Cooking with oyster mushrooms is not just easy and quick, but it also makes for delicious results.
Despite the name, oyster mushrooms have nothing to do with mollusks or the ocean. You’re actually most likely to find one in the wild if you’re walking through one of the world’s temperate or subtropical forests. But if that’s a little out of reach, you can also easily find them in grocery stores.
Oyster mushrooms are nutritious, versatile, and often hailed by vegans for their meaty texture. But how do you cook with them? And what plant-based recipes do they work best in? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. But first, let’s take a closer look at what oyster mushrooms actually are.
What are oyster mushrooms?
Oyster mushrooms (or, if you’re sciencey, Pleurotus ostreatus) are incredibly common. They’re a type of fungi that grows naturally on trees, but they’re also cultivated in many countries for commercial purposes. They earned the name “oyster mushroom,” because of their shape, which is similar to an oyster shell. They come in many different colors and varieties, but the king oyster mushroom, which has a thick meaty stem, is the largest.
The world’s top producer of oyster mushrooms is China, which is responsible for more than 85 percent of the market. But they’re also produced in several other countries, like Japan, Italy, and Thailand.
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