For me, shiitake mushrooms are so much better fresh. The dried shiitakes that you reconstitute by soaking in water always have a far too intense flavor to me, so I was really thrilled (but a little nervous) about growing our own fungi. First off, it was so strange looking, this sorta log coated with some sort of growing agent and wrapped in plastic wrap. And then after a few days, when the little nubs of shiitake stated to sprout, it all felt and looked a little creepy.
But once we opened up the bag a bit and the buds grew a bit more, these mushrooms really took on the familiar form I've seen at the store and farmers' markets. Then I stopped feeling queasy and started getting excited. We harvested our first bumper crop of shiitakes only about a week after we first set it up. As soon as I saw them, I immediately started planning for one of my favorites: mushroom risotto. I'll definitely write up a post about that later.
After this experience, we're almost tempted to try Far West Fungi's oyster mushroom farm, as well, even if it seems a little more high maintenance.
After seeing the outcome of our farm, do you think you'd try growing your own mushrooms?
