Comment by jamiecurle | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jamiecurle | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

This ̶m̶u̶s̶h̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ ̶ fungi is easy enough to grow and cultivate yourself[2][3] - IF - you have time for such shenanigans. I did this last year through summer and autumn in my garage. I'm making no claims about effects or health benefits, but it is tasty and I managed to grow it on a number of substrates (including waste such as brown cardboard and coffee grounds).

If you're in the UK (as I am)and you see it wild, don't pick it though as Lions Mane / Bearded Tooth is a protected species[1].

Gourmet mushrooms are starting to filter into food chains in various locations through local independents who are very passionate and skilled about their cultivation practice[4].

Mycology is a fascinating hobby and plays very nice with woodworking as the waste from one activity feeds into the next on a small scale.

[1]: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fu... [2]: https://grocycle.com/growing-lions-mane/ [3]: https://fungiacademy.com/how-to-grow-lions-mane-mushrooms/ [4]: https://southwestmushrooms.com/en-gb

It's surprising more mushrooms aren't actively cultivated. One thing is the mycorrhizing kinds which are hard to farm, but there are plenty of types which just need the right substrate and some care. Lion's mane, which unfortunately doesn't grow in my country, is one, but there is also sulfur shelf a.k.a. chicken of the woods which I would have thought would be a great candidate for mass cultivation. Shaggy mane inkcaps have terrible shelf life, so I understand why those aren't cultivated, but it should also be fairly straightforward to do on a small scale.

The "myco space" for want of a better term is very interesting and food is only a small part of that area of operations.

packaging - https://www.mycopack.co.uk/ furniture - https://plainmagazine.com/designer-researcher-come-sustainab...

If I had a few more days per week and few spare hundred K kicking around I'd be having a poke at some of this stuff as a small scale business.

I totally agree, it is surprising that fungi and mushrooms (the fruiting bodies of fungi) are not more widely cultivated - especially as use goes beyond food.

I'mn currently experimenting with hollowing out Fomes fomentarius [1] brackets(hoof fungus), polishing them up, flattening the backs and finishing them with hardwax. Not quite sure where this will go but I'd like to see if I could fit battery powered lights in them and use them as odd but quirky reading lights.

[1]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fomes_fomentarius_BW...

>The "myco space" for want of a better term is very interesting and food is only a small part of that area of operations.

Mushroom "leather" is now a luxury product:

>Why Hermès, Famed for Its Leather, Is Rolling Out a Travel Bag Made From Mushrooms

https://robbreport.com/style/accessories/hermes-vegan-mushro...

>Stella McCartney Unveils ‘World-First’ Garments Made From Vegan Mushroom Leather

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/fashion/stella-mccartne...

>Mushroom leather just got one step closer to the mainstream

https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/mushroom-leathe...

It's surprising more mushrooms aren't actively cultivated

I asked a mycologist acquaintance this at a party some time ago (several folks were talking about unusual recipe ingredients). He said it's just that most mushrooms don't travel well enough to be profitable enough for the grocery chains. But local mushroom growers seem to be showing up more and more at the famers markets at least around here, so we're getting more variety.

Chicken of the woods has an odd texture. Kind of gritty. So though it's abundant where we live, most mushroom hunters don't pick them. Cutting off and eating just the edge gives you a better texture than the entire mushroom.

Chicken of the woods being Laetiporus, an edible mushrooms:

- https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetiporus

Additional edible mushrooms are here; warning: many edibles have non-edible lookalike “twins” - and whole books are written on the topic on identifying mushrooms:

- https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_mushroom

As the saying goes all mushrooms can be eaten once...

as I understand it some people cannot digest it well either. It doesn't really grow in any woodlands around here so I've not had a chance to taste it.

They want 71£ for 4oz of lions mane powder. Am I missing something? That seems exorbitant.

https://southwestmushrooms.com/en-gb/products/mushroom-powde...

I'd ask them why, I'm sure they can explain it. My initial thought is that when you powder fruiting bodies (mushrooms) the weight is effectively divided by 10 4oz (113g?) of dried powder probably has 40oz (1.3kg) of input. By the time you add in processing and packaging who knows what the cost is.

I know I looked at what you could realistically charge to restaurants in the UK and it was somewhere around £15 a kilo. This is why I'd prefer to eat the thing, rather than a product of the thing.

Ask them - see what they say. I'd be surprised if they didn't explain it.

Why is lions mane legally protected? It grows all over my backyard in the fall and it is legal to forage in my state/area.

You'd need to ask the woodland trust that question but I get the feeling it's because it is rare thing to see wild in the UK.

It could also to be something to do with the Plant Health Act 1967 which is aimed at stopping the spread of <insert thing you're trying to stop>. Inadvertently Introducing new fungal varieties into a woodland may cause damage to the woodland.

I don't know for certain though but probably down to a different take on policy approaches to ecology between our two countries.

Some quick googling indicates that it’s very rare in the U.K.

I'm based in London and wondering if there are places to buy lion's mane whole?

I've seen them often sold at the weekend farmers' markets. Last I saw them was the Sunday Marylebone market (which is a small one so I assume they're more readily available at larger ones)

You can sometimes buy it here dried but it’s normally sold out.

https://www.maesymush.co.uk/

I'm in Newcastle / Northumberland but I dare say as you are in the capital you'd be able to find a suitable independent retailer somewhere. Newcastle has a place on Chilli Road and given the size of Newcastle compared to London, you'll be able to find somewhere.

I'd probably start with businesses that sell organic food. But you already probably knew that and so these words are futile. I offer them in good faith.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com