Mushrooms

[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--

[jmacnaughtan]

I'm curious when people in the UK/USA/etc. talk about chanterelles: are you talking about these or these?

 

 

[liuzhou]

59 minutes ago, jmacnaughtan said:

I'm curious when people in the UK/USA/etc. talk about chanterelles: are you talking about these or these?

 

 

 

In UK, I'd be talking about these. But I'm in China and will say the same.

[jmacnaughtan]

56 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

In UK, I'd be talking about these. But I'm in China and will say the same.

 

I always thought it was the same in France as over there, given it's a French name. Here though, the bottom ones are the chanterelles and the top ones are girolles. I think the generic family name is chanterelle, but I'm not sure.

[liuzhou]

 

Quote

Cantharellus cibarius  Latin: cantharellus, "chanterelle"; cibarius, "culinary") is a species of golden chanterelle mushroom in the genus Canthatellus. It is also known as girolle.

 

[liuzhou]

The Oxford Companion to Food also says they are the same thing, but come in three different varieties.

[TicTac]

 

This behemoth was growing about 10’ up on a maple tree - never have I seen a mushroom stalk of such girth (there’s a joke in there somewhere!).  Truth be told it must have been multiple stalks which turned into Siamese twins (possibly quadruplets) .... thick as a can of beans!  

[teonzo]

4 hours ago, TicTac said:

This behemoth was growing about 10’ up on a maple tree - never have I seen a mushroom stalk of such girth (there’s a joke in there somewhere!).  Truth be told it must have been multiple stalks which turned into Siamese twins (possibly quadruplets) .... thick as a can of beans!  

 

Jonelmus variety?

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Nyleve Baar]

My husband just found a bunch of elm oysters on our property! Will be cooking up something mushroomy tomorrow. What do you like to do with these?

 

[TicTac]

On 10/12/2020 at 6:56 PM, Nyleve Baar said:

My husband just found a bunch of elm oysters on our property! Will be cooking up something mushroomy tomorrow. What do you like to do with these?

 

 

Sear till browned all over in butter - salt - on good bread.

[Nyleve Baar]

Elm oysters cooking in butter - tossed with roasted butternut squash, sage, garlic, ricotta gnocchi and a little Parmesan. Very good. These mushrooms have great texture, but not as much flavour as some others I’ve tried. Definitely worth picking! 

[TicTac]

3 hours ago, Nyleve Baar said:

Elm oysters cooking in butter - tossed with roasted butternut squash, sage, garlic, ricotta gnocchi and a little Parmesan. Very good. These mushrooms have great texture, but not as much flavour as some others I’ve tried. Definitely worth picking! 

 

Looks good.  I would say most in those pan are a bit past their prime pick'age window as the gills are no longer white but starting to brown a bit.  Ideally you want to pick them before the gills open completely and are still very tight/white.  That will impact flavour.

 

But then again, when comparing to your foraged porcini....not much of a contest!  😛