Trumpet Royal (Pleurotus eryngii) Mushrooms in album produce

In Albums: food produce mushrooms

Jul 5th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

These mushrooms, labeled as trumpet royal mushrooms, were for sale at Iovine's Produce Corner in the Reading Terminal Market for $24.99 a pound.

This variety of mushrooms has many names. The scientific name is Pleurotus eryngii, and they are sometimes called trumpet royale or king trumpet mushroom, French horn mushroom (owing to a strange visual resemblance to the instrument, which I incidentally play), and a number of other names as well. These mushrooms grow naturally as parasites on the roots of plants in the carrot family, and some other plant families. They are also cultivated, however, using organic material.

I've never tried these mushrooms, so I have no idea what they are like. I very rarely see them for sale. They were expensive enough that I was cautious about just trying them.