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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Lions mane flavour/cooking
#21888340 - 07/02/15 03:06 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Ok So now I am growing a shed load of LM but I cant seem to get a consistently good flavour when cooking. Some customers rave, some are "meh", and when I cook it, it often tastes like crap, weird textured crap at that!
I have sliced and lightly fried in butter until golden and yes it tastes like lobster.. awesome! Did it again next day and bleg...
Does anyone know what the bitterness is related too? Age at picking, time since picking, temperature of oil, time of cooking ?
About to quit and grow something easier to cook! Which would be a shame as I love the slow constant production but I need to keep all the customers happy.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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Jumpingfish
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Registered: 08/04/14
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: solarity]
#21888962 - 07/02/15 04:35 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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A basic cream sauce (adding peas) works well with lion's mane: http://spartamushrooms.com/lions-mane-cream-sauce/ They seem softer and much more smooth tasting the more mature they get. I also preferred them more when I grew them outside as opposed to inside. They just were harder to clean.
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poofterFroth
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Registered: 03/15/14
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: Jumpingfish]
#21889610 - 07/02/15 07:18 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I always get a few people at market who claim they don't like LM, yet I just kindly reassure them they're all cooking it wrong. Still sell out every week, even at $20/per lb. and can hardly grow enough.
Lions mane is one of my favorites to eat and IMO the easiest to grow. They always draw a lot of attention from market goers. The biggest issue I have is everyone wants to pet the lion.
But I have had some LM that were super bitter and I've ruined a meal or two with them, however those bad experiences where when I first started growing and eatting a lot of em. It took me a bit to get down a good cooking method and now I fearlessly use them in anything.
I honestly think the bitterness has mostly to do with maturity but cooking can also play a part. I've found that the shorter the teeth/tines the better the flavor and less bitter they are. LM are best when the teeth are still kinda "spikey" as opposed to long & hairy-like. I harvest somewhere in between these two extremes to keep good flavor while still getting good yield.
Cooking: If there's any "stem" I remove it then tend to slice them about 1/4 inch thick following the direction of the teeth. These slices can then be chopped smaller across the teeth depending how big you want em. Always cook thoroughly on low heat until fully cooked then increase the heat to brown em up.
I don't think they taste anything like lobster but they do have a seafood texture. Flavor wise I think its reminiscent of morels only not as strong or rich. Kinda earthy. But like most mushrooms they taste much like they smell.
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Thanks PF that's exactly the info I need.
J.Fish thanks for the recipe but confused by your Quote:
They seem softer and much more smooth tasting the more mature they ge
As most others seem to say eat them younger?
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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drake89
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Registered: 06/26/11
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: solarity]
#21892574 - 07/03/15 12:59 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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the bitterness comes from growing them at too high temperatures. keep it 20C or below and should be fine. also lower humidity that oysters, don't get them wet directly.
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poofterFroth
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: drake89]
#21892733 - 07/03/15 01:48 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Is the high temp. info your experience or something you've read?
I have a hard time buying the high temps thing. I was rocking some pretty high temps last summer due to an inadequate AC and insulation but after making the effort to pick sooner - problem was seemingly solved. Although this also coincided with getting the cooking down. 
Some mushrooms are trickier to cook then others and mingle better with certain flavors and prep methods.
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Jumpingfish
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Registered: 08/04/14
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Here's an example of the kind of maturation I was talking about:

They grew outdoors when humidity was a bit lower and temps were under 68f in correlation with what Drake said.
Edited by Jumpingfish (07/03/15 02:51 PM)
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drake89
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Registered: 06/26/11
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Quote:
poofterFroth said: Is the high temp. info your experience or something you've read?
I have a hard time buying the high temps thing. I was rocking some pretty high temps last summer due to an inadequate AC and insulation but after making the effort to pick sooner - problem was seemingly solved. Although this also coincided with getting the cooking down. 
Some mushrooms are trickier to cook then others and mingle better with certain flavors and prep methods.
dare you question my authoritah!? I grew several hundred pounds last year. couldn't even sell or dry em all. they went bitter is one reason they didn't sell.
here is one rack of about 20. got 3x1lb flushes off all the blocks.
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: Jumpingfish]
#21893259 - 07/03/15 03:43 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Jumpingfish said: Here's an example of the kind of maturation I was talking about:

They grew outdoors when humidity was a bit lower and temps were under 68f in correlation with what Drake said.
Wow! I pick about a week before that stage! So you are saying they taste good like that. I shall leave some and try.
Up until now temps have been below 20, I have been growing since May ish. They grow fine and are firm and lovely when picked, just hit or miss with the flavour.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: drake89] 1
#21893284 - 07/03/15 03:51 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Hmmm thats a lot in one go!. I fruit all mine through small holes. The first batch I did is on about its 7th flush, should be around the 16% -18% mark I think.
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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poofterFroth
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: solarity]
#21893697 - 07/03/15 05:45 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I don't man, I'm still not convinced. But sorry you couldn't move your stash. How are you marketing them... It is easier to move them when they're nice shapely balls of various size. Could make em into tincture or something...if the dried don't move, or mixed bags of dried.
I still think the bitterness comes with age, but if cooked properly it can be cooked out.
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Jumpingfish
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Registered: 08/04/14
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: solarity]
#21893998 - 07/03/15 06:58 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said:Wow! I pick about a week before that stage! So you are saying they taste good like that. I shall leave some and try.
Up until now temps have been below 20, I have been growing since May ish. They grow fine and are firm and lovely when picked, just hit or miss with the flavour.
I got the idea originally from an RR post:
Quote:
RogerRabbit said: Not ready yet. Wait until the tubes elongate. It will still be tough at that stage. RR
Quote:
RogerRabbit said: Those are just starting to come out of the primordia stage. Be sure to pour the water to them, as they'll dry out the cake pretty fast, and then they won't finish.
When it elongates into tubes, it's ready to harvest. The spores come out of the end of the tubes. You can lay wax paper under the fruits as they're on the cake to collect spores, but once you have a good fruiting strain, which you do, you don't need spores. Protect your culture and grow from that.
The hericium in the picture below is ready for picking. Don't forget to give plenty of light and fresh air. Hericium, like oysters, is CO2 intolerant. RR
I think they taste best like this personally. Mushroom tastes vary so much though. You can always just try one flush and see what you think. Here's a thread talking about getting the best teeth: http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/5894436#5894436 I haven't tried shirley knott's tilting trick indoors yet, only outdoors. But it seemed to work well.
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: Jumpingfish]
#21894218 - 07/03/15 07:46 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
solarity said: Hmmm thats a lot in one go!. I fruit all mine through small holes. The first batch I did is on about its 7th flush, should be around the 16% -18% mark I think.

i'm sure mycelia has good genetics, but everything mushroom's culture is badass. that's the one that I got over 100% BE off of. A syringe is only $18.Quote:
poofterFroth said:

I don't man, I'm still not convinced. But sorry you couldn't move your stash. How are you marketing them... It is easier to move them when they're nice shapely balls of various size. Could make em into tincture or something...if the dried don't move, or mixed bags of dried.
I still think the bitterness comes with age, but if cooked properly it can be cooked out.

i'm only growing things i know i can move a lot of right now. that's shiitake and oysters. i was selling them before they got really long in the tooth, and yellow at the top.
Quote:
Jumpingfish said:
Quote:
solarity said:Wow! I pick about a week before that stage! So you are saying they taste good like that. I shall leave some and try.
Up until now temps have been below 20, I have been growing since May ish. They grow fine and are firm and lovely when picked, just hit or miss with the flavour.
I got the idea originally from an RR post:
Quote:
RogerRabbit said: Not ready yet. Wait until the tubes elongate. It will still be tough at that stage. RR
Quote:
RogerRabbit said: Those are just starting to come out of the primordia stage. Be sure to pour the water to them, as they'll dry out the cake pretty fast, and then they won't finish.
When it elongates into tubes, it's ready to harvest. The spores come out of the end of the tubes. You can lay wax paper under the fruits as they're on the cake to collect spores, but once you have a good fruiting strain, which you do, you don't need spores. Protect your culture and grow from that.
The hericium in the picture below is ready for picking. Don't forget to give plenty of light and fresh air. Hericium, like oysters, is CO2 intolerant. RR
I think they taste best like this personally. Mushroom tastes vary so much though. You can always just try one flush and see what you think. Here's a thread talking about getting the best teeth: http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/5894436#5894436 I haven't tried shirley knott's tilting trick indoors yet, only outdoors. But it seemed to work well.
As RR usually is, kind of right, kind of wrong.
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solarity
mm... my favourite food



Registered: 03/31/09
Posts: 1,590
Loc: UK
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: drake89]
#21901243 - 07/05/15 02:13 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
I'm sure mycelia has good genetics, but everything mushroom's culture is badass. that's the one that I got over 100% BE off of. A syringe is only $18.
I'm talking yield not BE. Still fruiting so not sure what the end result will be. But definitely prefer the tight smooth rounds for sales.
Thanks for your help all I will experiment with extended growing and changed cooking tactics..
-------------------- Commercial exotics farmer for 8 years - now sold up!
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RogerSmith

Registered: 01/29/15 
Posts: 365
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: solarity]
#21901795 - 07/05/15 04:25 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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I made my bear's head tooth today, I sauted it in olive oil. When I first tried it it was quite sour despite being brown on both sides. So I decided to fry it a bit more and it lost the sour taste after I fried it long enough on rather high temp. It obviously shrank from the original size but the texture was pretty firm IMO. Interesting taste, I also liked it in combination with mustard.
Off topic but really wanna ask; Anybody ever seen anyone succeeding with spawning hericium grains to pasteurized substrate?
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drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: RogerSmith]
#21902358 - 07/05/15 07:06 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Another note: the best preparation I've had was at an Italian place. They put it on a veggie pizza as a meat imitation and had a complaint that it was chicken. They had to refund this lady who was so insistent that it was chicken! He basically prepares it confit; cooking it on high heat covered in olive oil and garlic. Then he stores it and maybe that's when it gets tougher and tastier like aged soup.
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poofterFroth
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Re: Lions mane flavour/cooking [Re: drake89]
#21902430 - 07/05/15 07:24 PM (8 years, 6 months ago) |
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Confit is actually cooking something slowing at low temp. in oil or fat for a long time. And is sometimes used to preserve food.
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