From Our Fruiting Room to Your Pantry: Why We Dry Our Mushrooms

As your local mushroom growers, we’re often asked what happens when we grow more than we can sell fresh — or what to do with mushrooms when they're not in season. The answer is simple: we dry them. And we don’t just dry them to avoid waste — we do it because dried mushrooms are one of the most flavorful, versatile, and long-lasting forms of our harvest.

We grow a mix of wood-loving gourmet mushrooms, including lion’s mane, nilla oyster, freckled chestnut, black pearl king, and antler reishi. Each has its own unique characteristics, and drying enhances many of them.

Lion’s mane, for example, becomes even more savory when dried. Once rehydrated, it has a meaty texture that holds up beautifully in soups, sauces, and even vegan crab cakes. Black pearl king mushrooms — our thick-stemmed, umami-rich variety — are ideal for slicing into "scallops" or searing like a steak after soaking. Nilla oyster and freckled chestnut mushrooms develop concentrated flavor that makes a huge difference in risottos, pastas, and stir-fries.

And then there’s antler reishi — not a mushroom for cooking, but one we’re proud to grow for its wellness properties. It's typically simmered into tea or used in tinctures, and drying is essential to making it shelf-stable and potent.

We dry our mushrooms at low temperatures to lock in flavor and nutrients. Properly stored, dried mushrooms can last a year or more — giving you the flexibility to enjoy them anytime, without worrying about spoilage. Rehydrating is easy: soak in warm water for about 20–30 minutes. The mushrooms plump back up, and the soaking liquid becomes a rich mushroom broth you can use in your cooking.

For us, drying is more than just preservation — it’s a way to extend our harvest, reduce waste, and offer you a product that’s every bit as special as the fresh fungi we deliver. It also helps us keep mushrooms available year-round, even when production naturally slows down with the seasons.

When you buy dried mushrooms from us, you're getting more than an ingredient — you're getting the essence of our farm in concentrated form. We’re grateful for your support and hope you enjoy bringing the deep, earthy magic of mushrooms into your meals all year long.