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FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Meadow Mushroom

Meadow Mushrooms

Agaricus Campestris, also known as the meadow mushroom.

In my experience, this isn’t a mushroom that you will really hunt for, I tend to just see them around randomnly. They start to fruit in the early Summer, and like open places like fields, yards, and forest edges. When you do find some though you’re likely to find a bunch. After you find a place where they grow you can come back days after you picked the first ones, and probably find some more. The next year around the same time too, you can be pretty sure of them coming up again around the same area.

Cooking

Cooking wise, these are a great, all around mushroom. They’re closely related to the button mushrooms in the supermarket and taste similar, but I’d say more mushroomy.

If you want to preserve them, you have a couple options. These can be dried, sauteed in butter and frozen, or pickled in a recipe for conserve like I posted here. Making powder from them to make broth and seasonings is also a good choice if they had bug damage, which is common with these. Just make sure that you don’t freeze them raw, aside from taking up too much fridge space, mushrooms get damaged by the freezer if they’re not cooked first. Even after cooking freezing and then thawing, they’re still not the same as if they were fresh.

Meadow Mushrooms

Note the slightly pink gills which will turn brown with age, and lack of yellow staining on cut areas.

 

 

Identification and Look a Likes 

As far as look a likes,  there are some. There is one in particular that is bad, not deadly, just bad. They’re, rare, but they also have pink gills too which can be confusing, but I’ve never seen them in Minnesota where I pick. Here’s some general information and tips that should help you avoid bad guys, the most important things to notice are their smell and if they discolor when cut:

  • Cut the stem of the mushroom, then wait 15 minutes.  if the cut stains yellow, throw it out!
  • Put the underside of the mushrooms cap close to your nose and smell it deeply. Is it mushroomy and good smelling? Great. Does it smell like embalming fluid? Bad.
  • There will be a ring right around the middle of the stem.
  • Pay close attention to the size of the mushrooms, if there are some that are young and older growing together, make note of their sizes throughout their life span. These mushrooms are usually large, like portobellos from your grocery store when mature, when small, they will be about the size of a cultivated white button.
Agaricus Campestris Meadow Mushroom Minnesota

Older mushroom, whose gills are beginning to turn brown. Note the thick stem, pink gills, and lack of a sack around the base.

 

Recipes

Recipes where these could be used and or substituted

 

  • Wild Mushrooms With Garlic And Parsley
  • Wild Mushrooms With Breadcrumbs, Garlic, And Chili
  • Hedgehog Mushroom Conserve
  • Hedgehog Mushroom Duxelles
  • Bison-Black Barley Stew, With Wild Mushrooms

 

Related

Previous Post: « Boyd’s 100 Dollar Morel Soup
Next Post: The Bigfoot Morel/Morchella Crassipes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lwhy

    October 28, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts about agaricus campestris.
    Regards

    Reply
  2. Dina Tsirelson

    October 14, 2019 at 10:14 am

    It would be really helpful if you mentioned the bad lookalike species, so I could look them up and read more about them to be more confident of my ID. Eg. Which mushroom does the yellow stain rule out? Which smells like embalming fluid?

    Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
James Beard Award ‘22
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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