You can also get alot more (volume wise) mushrooms than beef pound for pound.
When it comes to exotic shrooms, like King Oysters or Lions Mane, their QPR is definitely higher than regular supermarket beef (i.e., regular corn fed, non-heritage choice grade beef)
The whole beef thing is a false equivalency
I’m not claiming that there’s logic to my position, but at the same store the same week I saw the mushrooms for $12-13/lb, their weekly circular had choice top sirloin for about $5/lb. My feeble brain sees those prices and gravitates strongly toward the top sirloin given the choice. (I bought neither: I was there for milk.)
You guys discussing prices reminded me to pay attention when I got another package of these king oyster/trumpet mushroom slices last night.
These are in 4-oz packages for $4.79, so roughly $23 per pound. In another thread I complained about not wanting to make the trek to the nearest Asian mart for things I can’t get at regular groceries, but if I’m still liking these things next week as much as I am right now, that $23/lb might make my mind up for me.
You really, really should. Then you can slice them to your desired thickness (sometimes I just cut them in half and do the diamond cross cut before grilling the halves), and at a fragment of that price.
I’ve seen some that were the size of an infant’s arm!
Actually @CCE i posted the prices because I was surprised that there was not as much of a difference per lb in price around me as I had automatically assumed.
Ymmv of course (but may have to factor in gas, travel, and the rest 
— for me it’s a subway ride, but I’m not going to spend $6 rt to save $3/lb on 1/2 lb of mushrooms 
)
This was my utterly delectable lunch today.
Medley of roasted King Oyster, Shiitake, and Trumpet mushrooms. 
I finally made the trip, wanting the mushrooms but also gochujang paste (I only have the squirt sauce and was cautioned by other members that they’re not interchangeable).
I got two packages of wholes, about 8 ounces each. I didn’t notice until I got home, but they were listed at $5.29 per package, but checked out at half price. So I got them for about 10.50/lb. There were 2 other brands in the same aisle but they were a lot more expensive. I don’t know anything about brand quality, and they all looked the same to me, so I went with cheap. Then found out I got really cheap.
Different… brands of KOS? My grocer sells them and shiitake in big ole bags where one can pick one’s own.
I should really look at the price next time I get some, but I’m confident they’re dirt cheap.
Yeah. For all 3 brands (give me a moment here), they were packaged in 3-4 mushrooms each, listed at 8 oz. So, maybe 3 “sellers” or 3 “distributors” would be a better descriptor, with the distributor hopefully policing quality of the produce they’re putting their name on.
OTOH, when I buy a whole pineapple it’ll have a sticker on it saying it’s Dole, DelMonte, Royal HI, etc., and I think of those as brands, too - but really it’s just a distribution channel (with, hopefully again, some QC oversight by the corp putting their name to it).
Interesting! Did you notice any difference between the various distributors - besides price, that is?
So meaty. So satisfying.
Dang was I braindead before my tea today or what?
The mushrooms themselves all looked the same as between the three. To me, anyway - someone with more experience of them might merely have to glance and see one is superior to the others, though.
Got these today, and will stir-fry them with some gailan with oyster sauce tonight. At $2.99/lb, they were hard to pass up!
@ricepad Do you know why the giant ones are so much cheaper than the smaller ones?
These are the only ones I’ve seen sold loose, as cheap as 1.99/lb, at the same stores that have boxed versions of the smaller size for much more.
I always assumed it was texture (ie smaller ones are more tender, giant ones are tougher).
No idea. I was surprised, however, that the store had a smaller selection of mushrooms than usual, and no KOMs sold loose, either. The mushroom bins had a few empty sections, but I don’t know what had been there, because all the bin tags were in Chinese, and if a Chinese sign doesn’t say “men’s room”, it may as well be in Klingon AFAIAC.
Are you sure these “smaller ones” were really King Oyster, and not SHIMEJI Mushrooms? (pictured below)
Ah, I see, sensei.
I think the reason for the price disparity is that these “baby” ones are harvested sooner, and have to be harvested sooner, which means there’s more labor cost/pound of mushroom
