Chestnut mushrooms on an open fire…

Here's something fun - the past few years for my birthday my dad has gifted me these home mushroom kits, and this year it was a chestnut variety. The color is really pretty, it's been fun watching them grow!

These primarily grow on beech trees in the wild, but are also heavily cultivated for cooking and medicinal purposes. Chestnut mushrooms have a rich nutty, umami flavor and are full of protein, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties.

The grow kit I used included a sawdust brick inoculated with mushroom spores. The brick is in a plastic bag that helps retain the moisture necessary for the mushrooms to grow. I scored the bag and brick surface with a blade, and in about 20 days small buttons began forming. Once these buttons appear they grow quickly into the full sized mushrooms pictured. I think they need to get a little bigger before I can harvest them, but I'm looking forward to trying them in a meal!