Yellow oyster mushrooms, AKA Golden Oyster, Pleurotus Citripileatus, are very closely related to the mushrooms, Pleurotus cornucopiae. They are most recognized as wild mushrooms, though they can also be cultivated on straw and other media via liquid strains. A range of other different colors, pink, blue, and gray can also be found in the wild and in cultivated form.

Yellow oyster mushrooms have daffodil yellow flower petal-shaped caps with ivory white stems. The cap is smooth and often convex with age. The margin can be smooth with a slight wave. The flesh is white and can be thin or thick depending on size, regardless its texure maintains a meaty and melting quality. The aroma is fruity and reminiscent of an aged red wine, a quality that permeates with cooking. The mushrooms' stem is short, often horizontal as it emerges perpendicular from its wooded host. The mushrooms grow in tightly layered non-uniformed clumps.

Serving Ideas

Yellow oyster mushrooms are best suited as a soup and stir fry mushroom or braising mushroom: their texture does not lend itself well to raw applications. The stems of the yellow oyster mushroom may be quite bitter to some individuals, in which case they should be removed and discarded. Yellow oyster mushrooms pair well with seafood, pork, garlic, ginger, soy, tomatoes, Asian vegetables and pot herbs. Traditional recipes include stir fries, curries and soups and these are good starting points if you have never cooked with yellow oyster mushroom before. Modern recipes include companion ingredients such as clams, fennel, wild arugula, fresh and melting cheeses, cured meats such as prosciutto, wild ramps, black garlic and young shallots. To store, place in paper bag or between paper towels. Never store fresh mushrooms in plastic as the plastic deteriorates the flesh rapidly.

Geography/History

The yellow oyster mushroom is native to eastern Russia, northern China and Japan. It is a wide-spread mushroom that has naturalised in many different Western and Northern Hemisphere regions with a prevalence in North America and other continents, growing readily on dead wood year-round and specifically flourishing in autumn forests, cascading in tight shelf-like patterns along dead hardwood deciduous trees. All Oyster mushroom strains need moist conditions to fruit, although different strains fruit in different temperature ranges.