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COLLECTING & PREPARING EDIBLE WILD MUSHROOMS

COLLECTING

Basket

Mushrooms can be somewhat fragile, so many folks prefer to collect them in a basket. The first thing to look for when choosing a basket is the direction of the handle. The handle should go from the front to the back of the basket when it is held at your side. It should be connected to the widest ends of the basket, which will make it much easier to carry.

After the basket is purchased it should be stained a quiet color, one that will not make the basket stand out and draw unwanted attention from other mushroom hunters. It should be varnished for protection, which will also make it easier to clean. If you don’t have a basket, use a large, clean brown paper grocery bag. I also like to use camouflage netted bags when hunting at a location where the mushrooms need to be concealed because of competition. In addition to mushrooms, in my basket I often keep a field guide, bags, and a small collecting multi-chambered container for delicate mushrooms, as well as a can of mace and a camera. I also like to attach a compass and a whistle to the basket with a piece of string just in case I become lost. Take a cell phone along; you never know when it might come in handy (if you’re able to get a signal).

Bags

If you are picking a lot of one kind of edible mushrooms, put them directly into a clean basket. Otherwise, separate different kinds of mushrooms into different bags before putting them into your basket. Wax paper bags are best, but brown paper lunch bags will also do. Do not mix species of mushrooms. It goes without saying that special care should be given not to mix edible and poisonous mushrooms together.

Do not use plastic bags, because moisture and heat build up in them and cause the mushrooms to quickly rot. The main consideration is to always keep mushrooms cool and dry; heat and water hasten the rotting process. When you get home, clean immediately and put the mushrooms in the refrigerator in a paper bag.

Knives

A penknife with several blades is particularly useful in collecting. When I collect mushrooms, I use one with three blades. The large blade is good for cutting edible mushrooms. The smaller blade can be used for digging up the entire mushroom when taking it home to study, since the base of the mushroom will tell you a lot about its identity. Wipe your knife off after collecting a species and make sure to wash it at the end of the day.

After having gotten a whole sample to keep for identification, cut off the rest of the edible mushrooms just a little up from the base. We do this for two reasons. First, so as not disturb the mushroom’s mycelium (root system), which may possibly increase the chance of the mushroom reappearing the next year in the same spot. Most mushrooms are like apple trees; if you cut the apple off the tree it does not hurt the tree. The second reason is to keep the mushrooms clean. (See below on cleaning mushrooms)

Walking Stick

A good walking stick is useful in helping you maneuver through rugged territory. It makes us feel a little safer if we come across a poisonous snake or wild dog. It can also be used to push away underbrush and spider webs. Make your own. Get a sapling between 2" and 2½" in diameter, scrape the bark off, and let it dry. Give it a coat of stain, two coats of varnish and you are ready to go.

FIELD CLEANING MUSHROOMS

Cleaning mushrooms begins with picking them. If you just yank them out of the ground and throw them into a basket, dirt will be over everything. That will mean you will have a mess to deal with when you get home. Take your time, cut each individual mushroom off a little above ground level (after identifying it by looking at the base). Do a little field cleaning, knock or trim off the dirt. Pick off that leaf or blade of grass. This will keep the mushrooms relatively clean. Toss out any that are too old, full of bugs, or don’t look right. While you are doing this, take another look at each individual mushroom to make sure it is the one you want. Be sure not to pick mushrooms that are too old; leave some for seed (spores).

HOME CLEANING & PREPARING

As soon as you get home, clean your mushrooms again. Cut off any bad spots and throw away any mushrooms that have deteriorated since you were in the woods. I prefer to use a small soft brush to finish cleaning the mushrooms. A little brush here, and a little brush there, and they are ready. Sometimes a little water has to be used in the cleaning process, but this is not the preferred method. Mushrooms may become soggy when soaked in water. Water can also hasten deterioration. Some people won’t even pick mushrooms if they are wet from the rain.

When home cleaning, always take another close look at each individual one to be sure you have picked a good, edible one and not a poisonous one. Some mushrooms have hollow stalks and occasionally critters will crawl inside. The solution is to always cut the mushrooms in half from the top to the bottom of the stipe (stalk). All button mushrooms (still closed or not entirely opened) should be cut in half or sliced, so you can see what the inside looks like – you might see the egg shape of a poisonous Amanita when you thought you had a field mushroom! Cutting will enable you to see the gill color, which will aid in identification.

REFRIGERATION

As soon as you are done home cleaning your mushrooms, freeze, dry or marinate them. If you are going to use them fresh, put them into the refrigerator as soon as possible. Place them in clean paper or wax paper bags – never in plastic bags, as that will hasten the spoiling process. Depending on the variety, many mushrooms will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days. If your mushrooms are not refrigerated they will deteriorate at a much quicker pace; the microscopic bugs that are in them will soon develop and ruin the entire lot almost overnight. I repeat, just as you would not eat a rotting piece of meat, don’t eat a rotting mushroom.

FREEZING

We try to freeze a variety of mushrooms in the time of plenty so that we can enjoy them throughout the year. Start by cutting up your mushrooms as if you were going to use them fresh. Place them in a pan and cook them in butter, making sure they are completely cooked. Then let them cool slightly so your fingers don’t get burned, and place the mushrooms and their liquid into re-sealable freezer bags. The size of the bag and the amount of mushrooms in each should be what you would use for one meal. Squeeze all the air out and seal the bags shut, then (this is very important) label the bags with the date that you froze them along with the quantity and type of mushroom, and put them into the freezer. Most frozen mushrooms look somewhat similar, and it is hard or impossible to tell what variety is in a bag unless it has been labeled. This is particularly true when they are cooked and you have a number of different types of mushrooms frozen. Try to keep all frozen mushrooms together so they don’t become lost in the freezer. Throw them away after six months.

To defrost: Set them out in your sink for a couple of hours, or defrost in the microwave by using its auto-defrost feature. Once thawed, add them to your recipe.

DRYING

First, double-check the identity of your mushrooms, then re-inspect them to make sure only fresh mushrooms are used. Cut away any bad spots and worm holes. In summer, mushrooms such as Boletes get worms, which bore from the base of the stem and work upwards. Just start cutting away the base of the stem until you no longer see any holes; if they continue into the cap you will have to discard the mushroom.

How To Dry

One technique is to string the mushrooms with fishing line, then tie the ends of the string to trees, or hang the string full of mushrooms in a hot attic to dry. You could also tie the strings up in front of an oscillating fan. Some people like to dry them in the oven on low heat. The method that I recommend, however, is using a food dehydrator. The mushrooms must be sliced ¼" thick or less in order for them to dry properly. Put them close together on the dehydrator trays, but leave a little space for the air to circulate.

It usually takes about eight hours to dry mushrooms; after four hours in the dehydrator they usually shrink to about 50% of their original size. The mushrooms that are on the bottom shelf or closer to the fan and heat source of the dehydrator dry more quickly than the ones on the top shelf. To speed up the drying process, about halfway through combine the mushrooms on the two trays closest to the heat source and use that empty tray to add any mushrooms not yet dried. Place that tray on top of the stack, then continue to combine the rest of the trays in this manner.

When dry, the mushrooms should be quickly sealed in airtight jars or zipper bags and stored in a dark place so the light won’t fade them and leach out their vitamins and minerals. Make sure to label each bag with the date, quantity and type of mushroom. You may want to put your dehydrator outdoors in a protected area, such as on a covered porch. (Be aware that some people are allergic to mushroom spores or do not like the odor.)

To re-hydrate

Soak dried mushrooms in hot water or milk for 20 minutes or so, until they become soft. Put them in a bowl and cover them with the liquid. Once they are reconstituted, you can pour off the liquid or use it to make soup, since it has absorbed some of the mushrooms’ flavor (use the liquid as you would water). Use the re-hydrated mushrooms as you would use fresh mushrooms: 2 ounces dried mushrooms = about 16 ounces fresh mushrooms.

MARINATING

When I marinate I usually use an empty canning jar, or similar jar that I have saved. Then I cut up and cook my mushrooms and add my spices and put everything in the jar. Depending on the ingredients, marinated mushrooms usually keep a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

CANNING

Mushrooms can be canned but I don’t recommend it, because many people have become ill after eating improperly canned foods, especially ones that are not acidic. If you are willing to give it a try, contact your local county extension office first. They will have instructions and a list of approved methods.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO COOK

First of all, remember to save a few of your uncooked mushrooms just in case you become sick. That will make it much easier to identify what you ate. They should be uncooked and not prepared in any way, and refrigerated to be kept fresh. When the hospital calls, it is very difficult and often impossible to identify the mushrooms someone has eaten by the stomach contents. Also remember that some mushrooms such as the Alcohol Inky can make you sick if any alcoholic beverages are drunk before or after eating them, so be careful.

As I cautioned in the Introduction, if this is the first time you are eating a species, try only a small quantity, since you may be allergic to them even though they are edible And do not eat more than one type of mushroom at a time; otherwise, you would not know which one you are allergic to if you have an allergic reaction – or in the case of poisoning, it would be too difficult to find out which of the many species that you ate could be the cause of the poisoning.

COOKING MUSHROOMS

As a general rule, all mushrooms should be cooked before eating. If you are a beginner and want to try wild mushrooms and don’t know any for sure yet, get some at the grocery store. Today, many of the bigger stores sell button mushrooms and some other cultivated or wild mushrooms such as Shitake, Oyster mushrooms, Wood Ear, Black Trumpets, Morels, Boletes, and Chanterelles – often available both fresh and dried. Other mushrooms such as the Paddy Straw Mushroom and Enoki can be found canned in the Oriental foods section of the store.

If you desire to purchase even more varieties of wild mushrooms than your store carries, contact Fungi Perfecti (see Resources page at the back of the book). They sell over 20 types of mushroom kits that you can use to grow your own “‘shrooms,” and they’ll send you a nice little catalog. Their kits really do work; I’ve tried several of them.

If you cook your mushrooms in a pan with butter as we often do, occasionally too much liquid will develop in the bottom of your pan (mushrooms are over 90% water). Just remove some of the water so your mushrooms won’t become too soggy. Some mushrooms, such as the Abortive Entoloma, taste better if cooked in butter on medium heat until slightly browned (when the juice starts to disappear). Others taste better not browned. Experiment a little.

Chicken Mushroom Cacciatore (recipe on p. 82)

IF YOU ARE NOT 100% SURE OF THE IDENTIFICATION OF MUSHROOMS, DON’T EAT THEM. REMEMBER THE MUSHROOMER’S SAYING:

“WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW THEM OUT.”