Gourmet Mushrooms - Hypsizygus tessellatus - Beech Mushroom

These gourmet mushrooms, are known as Beech mushrooms or Clamshell mushrooms and also Bunashimeji. Hypsizygus tellatus, Beech mushrooms are available both brown and white. Native to S.E.Asia, Beech mushrooms are becoming popular in Europe and the United States.

Beech mushrooms are richly flavoured when cooked with a slightly sweet and nutty taste with a crunchy texture. Uncooked, Beech mushrooms are bitter and should not be eaten raw. Cooking removes all traces of bitterness. Hybrids, bred and patented in Japan are now becoming available that do not exhibit this bitterness.

If you purchase these gourmet mushrooms in a clump you only need to cut off a little from the base of the cluster. Alternatively they can be sliced and used in soups, stews and stir fries as well as in sauces. Beech mushrooms are among the most versatile of the “Oyster like” mushrooms and fully deserve their classification as a gourmet mushroom.