With the first autumn rains, mycology enthusiasts launch the mushroom picking season in forests, meadows, ravines and other natural landscapes. Basket in hand, eyes very attentive and focused on the traditional search for mushrooms, this activity can be very fun and pleasant.
The experienced collector will have fewer problems differentiating between different types of mushrooms and knowing where to look for valuable pieces. One of the most characteristic and easy to distinguish is the Eryngian oyster mushroom or oyster mushrooms, light in color, with a thick and long stem, very fleshy and a cap between three and 10 centimeters which can be whitish or creamy in color, but also dark brown.
They can be found from October to December, during the fall. However, depending on the climatic conditions of each region, they can also grow in spring.
If you want to take a few home to prepare your favorite mushroom dishes, don’t look into the shade of the trees. The best way to find them is to locate wild thistle bushes, which we will identify by their thorny branches and purple flower.
The oyster mushroom grows from its roots, which also grow thanks to livestock excrement which fertilizes habitats suitable for this type of fungus. They are usually found in pastures, abandoned crops and along roadsides.
Although they don’t look much like other mushrooms considered poisonous, one should always be careful and discard the mushroom if one has doubts about whether it is edible. In the case of oyster mushrooms, you must be careful and not confuse them with any variety such as rolled mushrooms – which have a more reddish color – or false millers, which are similar in color to oyster mushrooms but smaller.
To collect it we need a small knife, which we will use to cut the mushroom at the base of the stem. A process in which great care must be taken not to damage all the mycelium growing in the substrate and thus stop the next flowering.
From the field to the table
Oyster mushrooms, also known as cuckoo oyster mushrooms, cane mushrooms or cardoncillo mushrooms, are one of the most popular mushrooms in our country and one of those we consume the most.
They contain high doses of fiber and B-type vitamins, very important for maintaining a strong and balanced immune system. As they contain little magnesium, iron and zinc, they are recommended for low-salt diets. They have a mild and pleasant flavor, easy to marinate with many other ingredients, adapting to a multitude of recipes.
A very light, simple and exquisite way to consume them is simply to grill them. To do this, you can cut them into half-centimeter slices and prepare them in a non-stick pan with a little virgin olive oil flavored with herbs of your choice. They are very delicious with fresh rosemary and thyme, basil, parsley and oregano.
Remember that to clean them we can use a soft, damp cloth or a brush intended only for this purpose, with which we will help remove the soil remaining on the fungus. You have to do it gently so as not to damage it.
A stew, rice and a pâté
Another way to cook oyster mushrooms is to prepare them as a stew. We offer you one with peas and carrots. Exquisite and suitable for vegans. We will need three shallots, three carrots, half a kilo of oyster mushrooms, 300 grams of peas, a tablespoon of flour (it can be a gluten-free variety, such as tapioca) and half a liter of vegetable broth.
We are going to brown the shallots after having finely chopped them. Next we will incorporate the flour and add the vegetables and the mushrooms – which we can cut into strips -. We stir and let everything integrate to also add the vegetable broth. We will let it boil until the vegetables are well cooked.
Oyster mushrooms go wonderfully with all types of rice. They are very versatile and fit perfectly into risottos, paellas and creamy rice dishes. A winning combination is with chard, wild asparagus or cauliflower. Simple and with flavors with soft nuances. But if you want to mix the taste of land and sea, you can also make an exquisite rice with oyster mushrooms and shrimp.
If you fancy a snack, we offer you a tasty oyster mushroom pâté. We are going to fry an onion and when it is golden, we add half a kilo of oyster mushrooms cut into more or less equal pieces. In about 20 minutes they will be ready and we will transfer them to a colander so that all the excess oil drains well. All that remains is to put them in the blender. We will add half a jar of cream cheese or something else -depending on the amount of cooked mushrooms-. Another option for people following a vegan diet is to prepare it with breadcrumbs soaked in a vegetable drink to give it consistency.
Grow oyster mushrooms at home
Not all the oyster mushrooms found at our neighborhood weekly market are wild, even though we are in peak season. Much less those that you can buy on supermarket shelves; many come from crops. For some time there have also been companies dedicated to the organic cultivation of oyster mushrooms or other varieties, based on the use of waste.
If you like oyster mushrooms and have a space that you can dedicate to their cultivation, you will be able to see for yourself how these mushrooms grow in already germinated alpacas and with the prepared substrate that you can buy in some nurseries and specialized stores. You will need to place them in a cool place but not dark, nor directly exposed to sunlight; but they need a little light.
The temperature at which they can grow is around 10ºC and 20ºC. Each alpaca usually produces a few flowers and you can harvest about 1 kilo of them. If all goes well, in less than a month you will be able to harvest your oyster mushrooms to prepare your favorite dishes.
