King Oyster Mushrooms

( king trumpet, trumpet royal, scallop mushroom, gambone, Boletus of the steppes ) Pleurotus eryngii

Although this mushroom can be found wild in Southern Europe, North Africa, and the southern areas of the old Soviet Union, it is realistically a cultivated mushroom whose popularity is soaring worldwide. Its oldest fans are in China, Japan and Italy where it has been cultivated for quite some time.

King Oysters are part of the same family as the regular oyster mushroom, but here the similarity ends. Both the flavor and texture are superior to its common cousin. The texture is possibly the meatiest in the gourmet mushroom world. There’s fine chewing here.

Uniquely in the wild mushroom marketplace, the stems are the most desirable part of the mushroom. In fact, the caps on these stout, column-like stalks are almost an afterthought.

One common name, the scallop mushroom, is backed up by a story more than one chef has told me. Apparently a vegetarian diner or three have sent back entrees stating that they did not eat scallops. Sliced horizontally, they look very much like them.

The stem size and shape can vary depending on the grower’s cultivation practices. I sell three different growers king oysters. One has a bulbous porcini-like stalk. Another has a very thick straight vertical stem. Yet another grower has a thinner stalked mushroom. My chefs have distinct preferences for their use.