Long a staple in many East Asian cuisines, shiitake mushrooms have recently found their way into many Western recipes, their rich, smoky flavor serving as ingredient in different soups, pasta dishes, and stews. If you’ve ever wondered how you can grow your own shiitake mushrooms at home, look no further than the Shiitake Mushroom Log.
Made by 2FunGuys, it’s a piece of log that’s been inoculated with shiitake mushroom spores, allowing you to produce the crop right in your own home. Even better, it can produce a batch of delicious, homegrown mushrooms every two to three months for up to three years, so a single log can give your kitchen a regular supply of the East Asian mushrooms for the immediate future.
The Shiitake Mushroom Log is a foot-long piece of log, with a diameter of 3 to 6 inches (varies from log to log). Each one is hand-cut for inoculation, with the drill holes covered in cheese wax. To use, simply soak the log in cold water to begin the growing process, then set it down on a surface, either upright or horizontally. Designed for both indoor and outdoor use, you can set the log down on a mantle to double as a display or use it as an exotic addition to your mobile vegetable garden in the backyard.
A metal plaque on the underside of the log states the exact date of inoculation, with fruiting expected to occur around four months after that. Do note, the log will require occasional misting, so it’s not quite a set and forget affair.
Available now, the Shiitake Mushroom Log is priced at $29.95.