The question of eating wild mushrooms raw can be complicated, dangerous, and, in the hands of an experienced mushroom hunter, delicious. “You can’t eat any wild mushrooms raw” is the mantra of plenty of mushroom clubs and mushroom hunters around the United States, and although I don’t like engaging in online debates too much, (I…
Mushroom Basics
A spore print can help you identify mushrooms.
Mushroom hunting basics. This section is short, but composed of helpful tidbits, Id tips, basic mushroom hunting safety info, as well as some thoughts on equipment. Make sure to take a look at How to Not Get Lyme Disease, my favorite mushroom hunting knives, and how to spore print a mushroom.
Cooking Wild Mushrooms with the Wet Saute
A while ago a video on cooking mushrooms started circulating in the online community that turned a lot of heads, at least in my world. In a nutshell, the video discussed the benefits in depth (see the video) of adding water to mushrooms before they’re sautéed. At first, I thought l “ok science guy, the…
Permethrin: How to Not Get Lyme Disease
Most of us are inside right now, but come May there will be more things to inspect for than morels. I’m talking about the growing legion of tick borne diseases: Lyme, Bebiosis, Erlichiosis, Tularemia Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and STARI the disease carried by the lone star tick, and possibly the worst of all of…
Wild Mushroom Fermentation
I fermented my first wild mushrooms about 7 or 8 years ago. Every cook has stages they go through as they learn, and fermentation, at that point in time, was my obsession. Similarly, another cook where I worked was fixated on candying things, all the things: carrots, jalapeños—you name it, if it could fit in…
My Best Tips for Successful Mushroom Hunting
I often get asked if I have specific advice for people on how to be more successful hunting wild mushrooms. The answer, is yes. But, it’s complicated, and it’s important to stress a number of different points, and share a big picture view. It also doesn’t have to be complicated, and you can just go…
How to Spore Print a Wild Mushroom
Knowing how to spore print a mushroom to help you identify it is one of the most most important things to know if you have any intention of picking mushrooms outside, cooking and eating them. It’s also one of the easiest science projects I’ve ever done, and even the word “project” is a bit of…
The Best Mushroom Knives
Like a lot of chefs, since the day I walked into a kitchen, I had a passion for knives. Theyre’s a lot to be attracted to: they’re shiny, expensive, and some are about the closest you’ll get to being able to lug a sword around and not look like a psychopath. When I started hunting…
How to Dry or Dehydrate Wild Mushrooms
Nature’s bounty can come in giant waves and intense fruitings throughout the year. If you’re a wild mushroom hunter, you’ll quickly realize you need a plan to figure out what you’re going to do with all of your free food. One of the easiest ways of preserving food, especially mushrooms, is drying / dehydrating them….