558981 Sat Sep 20 10:50:55 -0700 2008 40 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4049595 I was walking the dog this morning when I spotted a beautiful mushroom peeking out from under a hedge at the apartment building next door. I was surprised _ aren't mushrooms supposed to grow when it's damp? The weather has been dry lately. Anyway, I couldn't resist picking it. It was slighly smaller than a portobello. But I had to throw it away, since I don't know the first thing about which mushrooms are edible and which would make me sick. How many of you do know? Do you go foraging for mushrooms in the fall? Sat Sep 20 10:50:55 -0700 2008 126235 NYCkaren 1 4049646 i forage for only ones I am 100% sure about. I stay away from lbm (little brown mushrooms) and white mushrooms as there are a TON of each and they all look the same to me, poisonous or not. Spring of this year my boyfriend and I went out to look for morels and as we were driving to our destination I spotted a bright neon orange and yellow out of the corner of my eye. I made him stop the car and I found a huge chicken of woods mushroom. It was so beautiful we had to pick it for me to take home. I braised them in some chicken stock and boy were they tasty. I'm going to give foraging a try this fall, but if I'm not 100% sure about it i leave it be and let my boyfriend (the photographer) take as many photos of it as he wants to. Here in Maryland I tend to find a larger variety of mushrooms than I did back in Boston. Oh and last spring I only found 2 morels ): They are terribly hard to find. I'm not an expert so I don't have any "secret" hiding places. Sat Sep 20 11:30:33 -0700 2008 4049595 24546 bitsubeats 1 4049669 You need a pocket guide, sheets of white paper for spore prints, and a paper bag to store your booty. A camera will help, too, if you want to share information with others. Sat Sep 20 11:41:19 -0700 2008 4049595 56131 jayt90 2 4051140 The guides are worse than useless. Those little buggers shift form so fast that it's impossible to peg them to an illustration in a pocket book produced and printed by the lowest tender. Highliner, Puffballs and morels are the edge for me. Sun Sep 21 10:40:32 -0700 2008 4049669 55318 DockPotato 2 4063547 That white paper might cause a few problems with white spore prints. some of the more dangerous mushrooms have white prints. Fri Sep 26 08:58:23 -0700 2008 4049669 228283 jsummers 3 4063600 Thanks, I'll be heading out soon with two shades of paper, camera, and a guide with spore prints. There are no mentors nearby, and community college courses are somewhat rare. Does anyone have any good websites for advice? Fri Sep 26 09:20:19 -0700 2008 4063547 56131 jayt90 4 4063665 Let a friend know where you are off to, so you don't end up as a "missing person". Fri Sep 26 09:41:52 -0700 2008 4063600 10147 michele cindy 4 4063735 just google up mycology, or mushroom identification. I'm sure you'll get plenty of results. Look for ones from universities. That reminds me, University of Michigan has a decent mycology dept. Good Luck!! Stay away from LBM's, Little Brown Mushrooms Fri Sep 26 10:07:39 -0700 2008 4063600 228283 jsummers 4 4064051 Mushroomexpert.com used to be a good site. Haven't checked it in a while, though. Fri Sep 26 12:06:25 -0700 2008 4063600 12383 Nyleve 5 4064384 so dry here in southern indiana... aint no mushrooms right now... what a stone drag.. Fri Sep 26 14:15:30 -0700 2008 4064051 228283 jsummers 4 4064691 Unless I'm mistaken - you can spore at home.Spoor comes out as the mushroom ages. Camera and guide are good. Do go on line or whatever to establish the tried and true of your area - look for those as opposed to identifying everything you come across - only a few mushrooms are choice edibles. I have a deal with people in my community - I won't tell them where or what - but If they bring it to me - I will tell them if they have it right. Maybe you can find someone like that? If nothing else the hunt is great. Its a cross between meditating and easter egg hunting. Fri Sep 26 16:22:54 -0700 2008 4063600 78681 coastie 5 4065462 cross between meditating and easter egg hunting. <-- Very well put coastie! and yes, you probably will want to do the spore prints at home. Sat Sep 27 04:32:38 -0700 2008 4064691 228283 jsummers 5 4065470 I used to do spore prints as a science/art project w/ 4th graders on white & black construction paper. What fun. Hunting is a little like shrooming. I call it armed hiking. Look out grouse (to be stuffed w/ wild mushrooms) here I come. Varruuumph, flap, flap, flap, boom; what a rush. Sat Sep 27 04:44:08 -0700 2008 4064691 93538 Passadumkeg 1 4051195 The title of your post could wind up being your epitaph...please be careful. Sun Sep 21 11:14:58 -0700 2008 4049595 154787 adamshoe 1 4052259 So where do people learn this skill? Is it better/possible to just grow your own? Mon Sep 22 06:06:03 -0700 2008 4049595 10743 yayadave 2 4052944 It is a family tradition in my family, that's where I learned it. We only pick one type (morels) and we know what to look for. Mon Sep 22 13:52:06 -0700 2008 4052259 19518 rockandroller1 1 4052263 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/539590 read this 1st. Mon Sep 22 06:10:31 -0700 2008 4049595 10147 michele cindy 1 4053479 You also need to keep in mind that mushrooms of the same appearance may be safe in one part of the country and poisonous in another. Mon Sep 22 16:56:27 -0700 2008 4049595 10240 Bob Brooks 2 4064489 Poppy cock! The same specie is the same specie. There are look-a-likes, though. Here in Maine the Jack )'lantern resembles the chanterelle, a little bit. I grew up picking, took a course in Norway and picked w/ an experienced biochemist friend in finland, didn't pick at all in Bolivia. Here in Maine, it have a banner season, but I pick only the 8-10 species of which I am certain. Slightest doubt, leave it out. Fri Sep 26 15:09:16 -0700 2008 4053479 93538 Passadumkeg 3 4064681 Same species, yes but mushrooms do vary. Minute changes, genetic mutations. Differences in soil and temperature have a huge effect. Some parts of the country a thimble cap will make you slightly sick to the stomach, in others it reacts with alcohol - in mine, its a nice substitute for morels....... I Fri Sep 26 16:17:26 -0700 2008 4064489 78681 coastie 1 4053565 Check your local adult ed courses and colleges for a course in mushroomery (mycology, actually). This can be useful for many reasons - it will teach you how to identify edible (and non-edible) mushrooms; how to take spore prints; where to look for mushrooms and when; and most importantly of all, it will teach you the proper respect for this activity. Knowing what can possibly happen to you if you pick the wrong mushroom is extremely important in order to make you appropriately cautious. It's a wonderful and rewarding thing to do, but there is little room for error. It ain't strawberry picking. Tomorrow I hunt my local porcini patch. Yay! Mon Sep 22 17:32:36 -0700 2008 4049595 12383 Nyleve 2 4054606 Update. Porcini count, like, maybe 6 small ones. Not what I was hoping for but enough to add to tonight's risotto. Oh well - there's always next time. Tue Sep 23 07:02:07 -0700 2008 4053565 12383 Nyleve 1 4053986 Get a book for your area, check with the local us fish and wildlife dept. They may have an expert, or classes or at least a list of whats around - to help you narrow your choices. I don't think I would eat much from someone who taught themselves out of a book strictly. I took years to learn my skill. Your local farmers market might give you some good examples - ask where it came from - they won't tell you exactly - but they if the are locally foraged they will be proud of that and tell you. You know that it grows, and what it looks like and will help you narrow your search. I think it helps to keep a notebook and don't seek to identify everything you find but - identify what you want to find and look for that. Note where you find things and when you find them as well as rainfall before and sunlight and temperature. Trees and other plant/soil conditions will be clues for next patch, once you find a pattern. Mon Sep 22 20:44:52 -0700 2008 4049595 78681 coastie 1 4054694 Befriend some Russian immigrants (I married one, but you don't need to go that far), they're pretty much all avid mushroom foragers, have been doing it since they were children, and the varieties found in the northeastern US in particular are identical to the ones they grew up with. Stick to the the basics (porcini, chanterelles, etc) and you'll be fine. In our quite extended circle of Russian friends I've never heard of anyone ever eating a bad 'shroom. Tue Sep 23 07:39:30 -0700 2008 4049595 14386 BobB 2 4055346 I have some Russian friends.( Poles...Lithuanians..all those slavic countries) Good mushroomers. But not infallible, the false chantrelles here will kill you - and yet - looks exactly like the chantrelles found on the pacific coast. Every area is different. I would second the porcini as easy to identify and prolific both in range and amount Tue Sep 23 11:10:12 -0700 2008 4054694 78681 coastie 3 4057735 My Grandma was from Lithuania and used to say that you are only bad at picking mushrooms once. Wed Sep 24 08:43:49 -0700 2008 4055346 43623 chilihead 1 4057351 I used to pick mushrooms with an old-timer, immigrant Italian friend. He used to be quite choosy when picking ground or stump 'shrooms. However, he said that if the mushroom is growing on a living tree, it is non-poisonous (I'm talking southern quebec here). He has since passed (embolism, not poisoning....I can hear you thinking "hmmmm") and I no longer forage. I am curious about the accuracy of that statement, maybe a well versed picker, or mycologist, can shed light on this? On a slightly related topic, this same friend used to be quite territorial about his mushroom picking grounds. I remember him not speaking to his brother for two years - each accusing the other of 'stealing' mushrooms from their 'secret' spot... Wed Sep 24 06:29:21 -0700 2008 4049595 176627 porker 2 4057387 Even if that statement is true, which I doubt, it could be very difficult to decide whether a tree is alive or not. In a densely wooded area, you could easily mix up which branch is attached to which tree, for instance. I would never use that kind of rule to ascertain edibility. I have a morel-picking spot which I have never revealed to anyone. Not even best friends. And I won't share my porcini zone with anyone other than the small number of people who already know where it is. And even then, I will often run out to pick without telling anyone else because I want to get there before they've figured out the mushrooms might be up. It's a cutthroat business. Wed Sep 24 06:43:08 -0700 2008 4057351 12383 Nyleve 3 4064390 I have never revealed to anyone. Not even best friends. Mushroom hunters are funny like that, lol.. Fri Sep 26 14:17:55 -0700 2008 4057387 228283 jsummers 1 4057880 Didn't I read somewhere that the guy who wrote The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans?) got hospitalised for eating a bad mushroom? Anyway, here in London you can join an expert for a funghi forage in some of the local parks. Maybe there's a similar thing in NYC? Wed Sep 24 09:27:03 -0700 2008 4049595 110146 greedygirl 2 4058902 Chowhounders are more widespread in their foraging than a few well used parks in New York and London. Wed Sep 24 14:23:31 -0700 2008 4057880 56131 jayt90 3 4058913 Indeed, but given the OP's user name it is not unreasonable to have thought she was in New York. Nothing wrong with a helpful tip. Wed Sep 24 14:27:24 -0700 2008 4058902 10985 MMRuth 1 4059001 The Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Mushrooms is a decent guide. You need to learn to do a spore print to go along with other physical characteristics like gills attached or free, gill color, stalk short, long, thick walled, thin, solid or hollow. You must also learn their habitat. You wouldn't look for meadow mushrooms (a choice edible) in a stand of oak trees (where some deadly amanitas like to be). Lots of details in correctly identifying mushrooms. Amanitas are among the most dangerous mushrooms and all can be identified by the boot they are growing out of (its mostly under ground). Some of the best ones can resemble poisonous varieties and vice-versa. And, yes, we find em in the fall! Below is a pan of morels we found last spring. I wish these guys would grow in the fall! Wed Sep 24 15:01:19 -0700 2008 4049595 228283 jsummers 2 4059088 what choice mushrooms are abundant in the fall? Wed Sep 24 15:35:09 -0700 2008 4059001 24546 bitsubeats 3 4059180 Wild oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, porcini, armillaria mellea (honey mushrooms) - to name just a few. The vast majority of mushrooms are fall-growing so depending on where you live, there will be a different selection of mushrooms around your area. Morels, as mentioned above, are spring mushrooms - the only spring edible I know. Wed Sep 24 16:11:45 -0700 2008 4059088 12383 Nyleve 4 4064494 Lots of king Boletes too. Fri Sep 26 15:11:07 -0700 2008 4059180 93538 Passadumkeg 5 4065351 ugh I just realized that I passed a ton of baby (couldn't recognize them) cinnabar chanterelles and tons of boletes. I'm not familiar with either one so I just tend to stay away or poke them with a stick. (: Sat Sep 27 00:02:53 -0700 2008 4064494 24546 bitsubeats 6 4065404 Please don't poke 'em, let 'em stand so the spores dissipate. Sat Sep 27 02:23:38 -0700 2008 4065351 93538 Passadumkeg 1 4064679 I live in s suburban residential area and there have been some incredible mushrooms here this summer, especially lots of boletes in August, but also some very active mushroom hunters - groups of dozens of mushrooms disappear overnight! The best thing to do, absent a friendly expert, is to join a mushroom club. Fri Sep 26 16:16:14 -0700 2008 4049595 18264 steinpilz 1 4065002 I'm like you and don't know a lot about true wild mushrooms. Therefore, I must limit my foraging to the produce aisle. Fri Sep 26 19:04:49 -0700 2008 4049595 166787 beth1 2 4065366 I love the fact that in France all pharmacists are trained in the identification of wild mushrooms. So all you have to do is pop into your local chemist with your haul! Sat Sep 27 00:36:37 -0700 2008 4065002 110146 greedygirl