Mushrooms

[sparrowgrass]

My sister, the Morel Queen of Southern Illinois, takes me hunting every spring. I like morels, but I love, love, love oyster mushrooms. They are much easier to find, and I like the texture and flavor better.

They are also a bit easier to clean--I find way too many little critters inside all those crinkles and wrinkles of the morels. Just one tiny snail, missed in the cleaning process, can turn you off of morels for a long time. Think of an eggshell bit in your scrambled eggs--very similar, except it is a SNAIL! (insert small gagging icon here)

[judyfoodie]

I love morels, chanterelles, dried porcinis and of course Hen of the Woods (grifola fronderosa). Last year, I found enormous quantities of everything.............. this year.......... a whole lot of nothing. Boo-hoo!

[Nyleve Baar]

Bumper crop of porcinis the last few weeks. I have my fingers crossed for a bit of rain tonight to extend the bounty. I've dried pounds and pounds of them already - have to go half and half with the friend whose property provides these riches - but I've also been able to make some drop dead delicious risotto and pasta with them. I got so excited about all this that last night I ordered an Opinel mushroom-hunting knife on ebay. (Practically a guarantee that the season is over...).

[kitchensqueen]

Mmm, mushroom risotto is great. I also like to make "poor man's risotto" - a little orzo pasta cooked in stock with fresh sauteed mushrooms, shallots and fresh herbs. So tasty!

I'd also like to get out and forage, but living in Chicago I'm not sure where to begin - the forest preserves maybe?

[SobaAddict70]

Nothing says "autumn" to me so much as matsutake gohan (Japanese rice steamed with matsutake mushrooms).

Chanterelles, shiitakes and morels number among my favorites as well.

[Dakki]

Crikey what a fungus. Looks like an unreliable bowling ball. What will you do with it?

A photo from the top would have been even more dramatic.

What will 'I' do with it? Nada. DH, Ed, says he'll fry it and freeze it. But this morning it is still sitting there.

Is it still there?

Can you weight it?

[Darienne]

Crikey what a fungus. Looks like an unreliable bowling ball. What will you do with it?

A photo from the top would have been even more dramatic.

What will 'I' do with it? Nada. DH, Ed, says he'll fry it and freeze it. But this morning it is still sitting there.

Is it still there?

Can you weight it?

Too late. Too bad, I never thought of weighing it. Most of it is fried, frozen and packaged. The rest he says he'll take care of tonight. Right.

[MokaPot]

Hi Guys. Question about short-term freezing of cooked "white" mushrooms. Reason I want to cook and freeze is because I won't be able to use them before they go bad. Photo is posted below. I'll be cutting the mushrooms into smaller pieces (before cooking and freezing). Usually, I cut the mushrooms into 4 "identical" pieces (slicing through the "axes") rather than into thin slices. (Hope that made sense.)

 

I've done this in the past with pretty good results except for some toughness in the stems. (No freezer burn flavor, so that's good.)

 

I don't have any type of vacuum sealer. I would be using Ziploc freezer bags & squeezing out as much air as possible.

 

Is there anything else I can do to get a good / better result?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[heidih]

33 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

Hi Guys. Question about short-term freezing of cooked "white" mushrooms. Reason I want to cook and freeze is because I won't be able to use them before they go bad. Photo is posted below. I'll be cutting the mushrooms into smaller pieces (before cooking and freezing). Usually, I cut the mushrooms into 4 "identical" pieces (slicing through the "axes") rather than into thin slices. (Hope that made sense.)

 

I've done this in the past with pretty good results except for some toughness in the stems. (No freezer burn flavor, so that's good.)

 

I don't have any type of vacuum sealer. I would be using Ziploc freezer bags & squeezing out as much air as possible.

 

Is there anything else I can do to get a good / better result?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

I roast them with a touch of olive oil and salt. Cut as you described. Eliminates - in my experience - any slime factor when using later. Concentrates flavor nicely too and as they physically concentrate - - don't take up much space. I pop the stems off and just freeze "as is" - use to flavor broths/sous. You can pick them out or strain once they have given you their all. Give them a squeeze like un-cool tea baggers do.

Edited October 1, 2020 by heidih (log)

[TicTac]

Figured I would spread the mushroom love - this I picked with my 7 year old in about 40 minutes 
My guess is 5-7 lbs 

 

😁

[MokaPot]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

 

I roast them with a touch of olive oil and salt. Cut as you described. Eliminates - in my experience - any slime factor when using later. Concentrates flavor nicely too and as they physically concentrate - - don't take up much space. I pop the stems off and just freeze "as is" - use to flavor broths/sous. You can pick them out or strain once they have given you their all. Give them a squeeze like un-cool tea baggers do.

 

@heidih, are you saying that you separate the caps from the stems, freeze the raw stems ("as is"), then roast the caps? Thanks!

[TicTac]

Sear your mushrooms till browned and add garlic / shallot - deglaze with white wine add stock and butter/herbs - this prep freezes beautifully.  

[heidih]

1 hour ago, MokaPot said:

 

@heidih, are you saying that you separate the caps from the stems, freeze the raw stems ("as is"), then roast the caps? Thanks!

 

Yes. I don't add herbs or flavorings cuz who knows how I will want to use. Play with it once.- it might work for you.

[jmacnaughtan]

7 hours ago, TicTac said:

Figured I would spread the mushroom love - this I picked with my 7 year old in about 40 minutes 
My guess is 5-7 lbs 

 

😁

 

What are those? They look like the pieds de mouton that we get here...

[TicTac]

12 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

 

What are those? They look like the pieds de mouton that we get here...

These are Elm Oyster mushrooms.  We call the ones you posted, Hedgehog mushrooms - which have spines under the caps, rather than gills, like the oysters.

 

Also, the Elm Oysters differ as they grow solely on one tree - and one tree only - the Manitoba Maple.  Hedgehog can grow on the forest floor in various environments.

 

Wanna trade!?  😉

[Nyleve Baar]

Another great porcini season here! Just winding down, which is totally fine with me. We ate as many as we could stand - grilled, risotto, pasta, etc. - and I dried a ton of them. Also froze about 5 lbs. whole, as I’ve seen them sold that way. I think we’re done. This is just one day's worth and we only stopped picking because we couldn't carry any more.

Edited October 3, 2020 by Nyleve Baar (log)

[heidih]

26 minutes ago, Nyleve Baar said:

Another great porcini season here! Just winding down, which is totally fine with me. We ate as many as we could stand - grilled, risotto, pasta, etc. - and I dried a ton of them. Also froze about 5 lbs. whole, as I’ve seen them sold that way. I think we’re done. This is just one day's worth and we only stopped picking because we couldn't carry any more.

 

Wow that is beautiful, amazing, and envy inducing!  Thank you for the image. 

[TicTac]

2 hours ago, Nyleve Baar said:

Another great porcini season here! Just winding down, which is totally fine with me. We ate as many as we could stand - grilled, risotto, pasta, etc. - and I dried a ton of them. Also froze about 5 lbs. whole, as I’ve seen them sold that way. I think we’re done. This is just one day's worth and we only stopped picking because we couldn't carry any more.

Evelyn -

 

I am in AWE - and certainly envious!  It has been a dream of mine to forage for porcini, but I have yet to find a spot.

 

If you want to diversify and get a bit of variety in your mushroom diet, we can swap for Elm Oyster's!? 😛

 

Fantastic.  Love it.  Kudos!

[liuzhou]

On 10/3/2020 at 2:05 AM, TicTac said:

Also, the Elm Oysters differ as they grow solely on one tree - and one tree only - the Manitoba Maple.

 

Quote

The elm oyster is distributed all over the temperate climate zones in deciduous and mixed woodland where it grows mainly on boxelder maples or elms. It has been reported that they are found on beech and oak trees as well. Elm oysters are ubiquitous on wounds of living box elders.

.

https://www.ediblewildfood.com/elm-oyster.aspx

 

Quote

The Elm Oyster fruits high up on the trunks and large branches of elm trees (Ulmus spp.) and occasionally other broadleaf deciduous trees.

.

https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/hypsizygus-ulmarius.php

 

[liuzhou]

This morning's shopping haul.

 

[Katie Meadow]

@liuzhouare those morels farmed or foraged? Do they tell you when you buy them? Just curious. I know that morel cultivation is still in its infancy, but China is apparently ahead of the curve. 

[liuzhou]

Just now, Katie Meadow said:

@liuzhouare those morels farmed or foraged? Do they tell you when you buy them? Just curious. I know that morel cultivation is still in its infancy, but China is apparently ahead of the curve. 

 

They are foraged. Yes, China is a bit ahead, but farmed morels are still only found in limited quantities and are more expensive than foraged!

[TicTac]

16 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

On 10/2/2020 at 2:05 PM, TicTac said:

Also, the Elm Oysters differ as they grow solely on one tree - and one tree only - the Manitoba Maple.

 

Quote

The elm oyster is distributed all over the temperate climate zones in deciduous and mixed woodland where it grows mainly on boxelder maples or elms. It has been reported that they are found on beech and oak trees as well. Elm oysters are ubiquitous on wounds of living box elders.

.

https://www.ediblewildfood.com/elm-oyster.aspx

 

Quote

The Elm Oyster fruits high up on the trunks and large branches of elm trees (Ulmus spp.) and occasionally other broadleaf deciduous trees.

.

https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/hypsizygus-ulmarius.php

 

Have you foraged for them before?  Have you actually ever seen one growing in the wild?

 

If so, have you seen one growing on an Elm tree?! All the examples in the video you linked show them growing on Maples.

 

In my many years of hunting in my backyard/forest-ravine, which hold a wide variety of species of trees, I can confidently tell you from first hand knowledge (and from everything that was taught to me by other far more skilled foragers) that this mushroom only grows on the Manitoba Maple.  Least here in this climate.

 

If you want to pick one from another tree; do so at your own peril!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by TicTac (log)

[liuzhou]

I offered no opinion on the matter; merely pointed out two sources which disagree.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

On 10/3/2020 at 1:32 PM, Nyleve Baar said:

Another great porcini season here! Just winding down, which is totally fine with me. We ate as many as we could stand - grilled, risotto, pasta, etc. - and I dried a ton of them. Also froze about 5 lbs. whole, as I’ve seen them sold that way. I think we’re done. This is just one day's worth and we only stopped picking because we couldn't carry any more.

Aw--you're killin' me! We haven't experienced "mushroom greed" in a long time, when you pick more than you have time or energy to process. It's so much fun, going around with your knife and basket, but then when you get home you're confronted with the results of your excess! It's a great thing to experience, isn't it?

 

We haven't had success in Colorado lately (and this year we didn't go north at all) that we've had in the past. All our favorite foraging places have suffered from drought, and a dead forest isn't the best place to look for mushrooms. I still have half a gallon jar of dry porcini (and it takes a darned good recipe for me to use any) and some frozen chanterelles, but we haven't replenished our supply. Someday--