I received a mushroom growing kit for Christmas last year (7 months ago) and only decided to open it last month. I followed all of the instructions: Remove front panel from box, cut slits into mycelium bag, soak bag in water overnight, shake off excess water from bag, put bag in box, put box near windowsill and out of direct sunlight, mist bag at slits 2-4 times a day, be patient, watch oyster mushrooms grow!
It actually worked! It took a little longer than the expected 10 days. My mushrooms probably took 2.5 weeks to grow. Once the mushrooms made their appearance, they grew really fast! I should have plucked my mushrooms out of the kit a few days ago when the edges of the shrooms weren’t so crinkled. I consulted a mushroom expert and found out that they’re fine to eat. I rinsed the mushrooms thoroughly and then put them in a pan with a little olive oil over low heat. I let the mushrooms cook for about 15-20 minutes (I try not to risk undercooking my mushrooms.) Finally I added a little Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (alternative to soy sauce), minced garlic, and sliced ginger. I’ll cook hearty shiitake mushrooms the same way but I’ll let them cook for about 40-45 minutes since they’re a lot tougher. Although my kit didn’t yield a lot of mushrooms this time, the ones that I cooked were absolutely delicious!
The kit that I received was made by a company called Back to the Roots. Here’s their website: http://www.backtotheroots.com/
They’ve got a lot of great information on there along with some informative videos. You can see pictures of people who grew huge batches of mushrooms. It’s so easy and really fun to grow. A kit is only $20. I would definitely get this for someone as a gift (unless they hate mushrooms, of course, but if that were the case I would have to rethink our friendship). 😉
Here are a few photos I took of my fully grown mushrooms…
This is a photo of some of the mushrooms I chose to cook. I used a low heat setting and cooked them for 15-20 minutes and then added some Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, minced garlic, and ginger slices. I am so hungry it hurts!
the herbal ninja 