# What happened to my oyster mushrooms?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994 "2012-02-06T18:31:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994/1 "2012-02-06T18:31:55Z")
Last Sunday, January 29, I bought a package of oyster mushrooms. I opened it, used part of it, then put it back into the refrigerator. Yesterday, I wanted to use it again, but upon looking closely at the mushrooms, something looked odd. There were some really really fine…hairs?..that were growing on them! It couldn’t be mold, could it? Its only been a week and it was properly refrigerated! I even brushed it off with my fingers and it looked like it just came off easily, I probably could have washed them and they would look fine, but I was so grossed out by the possibility that it could have been mold that I just threw away the entire package. Was it mold? Was that normal? Did my refrigerator contaminate it somehow? Are there mold spores floating around in there that I need to clean it out? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994/2 "2012-02-06T18:40:45Z")
I don’t know specifically, but in my experience, mushrooms don’t last long in the fridge, especially in plastic. A week would be a long time. I think you’re supposed to store them in paper bags so they can “breathe”. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994/3 "2012-02-06T18:50:02Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > … Was it mold? Was that normal? Did my refrigerator contaminate it somehow? Are there mold spores floating around in there that I need to clean it out? I can’t answer the first two without seeing a picture of the damage (and even then …) but as to the last two: There are mold spores floating around _everywhere_. Take a normal breath: you just inhaled mold spores. Congratulations! 😃 Anyway, your fridge isn’t to blame unless it’s frat-house-level gross. Every time you open the door you “contaminate” your own refrigerator. The point of the cold temperatures is to _slow_ the growth of mold and other undesirables, not to halt it entirely. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994/4 "2012-02-06T18:58:57Z")
Awwww, my computer’s running slow and I missed my edit window: just wanted to add that if you reallyreallyreally like yer mushrooms and the short shelf life is a problem, you may want to [grow](http://www.amazon.com/Back-Roots-Oyster-Mushroom-Kit/dp/B0052Z92WA)your [own](http://www.amazon.com/Oyster-Mushroom-Growing-Plugs-mushrooms/dp/B001PDWYOG). ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-my-oyster-mushrooms/611994/5 "2012-02-06T20:54:03Z")
Mold is a type of fungus, and mushrooms are the fruiting body of a fungus, so what you might be seeing is the [mycelium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium) of the oyster mushroom trying to grow out.