When I was little , my granddad used to take me mushroom hunting in the woods around the Little Darby Creek in central Ohio . I call back he had a specific walking stick that he used to call his mushroom hunter . We would set out through the dappled green on a warm and steamy good afternoon , strike tardily through the underbrush with our heart fastened to the ground in front of us calculate formorels .
Even today , when multitude talk of foraging mushrooms , it ’s the morel that I picture in my drumhead . It can be magic to go in search of this kind of harvest time , but if you do n’t know what you ’re doing , it can also be potentially fatal or make you very unbalanced . It ’s important to go with a guide until you’re able to be confident in right mushroom-shaped cloud designation .
Safety First
mushroom cloud foraging can be a fun and addicting activity , but it ’s significant to follow some prophylactic rules , chief among them : “ If in doubt , throw it out . ” David Fischer , an expert mycologist and author ofEdible Wild Mushrooms of North America : A airfield - to - kitchen Guide(University of Texas Press , 1992 ) , lists the 10 teaching of mushroom huntingon his websiteto help keep foragers safe . He recommend that even if you could positively I.D. a mushroom-shaped cloud , it ’s best to ready it thoroughly . Most mushroom , include the common ace you get on your salad , can be nark to your stomach and prepare them destroys the toxins that cause problems . Also , do n’t glean from contaminated areas , break up only specimens that are the right way good , and avoid mushroom that are underwrite in insect or appear spoiled . Never gorge yourself on mushrooms , especially if it ’s your first time eating that kind — start with minor amounts to be sure you do n’t have any allergic reaction . Always keep a sampling of the mushroom cloud you ’ve collected until the potential for side effects have passed . Showing the Dr. the mushroom cloud you exhaust can be helpful if you fall sick .
Mushrooms have legion characteristics to help you name them , from spore colors to gill identification . Get a good mushroom identification guide and see someone in your community to help you become a master at reading it . Once you ’re ready , point out in the woods . Here are a few common mushroom find in North America .
Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
This mushroom-shaped cloud tends to produce at the groundwork of living trees or dying pulpit of oak tree , maple , elm , honey locust tree and black gum . It starts off dark gray , becoming lighter as it ages , and its pores and spores are snowy . Its multiple caps mirror the overlap feather of a hen , thus its byname , hen - of - the - woods . Maitakeprefers northerly temperate areas of North America , Europe , China and Asia . There are a few mushrooms that are commonly mistaken for the maitake , such as blackened staining polypore , but they are equally as edible , though perhaps not as delectable .
It ’s best to harvest maitakes when the mushroom is new . As it ages , it can become tough and bitter . As it grows it tends gather sticks and leave of absence , so be sure to angle out all the extra bits when preparing it to eat . Maitake freeze down well , which is significant to note because if you get hold a location where it acquire , you might reap up to 100 pound in a unmarried time of year . Beyond eating it brisk and freezing , this mushroom cloud is also well - known for its medicative anti - tumor benefits .
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Lion ’s manecan be found on stagnant or dying oak , walnut , beech , maple and sycamore . It does n’t appear to be as picky as other mushroom cloud about the temperature of the forest , and its range stretches from the northerly to the southern United States . As the name indicate , this bloodless mushroom turn in a shaggy the great unwashed of spikes . To me , it looks like the forest after an glass tempest .
Lion ’s mane looks a lot like other member of its folk , but there ’s no trouble , as they are all safe and delicious . Harvest lion ’s head of hair in the drop , when it is young and blank , because as it grows , it becomes discolored and can build up a bitter off - taste perception . Some say this mushroom-shaped cloud tastes a lot like prawn or lobster . Perhaps this is why people like to bake , sauté or fry it lightly and dip it in garlic butter . I ’ve only ever have lion ’s head of hair as a medicative excerpt , where it stand out in supporting the health of the nervous system .
Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)
There ’s a wide assortment of related to chicken of the woods metal money . The most vernacular deterrent example is a shining - jaundiced , shelf mushroom found in the eastern U.S. on oak tree tree . You will discover other folk members in many other mood on a host of other Tree , rove from yellow to orange in color with blanched flesh and typically no root .
In general , this mushroom fruits in the summertime . It tends to have a abstemious or whitened - bleached edge when unseasoned and at its most edible . Mycologest Paul Stamets , in his bookMycelium Running(Ten Speed Press , 2005 ) , propose that if you could , just trend off and eat this gross profit margin , as it ’s the best part .
There appear to be a bit of disagreement about why the great unwashed often get sick when exhaust wimp of the woods . Some say malady takes place when the mushroom is harvested from conifer , eucalyptus tree or locust tree trees . Stamets suggests that the trouble is insufficient cooking . To be safe , reap these mushrooms only from hardwood Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and cook them using mellow oestrus to level out any toxin . Because poulet of the woods are extremely unbendable and fleshy , you could prepare them on the grillroom , similarly to a portobello . Because this mushroom grows when many other mushrooms have stopped fruit and it taste a bit like chicken , one can understand why many people soldier on against the taradiddle of upset stomach .
Mushrooms are nutrient , life giving and health preserving . There are abundant varieties in our woods that are there for the safe foraging , but just like the medicative herb we must approach these foods with respect . Start studying your mushroom-shaped cloud identification Scripture , observe a trusted mentor and set out to the woods to observe yourself a hearty dinner concomitant .
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