Shroomin' better late then never

Post by **redzed** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 01:38

Over the summer we have not had any rain with any consequence for over 11 weeks. Last week the rain finally came so today it was time to do some foraging. We were rewarded with 16lbs of chanterelles (white and Pacific varieties), and one small cauliflower mushroom. Last year by this time we had picked buckets but it's good that the mushrooms are finally here!

Post by **Butterbean** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:44

That quite the bounty of shrooms. Am envious. We've had a good bit of rain this year but the most abundant shroom we have is the one that will make you see funky stuff.

Croc · Post by **Croc** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 03:37

what is legal situation with picking culinary mushrooms in usa? I just discovered that in victoria/australia it is illegal to pick mushrooms in forest unless it is private land.
so much for being the "lucky country" quite pissed off about this law.....

Post by **redzed** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 06:59

Croc, I have no idea what the regulations are, if any in the U.S. Here in Canada the regulations vary from province to province. Where I live in British Columbia you can collect mushrooms on crown land and there are no limits or protected species as in many European countries. For example, the cauliflower mushroom in my pic above is protected in Poland and a number of other countries. Mushroom collecting is prohibited in all National Parks in Canada and in BC in all Provincial Parks, while allowed in some other provinces. If you are interested in mushrooms, find a local mycological club and they will be happy to introduce you to this fascinating area.

ursula · Post by **ursula** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 07:12

Hi Croc,
My attitude to these ridiculous rules is that it is only illegal if you get caught. I take no notice of nanny state rules. They are made to be ignored. Go for it!
Ursula

markjass · Post by **markjass** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 12:04

Wow. I have never seen anything like the cauliflower mushroom. How big does it grow?

While waiting for a batch of bacon to smoke I have time to sit down and chew some fat. I am not an expert. So take my musings with a pig pinch of garlic powder or fairy dust.

A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. By picking a mushroom you are not going to kill the fungus. However, you are going to reduce the potential size of the next generation of the fungus. This is because by picking the fruit you will limit the amount of spores released into the environment. Fungi use the strategy of producing thousands if not millions of spores in to the environment. The more spores that are released the greater the chance of survival of the next generation. So unless something is endangered picking a few mushrooms is not an issue.

I suppose that as long as fewer mushrooms are picked than are available the species will survive (not taking into account the loss of habitat). I do not know if there are any animals or plants or other life forms (excluding humans) that are dependent on a specific fungi for their survival or reproduction. If that is so the collection of that type of mushroom should be controlled; somehow I have a feeling that this is not very likely. By removing the fruit you may diminish the potential of people enjoyment of an environment by depriving them of the chance of seeing a mushroom. Linked to this would be the potential of collateral-damage caused to the innocent endangered orchid that the forager will maliciously trample on in their lust for the mushroom.

Oh yes. If you are not sure about your identification of mushrooms and you pick a death cap mushroom and die you will have inadvertently saved other mushrooms from the pain of a hot garlic, butter bathed, fried death. You will also have killed the chance of a meaningful relationship occurring between the mushroom and a lonely rasher of bacon or a slice of toast.

Post by **Bob K** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 14:31

How do you preserve those Chris?

Post by **redzed** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 07:01

markjass wrote:Wow. I have never seen anything like the cauliflower mushroom. How big does it grow?

Last year the biggest cauliflower that I picked was six pounds. In total we harvested eight of these (sparassis crispa).

markjass wrote:A mushroom is the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. By picking a mushroom you are not going to kill the fungus. However, you are going to reduce the potential size of the next generation of the fungus. This is because by picking the fruit you will limit the amount of spores released into the environment. Fungi use the strategy of producing thousands if not millions of spores in to the environment. The more spores that are released the greater the chance of survival of the next generation. So unless something is endangered picking a few mushrooms is not an issue.

That has only a small semblance of fact. Picking a mushroom is no different than picking an apple off a tree. And when we collect mushrooms we use buckets with hundreds of holes drilled in them. That way we spread the spores as we wander around in the forests.

markjass wrote:I suppose that as long as fewer mushrooms are picked than are available the species will survive (not taking into account the loss of habitat).

Yes, the biggest dangers to mushrooms here are logging operations and not mushroom hunters.

markjass wrote: I do not know if there are any animals or plants or other life forms (excluding humans) that are dependent on a specific fungi for their survival or reproduction.

Mushrooms are an essential and very active part of the ecosystem. They play a key role in the decomposition and renewal of forests. There are numerous trees that would not survive without them. Chanterelles are one such mushroom having a mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of trees. The sparassis crispa on the other hand, is a parasite.

markjass wrote:By removing the fruit you may diminish the potential of people enjoyment of an environment by depriving them of the chance of seeing a mushroom.

That is funny Mark. We don't go for mushrooms along paved paths in public parks. We go where no man goeth!

Bob K wrote:How do you preserve those Chris?

Chanterelles do not dry very well so we dry saute them vac pac and freeze.

markjass · Post by **markjass** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 07:15

Thanks for the picture. The mushroom is absolutely stunning.

I wrote the whole thing tongue in cheek. We had a local case where someone got into trouble for picking mushrooms. I thought it was outrageous. It ended up going nowhere.

There are numerous tragic cases where people die after eating what they think are safe mushrooms.

Post by **redzed** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 00:36

Spent the whole day today in a wet and rainy forest. Rewarded with 32lbs of fungi. Pretty dirty, normally we clean them well before throwing in the basket, but the rain interfered. Now the whole evening will be taken up with cleaning and processing. No rest for the wicked!