As more and more people learn about how great mushrooms are for your health, more and more gourmet mushrooms that you can eat are becoming popular.
The chestnut mushroom (Pholiota adiposa) is one of these gourmet species. It has been eaten and enjoyed for hundreds of years in Japan, but most people in the west hardly know about it.
People love the chestnut mushrooms’ pretty colors, mild flavor, and great texture, so farmers are now growing them in Japan, Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America.
This article tells you what chestnut mushrooms are, how to grow them, where they grow, and some tasty recipes for preparing and cooking them.
Chestnut mushrooms scientifically known as Pholiota adiposa are a delicious edible mushroom species prized for their unique flavor, texture, and versatile culinary uses. Their rich, earthy taste with a subtle nutty undertone makes them a favorite ingredient in many cuisines.
While chestnut mushrooms can be foraged in the wild, many people choose to cultivate them at home for a consistent supply. With some basic supplies and a little patience you can grow bountiful harvests of these tasty mushrooms right in your own home or backyard.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about growing chestnut mushrooms, including:
- Identifying Chestnut Mushrooms
- Choosing the Best Growing Method
- Step-by-Step Growing Instructions
- Maintaining Proper Growing Conditions
- When and How to Harvest
- Storing and Preserving Your Mushrooms
- Delicious Chestnut Mushroom Recipe Ideas
Let’s get started on your journey towards becoming a chestnut mushroom cultivator!
Identifying Chestnut Mushrooms
Chestnut mushrooms are sometimes confused with other species, so it’s important to be able to properly identify them. Here are the key characteristics to look for:
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Caps: 2 to 7 cm wide, convex becoming flattened. Yellowish-brown to rusty orange in color with small brown scales, denser at the center.
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Gills: Pale yellow, becoming rusty brown from spores.
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Stems: Slender, yellowish, sometimes with scales at the base. Usually about 5-10 cm tall.
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Growth habit: In dense clusters on hardwood logs or stumps.
Chestnut mushrooms have a distinct nutty, earthy flavor and pleasant crunchy texture when cooked. Always confirm identification before consuming wild mushrooms.
Choosing the Best Growing Method
There are several effective techniques for growing chestnut mushrooms:
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Logs – Inoculate freshly cut hardwood logs like oak, beech or maple. Suitable for outdoor cultivation. Takes 6-18 months to fruit.
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Stumps – Grow on hardwood stumps or root systems. Can yield for many years.
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Indoor substrates – Use sawdust/bran substrates in grow bags or trays. Fruits in 2-3 months. Easier to control environment.
For beginners, indoor cultivation using substrates often provides the fastest and most reliable results. Outdoor log growing requires more patience but can be very rewarding.
Step-by-Step Growing Instructions
Follow these steps for growing chestnut mushrooms on indoor substrates:
1. Prepare Substrate
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Hardwood sawdust mixed with wheat bran works very well.
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Soak and pasteurize substrate to kill any contaminants.
2. Inoculate Substrate
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Once cooled, mix spawn throughout the substrate. Spawn can be grain, sawdust or liquid cultures.
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Chestnut mushrooms prefer hardwood substrates.
3. Incubate
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Transfer to a grow bag or tray, seal and incubate at around 70°F for colonization.
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Wait 2-4 weeks for the mycelium to fully colonize the substrate.
4. Initiate Fruiting
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To initiate pinning, expose substrate to light and maintain humidity around 85% and temperatures around 60-65°F.
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Cut openings or slits in the grow bag to provide access for mushrooms.
5. Harvest Mushrooms
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Mushrooms mature in about 10-14 days after pinning.
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Harvest by gently twisting or cutting mushrooms near the base of the stem.
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Pick clusters when caps have just opened for best flavor.
Maintaining Proper Growing Conditions
To maximize yields, chestnut mushrooms require the right environmental conditions:
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Colonization: 70-75°F, high humidity, no light.
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Fruiting: 60-68°F, humidity around 85%, indirect light.
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Air circulation – Use fans to provide FAE (fresh air exchanges)
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Light – Gentle fluorescent or indirect daylight during fruiting
Monitor your growing area and adjust temperature, humidity, and air flow as needed to maintain optimal mushroom growth.
When and How to Harvest Chestnut Mushrooms
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Monitor pins and allow mushrooms to mature to about 2/3 full size before harvesting.
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Look for caps that have just started to flatten out – this is the perfect time for peak flavor.
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Gently twist or cut mushrooms near the base of the stem using a sharp knife.
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Harvest clusters in their entirety to avoid disturbing developing mushrooms.
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Each substrate block can produce 2-4 generous flushes, about 10-14 days apart.
Proper timing is essential – harvest too early and mushrooms will lack flavor. Waiting too long allows caps to flatten, gills to darken, and quality to decline.
Storing and Preserving Chestnut Mushrooms
Freshly harvested chestnut mushrooms can be:
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Refrigerated: Store in paper bag or basket in the fridge for 5-7 days maximum.
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Frozen: Blanch briefly in boiling water, then freeze in airtight bags for up to 6 months.
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Dried: Use a food dehydrator or low oven to dry thinly sliced mushrooms until brittle. Store in airtight containers.
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Pickled: Pack boiled mushrooms into sterilized jars covered with hot vinegar brine. Refrigerate after opening.
With proper post-harvest handling, you can enjoy your homegrown mushrooms for months to come!
Delicious Chestnut Mushroom Recipe Ideas
Chestnut mushrooms lend themselves well to many cooking methods. Their firm texture stands up particularly nicely to grilling, sautéing, or roasting:
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Mushroom skewers – Thread mushrooms and veggies onto skewers and grill. Brush with teriyaki or soy glaze.
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Stir fries – Slice mushrooms and stir fry with seasonal veggies and protein of choice. Toss with garlic, ginger and soy sauce.
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Creamy mushroom pasta – Sauté mushrooms in butter or oil. Toss with pasta and cream sauce. Garnish with herbs and parmesan.
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Roasted mushroom salad – Toss halved mushrooms in oil, roast at 400°F until browned and juicy. Serve over fresh greens with vinaigrette.
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Mushroom soup – Simmer chopped mushrooms in broth with onions, herbs and cream or milk. Garnish bowls with fresh thyme.
The rich umami flavor of chestnut mushrooms enhances everything from sandwiches to pizza. They make a nutritious and tasty addition to any meal.
Ready to Grow Your Own Chestnut Mushrooms?
As you can see, cultivating chestnut mushrooms is a very rewarding do-it-yourself project for both outdoor and indoor growing. In just a few short months, you can be harvesting basketfuls of delicious mushrooms.
With some basic equipment, a suitable growing substrate, and maintenance of ideal growing conditions, you can become a mushroom farmer right at home.
Before long, your efforts will pay off with the satisfaction of growing your own gourmet mushrooms. Get out there and enjoy the fascinating process of becoming a mushroom cultivator!
Can You Eat Chestnut Mushrooms?
You can eat chestnut mushrooms. You may not be familiar with them, but the Japanese have been eating them for hundreds of years because they taste good, feel good, and are good for you.
Below we provide some easy and tasty chestnut mushroom recipes for you to try.
Are Brown Mushrooms The Same as Chestnut Mushrooms?
No, brown mushrooms and the Pholiota adiposa species of chestnut mushrooms are not the same. Their stems are very different, making it easy to tell them apart.
But, mushroom cultivators sometimes market common brown or cremini mushrooms as chestnut mushrooms.
So, if you see chestnut mushrooms in a store that look a lot like button mushrooms, they are probably Agaricus bisporus, which is the same family as brown or cremini mushrooms.
How to Grow Chestnut Mushrooms Step by Step
FAQ
How long do chestnut mushrooms take to grow?
What substrate is best for chestnut mushrooms?
What wood do chestnut mushrooms grow on?
What are chestnut mushrooms called in USA?
Can you grow chestnut mushrooms outside?
Chestnut mushrooms are best harvested slightly premature, as the stems can become tough with age. Growing outdoors on logs is really best done in the species’ home-range, in Europe. Otherwise take careful steps to prevent the fungus from escaping into the wild in places where it doesn’t belong.
How do I grow chestnut mushrooms at home?
There are multiple ways to grow chestnut mushrooms at home. We offer mushroom growing kits, which are the easiest way to grow these mushrooms. We also provide colonized grain spawn, sawdust spawn, and plug spawn for growing chestnut mushrooms with various substrates.
Can chestnut mushrooms grow on logs?
You can also grow chestnut mushrooms outdoors on stumps and logs using plug, grain or sawdust spawn, and while they’ll grow on a variety of hardwood logs, they grow best on maple or oak logs. When growing mushrooms on logs, you have to wait much longer, around a year, for your first flush of mushrooms.