A Comprehensive Guide to Mushroom Growth Kits
The world of consumer preferences is governed by rules that almost seem counterintuitive at first. There are products that sell only due to the fact that they are expensive and a decrease in price would result in a decrease in demand. Sometimes consumers will consciously prefer inferior goods for no good reason. In this world, being able to succeed requires an in-depth understanding of consumer psychology and sometimes sheer happenstance.
The popularization of mushroom grow kits such as blue oyster mushroom grow kit, lion’s mane grow kit, and pink oyster mushroom grow kit can be attributed to a chain of events that has made sure that people whose interested were vested in a mushroom grow kits were able to capitalize on this. The dominoes can be stacked a bit like this. The coronavirus pandemic ravaged the earth and its well-established supply lines, which haven’t recovered even yet. Now, independent farmers who were considered to be outmoded after the wave of globalization decades prior were able to come in and provide when the capitalistic machinery had a spanner in its usually well-oiled gears. This meant that consumer products that were big in farmers’ markets such as mushroom grow kits were put at the forefront of greater consumer interest.
Fast forward to today and mushroom grow kits have become an item that is sold in every local store in America. COVID-19 worked to instill a sense of greater health responsibility in people and this has made sure that people are abandoning meat due to the health disadvantages it entails and moving towards more organic options. Mushrooms are subject to greater interest due to the fact that they have a taste that mimics meat in many ways. This has meant that more people are substituting mushrooms such are oyster mushrooms and lion’s mane mushrooms in their food than ever before.
Mushroom Grow Kits Benefits
The main benefit of mushroom grow kits is the fact that they make growing mushrooms at home extremely easy. They are essentially fruiting blocks that already have the necessary components in place for growing mushrooms. This essentially translates into the grower not being required to undergo the first few steps of growing mushrooms at home which are incidentally also the hardest. For people who think that they don’t have the necessary skills required in growing mushrooms at home, mushroom grow kits become the first avenue for them. Once an amateur mushroom enthusiast is able to utilize these kits correctly, growing mushrooms from scratch becomes a much easier process. They also cut the overall timeframe of the growth period as well, yielding greater results in less time.
Overall, mushroom grow kits have been able to open a whole new consumer segment of people who want to consume mushrooms but do not possess the expertise that goes into growing mushrooms from scratch. Moreover, for people who looking to change their diet into a more organic one, with a greater emphasis on home-grown food, mushroom grow kits are a godsend as they can break the toxic cycle of junk food being consumed every day. This is the plight of almost every household in America, with record-high consumption of fried food across the country resulting in declining heart health.
Mushroom Blocks/ Boxes
As previously mentioned, mushrooms appear quickly in these growth kits. It can take anything from 2-5 weeks for the mushrooms to appear. The most popular of these particular grow kits are generally oyster mushroom grow kits. What’s even more enticing about them is the fact that they are perfect for urban farmers who don’t have land to grow their produce on. These are generally grown indoors all they require generally is misting of the block using water 2-3 times a day. Although it must also be acknowledged that different grow kits will have varying instructions and slightly different requirements. Make sure to adhere to them to get the best results possible.
Activating a Grow Kit
There is a pause button on the growth of the mushrooms being applied from the supplier (metaphorical, of course) that need to be activated first. They need to first be exposed to the air in order to be activated. So, all you need to do is to cut a hole in the airtight bag, start misting with water, and voila! Your mushrooms are on the way. If you’re interested in mushroom spawn or plugs, they will have to be grown outdoors.
Oyster mushrooms are generally used the most in these grow kits. That is mainly down to the fact that they are extremely resilient and thus can still grow under conditions that would be a no-go for a lot of other mushrooms. On top of that, the estimated timeframe for their growth is much shorter and they grow in a pattern that can be described almost as explosive.
Harvesting
Once the mushrooms have started to appear, you will notice that the speed at which they will be growing will be exponential. They will be close to doubling in size every night. After a few days, these mushrooms can go from being barely visible to quite large and ready for harvesting. However, the ideal time to harvest actually comes when the growth of the mushrooms starts to slow down. By that time, they will start to grow at a rate that is much less than double and then they become ripe for the picking. Just take a sharp knife that is clean and cut the mushrooms off at the base. A lot of the mass will actually be of the stem which is not recommended to be eaten so you will have to remove that anyway.
How To Fry Oyster Mushrooms
Once you have your mushrooms all cut up, the next step is to cook the mushrooms. The first step is to clean the mushrooms themselves. You cannot rinse them with water since they will absorb the water and turn soggy. So, take a wet cloth and very gently use it to wipe any undesirable materials off it.
Once they are clean, start cutting them into little pieces. This helps to make the process of heating them much smoother and the smaller parts are easier to eat and digest as well.
Take the cut-up mushrooms and place them on a non-stick that has been heated for a couple minutes. Add some olive oil on top of it and fry the mushrooms. Make sure to keep flipping them around so the frying is done very evenly. You can add an assortment of spices into the mix. This is hugely dependent on your personal taste and there’s a lot of room for experimentation in there as well. There’s even room to play with in terms of the oil as well. You can add a touch of ghee or butter to really give the finished result some character. Overdoing anything will leave you with an end result that might disappoint, so make sure to keep everything in a balanced ratio.
Once the mushrooms have started to get that crispy brown color, it is time to take them off the heat. You can serve them in a variety of ways. You can add them to a dish where they are the main attraction or to a dish where they are much better at playing a supporting role. Regardless, the possibilities are endless with mushrooms and each one is tastier than the next.
This is a pretty comprehensive guide to mushroom grow kits. You have been given a how-to of everything from the advantages of the grow kits to a short guide on how you can grow them without much fuss. As an added bonus, there’s also a recipe for frying mushrooms as well in the simplest way possible. The idea is to make things as simple as possible without compromising on the finished product.