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Mushroom Monday: King Trumpet Mushrooms
Today’s Mushroom Monday mushroom is the King Trumpet mushroom, Pleurotus eryngii. King trumpet mushrooms are large, edible mushrooms that you can find at certain grocery stores.
What Do King Trumpet Mushrooms Taste Like?
King trumpet mushrooms can taste nutty when cooked, and the flavor can be delicate. They can be used to substitute for meat in a dish and can have a firm texture when cooked. Some say they taste like scallops, and the stems can look like them when they are sliced. Both the cap and the stem of the mushroom are edible. You can use them in place of cremini or button mushrooms in recipes.
Another example of a mushroom you can find at grocery stores, are porcini mushrooms.
What do King Trumpet Mushrooms Look Like?
King trumpet mushrooms have stems that are white and thick. Their caps are small relative to the stems and are brown in color and can be flat. At a store, they should be firm and smooth and shouldn’t look wet (but the mushrooms themselves shouldn’t be dry). They should look plump.
What Kind of Mushrooms are King Trumpet Mushrooms?
King trumpet mushrooms are in the family of oyster mushrooms and are bigger than other species in the genus. Another name for them are king oyster mushrooms (they are also known as king brown, French horn, and trumpet royale mushrooms).
They are saprophytic mushrooms but can also be parasitic. Different types of mushrooms play different roles in nature and can mean different things for the trees they are growing around. If you have mushrooms in your landscape, you can contact a qualified arborist to learn more about them and how they relate to your trees and their health.
Where do King Trumpet Mushrooms Grow in the Wild?
King trumpet mushrooms grow around the Mediterranean Sea in forests with hardwood trees. They grow in places with humid and temperate climates and can grow in places that are hot as well as places with high humidity. They can be found growing around sea holly plants, which is where part of their scientific name comes from. King trumpet mushrooms are also cultivated around the world.
If you liked learning about king trumpet mushrooms, check out our other Mushroom Monday posts and follow us on Facebook for updates.
