What is Beech Mushroom?

Beech mushrooms grow on trees. It belongs to the small Genus known as Hypsizygus, a small group of fungi that also include the elm oyster mushroom.

The Beech mushroom, also known as Hypsizygus tessulatus, has various names such as Buna shimeji or as clamshell mushrooms.

It grows all year on beeches and on certain other hardwood trees like hornbeam, oak, and hazelnuts.

It's a mushroom that is commonly grown in Asia and North America, and fit well with Asian cooking; Beech mushrooms are often sautéed or included as part of a stir-fry.

Beech Mushrooms can be a quite tricky mushroom to successfully identify; there are many varieties and forms which look very different from another. Whilst the Brown cultured Beech mushrooms above are very thin and fragile, there are also larger, more typically mushroom-shaped varieties such as the white Beech mushroom.

Health benefits of Beech Mushrooms

Beech Mushroom has many health benefits such as:

• Reduce inflammation in the body's antioxidants by stopping or slowing down cell damage by harmful molecules.
• Helps improve the immune system
• Replenishes glutathione which reduces fatigue and speeds up the recovery of muscles after exercise.

Growing Beech Mushrooms at home

Materials Needed:

• You'll need a beech tree in your garden if you're growing wild mushrooms on the tree itself. You may also grow using other hardwood trees, such as oak if none are accessible. Note that growing on the tree itself, or a log from the tree, will take longer than growing on a finer substrate.
• Substrate: Use sawdust from a hardwood tree. After growing, the mushroom compost makes a great addition to the garden.
• A flowerpot, aquarium, large plastic container, or any other suitable container will do.

Steps:

• Fill the container with substrate and compact it down firmly. Continue adding layers of the substrate until your container is three-quarters full using a stick (like a broom handle) wrapped in gauze.

• On top of the substrate, layer a thin (0.5 to 1cm) covering of beech spawn and then another layer of substrate on top (1cm thick).

• Cover the container with plastic wrap. This will hold in moisture and heat inside for germination.

• On top of the plastic wrap put aluminium foil and seal it tightly around the edges of the container.

• Next, cover the aluminium foil with a piece of cardboard and seal it tightly around the edges with tape.

• Place the mushroom kit in a dark place at room temperature (20 °C to 28 °C) for 4 to 12 weeks or until you see tiny white dots (mycelia) growing on the substrate. Remove the plastic cover and cardboard, and water the top 2 to 3 times a week.

• Place an aquarium with bright lighting in front of the container (2 to 3 feet away) to get enough light. The mycelia will grow into fruiting bodies (mushrooms). If you see tiny mushrooms growing on top of the substrate, remove them while they are still white.

• On the top of the substrate, you can put a layer of leaves or other suitable material for fruit bodies to grow on.

• Harvesting Beech Mushrooms. Beech mushrooms are ready for harvest when their colour changes from white to brown or black. You can check if it is pretty dried out from the bottom as well. Then pick a mushroom and twist it gently from side to side until it comes loose from the substrate.

How to store Beech Mushrooms

You can preserve them by drying them out. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices if they're large enough, but make sure you don't damage them since they are very fragile. Place them in a frying pan over medium heat until dried out, or in a very low oven or air dryer. Then place the dried mushrooms in an airtight container for storage.

Beech Mushrooms can also be preserved by freezing them. Clean and place them in a Ziploc bag and set them in the freezer.

For both drying and freezing, store at 0 °C.

How to eat Beech Mushrooms

Beech mushrooms have a very soft texture, and a dark brown colour. They're commonly stir fried in Asian cuisine.

Beech mushroom is an interesting fungi with a nice nutty flavour that becomes stronger when you cook it. It has very few calories and practically no fat or sodium, unlike most other vegetables. 

Conclusion 

Beech mushroom is a great alternative to other mushrooms. It's much healthier than other vegetables and can be used in many dishes or simply as an addition to your meal.

If you're interested in growing mushrooms at home, beech mushroom makes for an excellent choice. Start by making sure you have all the materials needed before actually starting the process.

Then, follow the steps for growing beech mushrooms. After you see mycelia forming on top of your substrate, place it in an aquarium with bright lighting to get enough light while the fruit bodies grow. Harvest the mushrooms when they're brown or black and store them properly afterwards.

Have you ever tried growing beech mushrooms at home? How did it go?

Let us know by leaving us a comment below! 👇