were grown in Germany as a source of food. You can find them growing wild in many areas, but unless you're an expert on fungi it's safer to cultivate your own. You can grow oyster mushrooms from spores on straw, wood, coffee grounds or a roll of paper towels.
Benefits
Oyster mushrooms are very nourishing. Like other mushrooms, they contain a lot of protein. Oyster mushrooms also contain significant amounts of a substance called lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering compound. Research has demonstrated that eating oyster mushrooms can lower your cholesterol.
Preperation
You need to separate and wash the mushrooms first. You'll notice that they have a very tough stem; this isn't very good to eat but you can use it for stock. Chop off the tough stalk so you are left with the softer cap, which you can then use in your recipes.
Recipes
You can use oyster mushrooms in all of your favorite mushroom dishes. They go well with pasta and with many kinds of fish and meat. Because the taste is similar to shellfish, you can substitute oyster mushrooms for seafood in vegetarian dishes. Oyster mushrooms are used in Asian cooking; in China, Korea and Japan, they are regarded as a delicacy. You can add oyster mushrooms to many Asian-inspired dishes, from stir-fry to tom yum soup.
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