Mushroom hunting

[wooly]

Holy mother of morels.....

 I never realized these things got so big.

This one is obviously past it's prime as it was crawling with slugs so I just left it lay, but it's only my second morel find so I was still pretty excited that this may be turning into a hot spot!

Just across the crick from my 1'st one last year.

 

[Berniez]

I also am a bit paranoid about mushroom identification. Some of those things are absolutely deadly, and I don't trust myself enough to absolutely know one from another.

 

How about those white puffballs that grow to as big as a basketball. I've heard that they are edible also. I have no idea what they taste like, but I have heard of slicing them up and frying them in butter. I'm still leary about trying them. We have a lot of those around.

An OLD Marine Sgt told me two things one must never forget…1 “Paranoia is good if somebody is trying to kill ya” and 2. “Don’t be too stupid to live.”    These axioms also work for mushroom picking. 

Wild mushrooms are wonderful to eat and look for but can be extremely dangerous if not deadly.  In college I had a Professor of Pharmacognosy (study of the medicinal properties of plants) when asked to teach me mushrooms to pick said,  ”… read, learn and read again.  Then go out with somebody who knows what they are doing and watch. Then Learn a couple of mushrooms that cannot be confused with a toxic species and pick them.”  

 A few years ago I was involved with “treating ” (a relative term) a “veteran mushroom picker” for eating a “white mushroom” he picked and ate on Sunday. By the time he was transfered to the Medical ICU (on Wednesday evening) he was already turning a bright orange (from acute liver failure) screaming in pain. He died that Friday while waiting for a liver transplant. (We never knew the species because he ate all he picked)

The best Axiom is “If in doubt throw it out”

With that said mushroom picking is good fun and a taste treat to the palate. You just have to be very careful  and again discretion is the better part of valor when mushroom picking.    As for those giant puffballs?  They are good, safe to eat and have no deadly look alikes. If they are bigger than a softball or soccer ball they are safe to eat.  Peel (they have a latex like cover exposing a solid white body) slice and either sauté in butter  or  deep fry making a parmigiana casserole with sausage and meatballs.  Wonderful.           (note: when you slice them open if brown or green tinged…they are getting old and taste rapidly declines.)

Species I pick are “hen in the woods” , “lion manes” and some shelf fungi.  I do this because I cannot confuse them with anything deadly and have not found a local picker to team up with so while I see many different mushrooms on my property I pick the ones I know are safe…..and many wild mushrooms while safe to eat should be cooked as the heat destroys some mild irritants that can cause a mild stomach distress to some people.  NO amount of cooking/putting a penny in the pot or other "tricks",  makes a toxic mushroom safe to eat.

So look, pick, be careful, enjoy. mangia and know what you are doing. If in doubt throw it out.  

[blackradio]

Well I did not find one morel this year. I checked ever single spot I have ever found a morel in and did not find one. I know it was a dry year but damn. Disappointing.

[wildcat junkie]

Hey guys, anyone finding morels yet? Looked in my usual spots and nothing so far. Cold, long winter and now no rain, maybe that will make them late this year. Found most of mine last year between May 18-25.

Wifey found these on May 18th.

 

 

 

Holy mother of morels.....

 I never realized these things got so big.

This one is obviously past it's prime as it was crawling with slugs so I just left it lay, but it's only my second morel find so I was still pretty excited that this may be turning into a hot spot!

Just across the crick from my 1'st one last year.

 

[blackradio]

Found a few pounds of chicken of the woods recently. These are great! Love the texture.

[PREDATE]

I found one chicken back in early summer. Delicious!

Unfortunately, I missed out on an awesome year for chants. Next up will be hen of the woods

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[greensider]

the woods are loaded right now

[monkeyman2269]

I wanna go but I don't wanna die

[blackradio]

Chants are now? Never saw one before. What about hens? Are they now?

[PREDATE]

Chants were earlier in the summer. Hens are now.

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[monkeyman2269]

l][/url]

What's this pretty cool looking

Edited October 2, 2015 by monkeyman2269

[shawnhu]

l][/url]

What's this pretty cool looking

The prettier they are, the more deadly. Goes for women most of the time too

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

[EspressoBuzz]

http://www.limyco.org/

 

Mushroom Day
Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay
Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015, 1-4 PM

[Elmo]

Can somebody ID this? Edible?

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[EspressoBuzz]

Looks like a small hen of the woods if that stump behind it is oak then it's a "of the woods" variant.

[greensider]

i agree and yes it is edible try it it should have a pepery taste

[jjb4900]

good luck!

[PREDATE]

That's one sad looking hen! Here's one of four that I found this week

[Elmo]

That's one sad looking hen! Here's one of four that I found this week

 

Yeah, its another reason I was thrown off.  I never hunt for mushrooms before but I stumbled upon this and noticed that it look some what similar to some of the pictures I've seen here but not quite exactly the same so that's why I left it alone.  I guess I'm going to go back there this weekend and harvest it.  I'm suppose to leave the root/stem right?

[PREDATE]

Yep, if you leave the mycelium(root) then it might grow in that same spot next year. I also want to advise you not to consume alcohol while eating Maitake (hen of the woods).

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[Marion]

Yep, if you leave the mycelium(root) then it might grow in that same spot next year. I also want to advise you not to consume alcohol while eating Maitake (hen of the woods).

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What would happen?

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Edited October 23, 2015 by The Jerkman

[turkeyfeathers]

What would happen?

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Ever been to a Grateful Dead concert ? You'll hear the sights and see the music

 

As much as I'd like to get into searching and eating wild mushrooms the reprocussions always scare me away. The last time I ate mushrooms I didn't buy at Wegmans was the Pittsburgh Grateful Dead show, doh. And if I eat the wrong type of wild  I won't be around to read the rest of this thread.

[sits in trees]

My wife found some nice oysters yesterday, ate them last night,,fantastic. It's been a great year for parasols, we have been eating them all summer and picking them right outside the door.

[greensider]

oysters are the best  and there are some mushrooms that stop your body from producing the chemical that de alchaholizes alchahol so you could get alchahol poisoning  also yes you should always cut a mushroom not pull it and it will usually grow back

[jjb4900]

oysters are the best  and there are some mushrooms that stop your body from producing the chemical that de alchaholizes alchahol so you could get alchahol poisoning  also yes you should always cut a mushroom not pull it and it will usually grow back

looks like you ate a couple of those along with having a few cocktails to boot...........