Oyster mushrooms do not like sealed containers nd they do not like plastic bags. The plastic makes them go slimey, as does washing them. Brown paper bags make them dry out. If you need to wash them either use them immediately or pat them dry with kitchen paper. Best, clean them with a dry soft brush. Store them in the vegetable compartment of the fridge or a cold store in a lidded yet slightly open plastic box so that they can breathe. They will last for two weeks in good condition.
When drying large amounts of mushrooms or meaty mushrooms, we use a dehydrator. The main thing is to make sure they are completely dry before you jar them up. At this point they go into labeled mason jars for storage. When rehydrating mushrooms you can boil them a bit in water. Make sure you use or save the broth. This is where the flavor is! Rehydrating in milk works well, especially if you are going to flour and fry them or make gravy. I like to throw them in soups or sauces and let them rehydrate in the liquid of the dish. Mushroom soups made from dried mushrooms are excellent and in most cases, better than fresh mushroom soup. So pick when you can, eat all you can, and store the rest.

Oyster mushrooms are best suited for cooked applications such as frying, stir-fry, and braising, as up to ten percent of the population could have a slight allergic reaction to eating the fungus raw. They can be cooked and added to soups, chowders, sauces, egg dishes, tarts, pasta, lasagna, and pizza. They can also be fried for tempura, fried into vegan calamari, used as a substitute in mock-oyster Rockefeller, or stuffed into dumplings. Oyster mushrooms cook relatively quickly and are typically added at the end of the cooking process. They are popularly used in many Asian dishes in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine. Oyster mushrooms pair well with onions, shallots, green onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, thyme, parsley, peas, green beans, eggplant, sherry, soy sauce, tofu, scallops, poultry, lemon, and spaghetti.

Oyster mushrooms contain vitamin B6 and D, fiber, potassium, and folate. They also contain an antioxidant called ergothioneine, which can help decrease inflammation in the body.