Oyster Mushroom score and a look-a-like

Found some nice fall oyster mushrooms and also came across some imposters. This is not a field guide to identifying wild edible mushrooms.

[@Laotzsa]

Awesome haul! I would love to have these in my back yard. Always try and cut mushroom off when you can. It preserves the immune system of the mycelium that the mushrooms grow out of. Ripping them off like that is akin to tearing a scab off your body and leaving the open wound susceptible to infection.

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

That’s a good point about cutting them. I am lucky that I can pick thousands of pounds of oyster mushrooms each year if we wanted.

[@TheEverLovingOutdoors]

I found angel wings growing off a dead tree. They look very similar. Cool video!

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

I believe the angel wing mushrooms grow on dead conifers. The oysters like, tallow, willow and hackberry. I’m not familiar enough with angel wings to safely harvest them. Thanks!

[@matthewbeaver5026]

​@@stringerbridgefarm3201will oysters grow on dead ash?

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Collecting wild mushrooms can be very fun. This is not the hobby that you can make mistakes. Have fun but find a mentor before beginning this hobby.

[@theearthisfallingtheskyisl4801]

Excellent video. Got some winter Oysters today. Loads of Golden Oyster spring thru summer

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

I love oyster mushrooms, we get them quite often here in Louisiana.

[@ragdollinms50]

Tallow trees ? They are in Asia. Those look like they can be beach or oak? Those are the trees oyster mushrooms prefer to grow on either way nice looking ones.

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

They are the Chinese Tallow trees. They are not native here and are highly invasive. At least they grow good mushrooms and bees use them quite a bit for honey. They will take over fast though

[@sharianfulper7441]

Do oyster mushrooms discolored when they are handled?

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

I haven’t noticed anything like that. We get them so frequently I haven’t really ever stored them any length of time. They normally go from tree to pot. We just enjoy them when they are fresh in season.

[@madmecyr]

Do you have a favorite way of preserving your excess?

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

I wash them, then let them dry for an hour or so, Place on wax paper in the freezer with the cap down. Right as they are firming up but before they get covered in ice crystals I put them in a bag. If you put them all in a bag at first they will stick together and make a mess. I’ll admit the texture isn’t as good coming out of the freezer, so these generally go in a stew or something. We generally eat them all fresh. They will keep the better part of a week in the refrigerator, So we generally eat them all before they make it to the freezer.

[@MushroomJourneys-et9gk]

Great haul of oysters! Have you or anyone else ever felt a sedated or medicated feeling after eating wild oyster mushroom soup? I have only felt this in soup form and can't find any documentation of this but have felt it and am curious.

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Cant say I’ve ever noticed that. I’ve never really had them in soup though. We put them in sauce piquant, court bouillon, pot roast, and a few other dishes.

[@MushroomJourneys-et9gk]

Thanks for the quick response!

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

@MushroomJourneys-et9gk I was thinking about what you said and had an additional thought. What type of tree were the mushrooms growing on that caused the issue. I exclusively harvest from Tallow and willow. I have seen oysters growing on wood that literature says they do not grow on. I’ve never picked and eaten them off of these trees, but always wondered if they were still safe.

[@MushroomJourneys-et9gk]

The ones I were eating were primarily from tulip poplar trees, but also beech and maple. Didn't seem to matter, but I never felt the medicinal feeling after eating fried or skillet cooked ones and also not with cultivated oysters from the store in soup. It's a mushroom mystery, so far no one else I've talked to has had this experience. Actually asked a mycologist during a mushroom class recently and he said it could be from a number of factors tree type and soil type and possibly just a function of my own body chemistry. There are a few mushrooms like Chicken of the woods that are fine to eat from deciduous trees but not from conifers, actually a different species in that case. I've never heard of any reason not to eat an oyster mushroom from any tree species as long as the mushrooms are properly identified.

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

@MushroomJourneys-et9gk weird phenomenon I guess.

[@phillyfishingwithshaqdatbull]

there was a bug in one in 6:11 6:12 u said was good but in top right u see the black bugz. u maybe saw while cleaning

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Just a little extra protein!

[@EpicVids-fo5wm]

Those are my favorite mushrooms

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Mine too, easy to identify, grow for several months in fall and again in spring, and taste delicious.

[@martinab3017]

🙂👍

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Thanks!

[@themyceliumnetwork]

4:10 those look like Angel Wing (Pleurocybella porrigens) my children & I eat them all the time, we are in southern, Ontario, Canada. Angel Wing (Pleurocybella porrigens) are not toxic & we think they are better than Oysters

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

Might be a difference in local names, but the angel wings I know of grow on conifers. These are all growing on hardwood, specifically Chinese tallow trees. Thanks for watching

[@cutepuppy2422]

Are the bugs specific to the mushrooms?

[@stringerbridgefarm3201]

I’m not certain on that, but it seems like I see the same bug all the time. They key is pick them first thing in the morning after they grow. If you wait even one day they have bugs.

[@357maximum4]

Yes. It is a beetle species.