Oyster mushrooms, the genus Pleurotus, are among the most widely cultivated gourmet fungi in the world and the friendliest introduction to working with living cultures. They are culinary species, legal to grow in the UK, and our oyster cultures are sold for cultivation.
Blue oyster is a dark-capped form of Pleurotus ostreatus; pink oyster is Pleurotus djamor, a tropical species with a vivid pink fruit body. Both are supplied as liquid culture: living mycelium in a sterile nutrient solution, already germinated and genetically uniform.
Restocking
RestockingBlue oyster and pink oyster compared
Blue oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) is a temperate species with slate-blue caps that fade towards grey-brown as they mature. Pink oyster (Pleurotus djamor) is tropical and likes warmth; its colour is striking but fades on cooking, and the fruit bodies are best used fresh.
Under the microscope both have smooth, cylindrical spores and a pale print, white to lilac-grey in ostreatus and pale pinkish in djamor, a world away from the dark spores of the rest of the library. An oyster cap is also one of the easiest subjects for a first spore print.
Handling and storage
Store cultures refrigerated and upright and bring them to room temperature before use. Healthy culture is white mycelium in clear liquid; cloudiness, colour or any smell on opening means it is compromised. Each syringe carries a LOT reference so a batch can be traced.
The rest of the gourmet range
Oyster sits alongside lion's mane, reishi and turkey tail cultures, all on the liquid culture page.