Organic Black Pearl Fruiting Block

Easily grow your ownBlack Pearl mushrooms, also known as Perles Noires, Black King, or Shimofuri Hiratake. This Japanese variety of oyster mushroom is prized for its unique appearance, meaty stems, and texture—somewhere between that of a classic oyster mushroom and an eryngii mushroom.

• harvest up to 1.5 to 2 kg of fresh mushrooms over 2 to 3 harvests.
• Ingredients: water, sawdust, grains, lime, and Black Pearl mycelium.
• Net weight: ±4.8 kg.
• Dimensions: approximately 25 x 20 x 20 cm.
• Uses: cooking, food processing, drying, or preservation.

Note: The harvest estimates harvest based on our production experience. They are not guaranteed, as yield depends heavily on growing conditions: temperature, humidity, ventilation, light, and the grower’s experience.

🍄 Variety: Black Pearl

The Black Pearl is a relatively new variety that is still uncommon in Europe. It is often described as a “mysterious phenomenon” in the world of oyster mushrooms: it grows in clusters like an oyster mushroom, but develops wider, meatier stems, reminiscent of eryngii mushrooms.

Their caps are rounded, sometimes slightly mottled, and range in color from grayish brown to dark brown depending on temperature, humidity, and maturity. The cooler the conditions, the more pronounced the color contrasts can be.

In the kitchen, the Black Pearl has a firm, tender, and juicy texture. Its stem is much more interesting than that of a traditional oyster mushroom: it’s pleasant to cook with and has a nice bite. Its flavor is mild and umami, with a more “meaty” quality than the gray oyster mushroom.

Our commitment to quality:

We produce our mycelium in laboratory conditions, thereby ensuring the purity of the strains and optimal quality.

We produce our mycelium using 100% organic methods, and all our products are certified “BE-BIO-01, Agriculture Belgique” by CERTISYS.

📦 How to Use the Bundle

If you can't use the plant right away, store it in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. The Black Pearl prefers cool conditions, so it's easier to grow in the fall, winter, or spring. In the summer, choose the coolest spot possible.

Unlike traditional oyster mushrooms, we recommend growing Black Pearl using the top-fruiting method, which involves leaving an opening at the top of the log. This method promotes more vertical growth, meatier stems, and an appearance more similar to that of eryngii mushrooms.

1. Place the bundle upright in a well-lit room, but out of direct sunlight.
2. Open the top of the bag above the substrate, without completely removing the plastic.
3. Fold the edges of the bag slightly outward to create a neat opening at the top.
4. Keep the plastic wrapped around the block: it helps retain moisture and prevents the growing medium from drying out.
5. Keep the surface of the growing medium slightly moist until the young mushrooms appear.
6. During the growing phase, maintain high humidity, ideally between 85 and 95%.
7. Ventilate the room regularly: a lack of fresh air can cause the stems to grow too long, the caps to become misshapen, or the plants to grow more slowly.

If the ambient air is dry, you can place the log in a small greenhouse, a grow box, or a protected space such as a fruiting chamber. The goal is to maintain a humid environment around the log without the mushrooms being constantly wet.

Use our mini-sprayer or our professional misters to maintain adequate humidity around the bale.

⚙️ Recommended growing conditions

Note: Ventilation affects the shape of the mushrooms. With plenty of fresh air, the caps tend to open up more, like traditional oyster mushrooms. With slightly more moderate ventilation, the stems often become thicker, resembling king oyster mushrooms. Be careful, however: a severe lack of air can cause elongated stems, misshapen caps, or slower growth.

🌱 Where should you grow it?

Black Pearl can be grown indoors: in the kitchen, basement, garage, laundry room, or any cool room. It needs a little light to grow well, but avoid direct sunlight, radiators, and dry drafts.

The goal is to keep the bundle moist without soaking it. Mushrooms thrive in moisture, but a constantly wet surface can encourage the growth of bacteria or mold.

🔄 harvest

Harvest the clusters when the caps are still slightly domed or just beginning to open, before the edges curl up significantly. At this stage, the texture is more tender, they keep better, and the flavor is more delicate.

To harvest, grasp the cluster at the base and gently twist it around itself. Remove any remaining stem pieces from the growing medium, then keep the plant medium moist to prepare for the harvest .

The first harvest usually the most abundant. Subsequent harvests are often smaller, but can still yield beautiful mushrooms if the log remains well-moistened.

💡 Tips for Future Harvests

After the first harvest, let the ballot rest for a few days, keeping it well-moistened. To trigger a second or third harvest, you can:

• Soak the bundle overnight in clean water, then drain it thoroughly before replanting it;
• Place the bundle in a cool place overnight to create a mild cold shoc
• Make sure the opening isn't dried out and that the plant still gets some indirect light.

🍳 Cooking Tips

Every part of the Black Pearl mushroom is edible: the caps and stems. Its meaty texture is ideal for pan-frying, grilling, stir-frying, or adding to pasta, risotto, soup, or vegetarian dishes where a firmer texture is desired.

For a simple preparation: tear the clusters apart by hand, sauté them over medium-high heat with a little oil or butter, then add garlic, herbs, or sauce toward the end of cooking. Like many oyster mushrooms, its flavors develop best when it’s well seared.

Legal notice for Belgium: “Organic growing medium:
pasteurized and inoculated" (Exemption No. EM470.J). Do not consume the substrate.