A European oyster mushroom variety. One of our first wild-strains to join our culture library, the ‘Bluebell Woods’ oyster is originally from a forest in Lancashire, England. The same forest that co-owner Melanie grew up exploring with her grandparents and sister as a child. In December 2021 we visited family for Christmas and were strolling through ‘Bluebell Woods’ (so named by the family) when we discovered the most striking oyster mushrooms we had ever seen. They have quickly become a chefs favourite due to their deep blue appearance and rich flavour, which somehow tops most commercially available oyster mushrooms of the same species.

The ‘Bluebell Woods’ oyster only grows in extreme cold temperatures, so we can only grow them in the wintertime in BC. They require as close to freezing temperature as possible (0 C or 32 F) without actually freezing. In light of this cold temperature growing requirement, in late 2023 we began embracing nature’s influence and started growing in the coldest temperatures possible on the farm, which seems to provide the best results in quality of our mushrooms overall.

We intend get the ‘Bluebell Woods’ oysters tested in the future for nutritional value, to find out whether they have any extra ‘super-powers’ on top of the known capabilities of oyster mushrooms. The ability to flourish in the coldest of weather might hold some as yet unrecognized medicinal benefits.