Foraging Log

[guitarplayer]

Sure will do, it is more than half turned into the ink-like mess now. From where I get intelligence, I read that this needs to be diluted with a bit of water, and heated with some cloves which reportedly helps fix the ink and stop it from fading and running. DW might have a go with it to produce something artsy, she's got water color paper I think.

ETA:

My poor art with the shaggy ink cap ink:



DW's art with the ink:



This I left to dry and then pulled a wet brush over it perhaps 3 times, pretty forcefully:



Seems durable.

[guitarplayer]

Went to check the mail, that's 500m away. Found this on the way.



380g of charcoal burners, there was lots more. This time of the year again.

[mountainFrugal]

Wow! I love the script work and the meta-mushroom illustration. That color is really interesting and it does not bleed very much. I was expecting that it would bleed more. Thank you for sharing.

[Laura Ingalls]

I found and ate a big batch of chicken in the woods while camping in a nearby state park.

[guitarplayer]

no worries @mountainFrugal.

Way to go @Laura Ignalls, I would love to find some more of it, so yummy.

[Western Red Cedar]

I went out for a long bike ride last weekend on a rail-to-trail. I passed an apple tree next to an old farm that had heaps of apples and didn't look as if they were being picked. Many had already found their way to the trail. I filled up my backpack with the thought of making some very basic hard cider. After doing some research I realized the juice wasn't worth the squeeze for the cider. I've just had them on oatmeal, in a couple green smoothies with ginger, and cooked some up with sauerkraut and chicken sausage. I'm trying to avoid baked goods, but DW may end up making one of her delicious apple crumbles this weekend.



I went out last Sunday to look for Chanterelles after we got rain on Friday and Saturday. I didn't have any luck, and I think I was a little too high. I found one microclimate that looked promising, but nothing there. I stopped on my way back at another spot that was a couple thousand feet lower in elevation, and it seemed much better. We are supposed to get rain all weekend, so I may try my luck again next week.

I did have some nice views on the hike though, and managed to summit one of the local peaks.

[Laura Ingalls]

@western red cedar

My husband has tried dove hunting a couple times, always ends up with foraged apples and no doves. The apples are much more versatile

Fantastic views thanks for sharing your pic.

[guitarplayer]

@WRC, nice! My preferred way to preserve fruit is to dry it, turns all the more tasty and lasts a very long time. But one needs a way to dry them, ideally in the sun. I use a dehydrator, its 300-350W and it costs me about 1,5-2USD to dry five trays over some 20h.

For chanterelles: you want to look for deciduous trees as the chanterelle mycelium forms symbiotic relationships with these (I see on your photo only conifers). Where I live they love to grow around beeches, but also oaks and briches. Chanterelles definitely love to grow out of moss so you would be looking for that sort of habitat. If you look around conifers, you might find false chanterelles which are I think the only look alike, nor poisonous but rather tasteless (I made the mistake of picking and eating them in the past), you can have a look here

Generally in terms of mushroom foraging deciduous or mixed woodlands are a much safer bet: most of beginner edibles grow in these, like chanterelles and most of boletes. There are edibles growing in coniferous woodlands too but generally more complicated to identify, unless...

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...you find some larch boletes:







As the name suggests, they grow around larches. The 'sponge' underneath is a giveaway of their edibility (only one species with it is not) Rather low in the ranks of edibles, sticky caps make it laborous to clean and process them, they also don't taste all that great and are a bit slimy in texture. It is recommended to dry them which enhances their flavour, these ones I chucked into a pot of soup.

[Western Red Cedar]

@LI - Well at least he doesn't come home empty-handed

@GP - Thanks for the tips! Most of the forests around me are heavily coniferous, but I know chanterelles are out there. We do have trees like larch, cottonwood, birch, and maple mixed in among the pine and fir trees that tend to dominate the landscape. I'll focus future excursions on mixed woodlands and in damper areas. I have a few ideas near me based on those recommendations.

I have a dehydrator, so maybe I'll grab another backpack full of apples, and dehydrate them for some granola and other snacks.

[guitarplayer]

@WRC, it often is a good idea to look at the canopy and go where certain trees are. Deciduous and coniferous trees work with different species of mushrooms (edibles on both sides, though more easy to identify ones one the deciduous side), however there is a general consensus that sycamore (and by extension I would think maple) are pretty useless if it comes to mushroom foraging. I might be wrong, but it is definitely the case for me here in Scotland.

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Today's new find: turkey's tail mushroom. No good for eating due to texture, unless dried and powdered. I made tea from it.

There are studies showing its anti-cancerogenic properties, as described e.g. here from 10:25.

[Western Red Cedar]

I grabbed another backpack full of apples on a bike ride last week. I opted to dry them all as we've had a lot of peaches and plums from my parent's garden to eat fresh. I made a large batch of granola with dried apples, candied ginger and coconut this weekend. Turned out great.



I've done a bit more research on Chanterelles and the symbiotic relationships. It sounds like they do grow in Conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest. They tend to have relationships with Western Hemlocks. I'll keep searching over the next couple of weeks. We just got a couple days of strong rain so I'm hoping to have another search this weekend.

[guitarplayer]

Those goodies look amazing!

Fingers crossed for finding Chanterelles, maybe also check local blogs about the start and end of their season at where you are. I just came back from holidays in central Europe where I had been told the season for Chanterelles was finished. I did find a couple when I went foraging nevertheless.

Also, while foraging in Central Europe I found some magnificent parasol mushrooms the size bigger than my head, as well as saffron milk caps (they have a telling latin name: lactarius deliciosus).

[Western Red Cedar]

DW came with me yesterday for a Chanterelle hunt. We were initially thrilled to find a few patches after looking for a couple hours. I also discovered a massive amount of (what I thought was) cauliflower mushroom. I harvested a lot (maybe 20-30 pounds). Turns out they were Coral mushrooms/Ramarias.









We thought we found the Golden Chanterelle, but on further research we realized we made a rookie mistake and picked the Wooly Chanterelle. Not recommended for consumption by our local mycology society, though apparently some people do eat them. The Ramarias have similar advice, and can cause GI issues for some when consumed. I found a couple interesting articles, though, saying that they are widely consumed in other countries.

https://foragerchef.com/thoughts-on-ram ... mushrooms/

https://foragerchef.com/ramaria-botrytis/

I'm not planning on eating either variety and already tossed the wooly's. It was a fun experience and DW really enjoyed it a lot. She commented on how different foraging is when compared to walking or hiking. It suits her temperament well as we can move very slowly and focus intently on the forest floor. We even joked about becoming mushroom foragers as a side gig in early retirement .

We'd obviously have a lot of work to do on that front based on our results yesterday. We both had fun and learned a lot in the process. We are both much more knowledgable about Chanterelle identification now, and won't be making the same mistakes again.

[guitarplayer]

This is absolutely brilliant! I will show it to DW, she will be super interested.

Wooly chanterelles! This has to be a North American thing, never heard of them here in Europe. Those coral mushrooms look fantastic, I think I found once one 'club' and got excited thinking this was the one that feeds on dead ants and such (the name escapes me but it is thought to have super health properties).

I am definitely going to check out your links the next couple of days, and also post some of my finds. I've got a nice photo of a penny bun (porcino - this one is gonna be for @Seppia) and some others.

Yeah I know and there is a momentum now to make a side business out of it, I think my dear wife would be able to at this stage (I am still not pro enough).

It's like hunting in a supermarket for good deals, but in real life. I totally think that there is an evolutionary component to its beauty and it is therapeutic, helping to tune in and be more mindful.

[Western Red Cedar]

@GP - Have you ever eaten Ramarias/Coral mushrooms? I'm kind of on the fence of whether to try cooking with them. I met a Russian woman on the hike who was familiar with them and had eaten them. She said she got sick with one of the last meals, but had eaten them multiple times before that without issues.

I'm erring on the side of caution because I don't really know the specific variety of Ramaria. With that said, all of this has really peaked my interest in mycology. There is a ton to learn, but the PNW has a lot to offer in terms of mushroom foraging.

[guitarplayer]

Nope have not eaten them, would not be able to advise on this but yes generally erring on the side of caution is the way to go in this business.

I will definitely read stuff from the link you posted earlier to find out more about them.

[guitarplayer]

@WRC, I had skimmed through the articles, wonder what you ended up doing with the coral mushrooms? I would probably have tried a small amount to check for any side effects, and to see what it tastes like!

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Foraging log:

Hedgehog mushrooms; a bit sweet and nutty, foodies love them. Easy to distinguish as they have spikes rather than gills or pores under the cap.



Amethyst deceivers; not much food out of them but they look beautiful as a side or in salads.



All three of these are charcoal burners which shows how much the cap's colour may vary.



While on holidays, we found a few huge parasol mushrooms. Traditionally, you remove the stem (too fibrous), soak in milk for an hour, and then fry the way you fry schnitzel. Turns out tasty but very heavy, I am not sure I would do it again.





Porcino! Penny bun! One of the most sought after mushrooms.



DW found lingon berries, but just a few. Taste nice, mild flavour.



Yesterday we went for a run and found a few horse mushrooms and some boletes, I will just post this one king bolete as it is so perfectly shapes, large, and completely free of maggots.

[guitarplayer]

We found some wood blewits, made a Ramen soup. It's the season for them now in Scotland, they are ubiquitous. Very tasty.







Also found some winter chanterelles, they are nice but not much food and mostly look pretty + add to the variety.



Following @WRC, some skyline, it's nice these days, autumn.

[basuragomi]

That blewit is one neat looking mushroom.

[guitarplayer]

Right? Striking beauty. Winter chanterelles are also nice looking, that photo was rather poor.