Mushrooms
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Re: Mushrooms
Chanterelles are back! Just got these in the woods behind the shop....between yesterday afternoon and this batch, we have filled a 1 gallon bucket.
Re: Mushrooms
Dry cook to get the water out. Can be dry sauteed if not many, or dry cooked in a saucepan and the water poured off a few times if a lot. Weight should easily decrease by a factor of two or more. Then pack into completely dense freezer bags. Squeeze to get the air out. They keep for years and are as good as the day they were found.
Re: Mushrooms
Bastard. It's so dry here I don't think there will be any kind of mushroom whatsoever this year.
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Re: Mushrooms
We have had and will continue to have pretty good conditions for mushroom growth. We find them mainly in two places on our property on the sides of opposite facing slopes (east & west) in the woods, they seem to spread in a linear fashion in both places. Going up or down hill 15' in either direction and no chanterelles. BTW, they were delicious last night.
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Re: Mushrooms
I live in the mountains of Arizona. We went mushroom hunting for the first time last year and in about an hour we had all kinds collected. We took them home thinking we could ID them but had little luck and ended up tossing them. Since then I found two books that specialize in Arizona Mushroons, gonna try again this fall. We were at 10,000 feet on the north side of pretty big mountain. Even though we didn’t eat any we had a lot of fun. I think the one in my hand is a lobster mushroom, suppose to be good to eat.
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Re: Mushrooms
Don't eat it based on my affirmation, but yes that's a lobster mushroom in your hand. They are my favorite, but while I know they can be found in large quantities, I have only ever found a few singles.
In NM we get boletes, oysters, chantarelles, some morels, lepiotas, agaricus, and a few others. But the boletes are the ones people usually go after. We also have a lot of death caps, so you need to know what you are looking for.
The big one upside down looks to be a cedar cap which is a type of bolete. It's edible but gives me an upset stomach so I stay clear. King boletes are the most desirable, but I only find them above 10,000ft, like starting at 10,200.
In NM we get boletes, oysters, chantarelles, some morels, lepiotas, agaricus, and a few others. But the boletes are the ones people usually go after. We also have a lot of death caps, so you need to know what you are looking for.
The big one upside down looks to be a cedar cap which is a type of bolete. It's edible but gives me an upset stomach so I stay clear. King boletes are the most desirable, but I only find them above 10,000ft, like starting at 10,200.
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Re: Mushrooms
I have a friend who knows mushrooms who’s gonna go with me this year. I’ve been reading my ID books too. Once you get comfortable or confident in your finds it should yield some rewards. It was a lot of fun finding them. The lobster mushrooms were all in a small area, maybe 30 foot diameter. Even though they are big they can be tough to see, just make a bulge on the forest floor most of the time.shevitz wrote: ↑Sun Jun 24, 2018 10:30 pm Don't eat it based on my affirmation, but yes that's a lobster mushroom in your hand. They are my favorite, but while I know they can be found in large quantities, I have only ever found a few singles.
In NM we get boletes, oysters, chantarelles, some morels, lepiotas, agaricus, and a few others. But the boletes are the ones people usually go after. We also have a lot of death caps, so you need to know what you are looking for.
The big one upside down looks to be a cedar cap which is a type of bolete. It's edible but gives me an upset stomach so I stay clear. King boletes are the most desirable, but I only find them above 10,000ft, like starting at 10,200.
What part of NM are you in?
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Re: Mushrooms
Los Alamos. We live on the side of the Jemez mountains that goes up to 10,400'. Longer drives with a hike can put me up to 11,000 feet.
The ones that are bulges are called "shrumps". Learning to spot shrumps is one of the signs of an accomplished collector.
The basic rule with mushrooms is only eat what you are certain is edible, not "avoid the ones you know are poisonous". There are only about a half dozen kinds of mushrooms I forage for. These mushrooms simply cannot be mistaken for another mushroom, or if they can, that mushroom is also edible. I see a few kinds that are edible in your collection.
The ones that are bulges are called "shrumps". Learning to spot shrumps is one of the signs of an accomplished collector.
The basic rule with mushrooms is only eat what you are certain is edible, not "avoid the ones you know are poisonous". There are only about a half dozen kinds of mushrooms I forage for. These mushrooms simply cannot be mistaken for another mushroom, or if they can, that mushroom is also edible. I see a few kinds that are edible in your collection.
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Re: Mushrooms
That’s a beauty part of the state, I’ve needed and motorcycle through there many times and now I’d like to venture and see more of the Jemez area.
Now I know what shrump is too I was amazed at the variety of mushrooms that could be found. I also noticed the squirrels were harvesting them faster than we could find them. I think we got lucky, we guessed that about a week after a 4 day monsoon should yield results, I think we were just a day or two late though. How do you time your mushroom hunting?
Now I know what shrump is too I was amazed at the variety of mushrooms that could be found. I also noticed the squirrels were harvesting them faster than we could find them. I think we got lucky, we guessed that about a week after a 4 day monsoon should yield results, I think we were just a day or two late though. How do you time your mushroom hunting?
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Re: Mushrooms
Trial and error. There is no other way. Around here (Jemez, Santa Fe) there are a few limited spots that have the mushrooms (all high elevation). All mushroom hunters know where they are, but their honey holes are still carefully guarded secrets. People won't tell you where to look and on any given day there can be many people looking for mushrooms in the same general location. If you have a mushroom friend they will tell you if they found anything so you might go yourself in a few days. Some years there are lots. This year it's looking like there will be nothing. There is no magic. Just hard work, but that's half the fun.
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Re: Mushrooms
Honey holes and guarded secrets, makes it even more enjoyable. It will be interesting to compare the area this year to last year. Currently we’re in the middle of a drought but we have high hopes for the monsoons that usually can be counted on the first of July. I only saw one group of other people harvesting last year, a group of four ladies working a grid pattern with baskets and little knives to cut them and keep them clean. We didn’t do a very good job at that, just pulled them out of the ground and shook them off, ended up with some dirty shrooms. Live and learn.
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Re: Mushrooms
always better to clean in the field. If you include the earth around the base of mushroom, after putting in a bag or basket, all the mushrooms are now dirty. The stems dirty the clean tops of others. In principle, you should not put the mushrooms touching (real collectors will wrap each), but for food uses, I just put them in a paper bag. Plastic makes them wet and rot....
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Re: Mushrooms
Good to know, thanks for the tips.shevitz wrote: ↑Tue Jun 26, 2018 5:52 pm always better to clean in the field. If you include the earth around the base of mushroom, after putting in a bag or basket, all the mushrooms are now dirty. The stems dirty the clean tops of others. In principle, you should not put the mushrooms touching (real collectors will wrap each), but for food uses, I just put them in a paper bag. Plastic makes them wet and rot....
“The goal is to die with memories, not dreams.”
Re: Mushrooms
also for cleaning. Dry clean in the field (really at home as well). A dry brush or you hand can be used to get as much detritus off before putting in your bag/basket.
- lsboogy
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Re: Mushrooms
I love to find maitaki at the base of oak trees - one large one works. Dice a medium yellow onion, sauté slow in olive oil, add 2-4 cloves of garlic (minced fine or pasted with some salt) when onion clears, add mushrooms and cook down with a pinch or two of salt. Serve over linguini and top with shredded parm and parsley Great meal for days when it's starting to get cool in the evening
Re: Mushrooms
We don't have maitake around here. At least that I am aware of. The water/rain is up high. The oaks are low. We also only have scrub oak. Maitake's are some of my favorite, so it bums me...
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Re: Mushrooms
This morning's bounty of chanterelles with a pair of 130mm pettys.....perfect knife for trimming the stems.