That_Guy

A friend of mine thought this would be funny, so she went and had this made for me lol. I luv it! 🤣

Hi everyone, today I harvested what look like honey mushrooms, I am 95% sure, but need some confirmations. Key identifiers are 1. presence of distinctive veil. 2. tough fibrous stalk. 3. presence of small dark hairs on the cap. 4. growing on wood. 5. white spore dust found on caps of lower sprouting mushrooms Update: I survived, 😆... preparation method: 1. Soak in salt water overnight, in the fridge. 2. strain. 3. sauté, no butter until all the water is gone. 4. add butter, onions, bell pepper, sauté until caramelized, or to your desire. Serverd with shake and bake chicken, over mashed potatoes. The mushrooms had roughly the same texture as bisporus sautéed, but a different flavour which I can’t explain. Quite pleasant though, definitely earthy flavoured. The research I have done suggested that they would be slimy, but this method seemed to remove the slim completely, they were not slimy at all done this way. People from Poland say they are excellent inside pirogies.

It’s a little early to be seeing wood blewits here in Southern Ontario, according to my field guide. But they look very similar. They have distinctive purplish colour to the cap, with some tan/bronze tinges. Cap is quite firm, and rolled-in at the edge, stem gets bigger at the base. Gills appear to be free, but could be narrowly attached, it’s hard to see, gills are whitish/buff colour. Veil is like cobwebs, still attached in some places. Flesh is white, but slightly yellowing in some places. Smells like acorns, taste like it smells, but mild. Growing in the ground under oak trees, aspen, and birch. Waiting on spore print, will update later.

Thank you. Yes, they are everywhere right now. I think they are Russula emetica. The last one I tasted was like pepper. I don’t bother picking them, but they are really nice to look at. Today was a good day, as soon as I walked into the woods, there was 2 boletes bigger than my hand. Plus it’s always nice to have a little dirt on my shoes, it’s the only land I own.

Port Hope Ontario area. Thanks.

I was out mushroom hunting today, and came across some large chanterelles, actually the meatiest ones I have ever picked. One thing that threw me off is the lack of fruity fragrance, can anyone help me out with this one? It was growing with beech and hemlock. Update: After digging through my field guides, and doing a bit of online research, I was able to confirm that this is Cantharellus cibarius.

You’re welcome. If you plan to experiment with it in food, try to avoid the part closest to the log. The closer you get to the log, the more woody the texture. For that size mushroom, I would trim off the outer 2-4 inches to start. Cut in a crescent slicing motion, all the way around, leaving the rest on the stump. You should be able to judge by making your first cut, if you can trim any deeper into the mushroom, or if it’s too woody.

Those are called pheasant backs where I live, aka Dryad’s saddle, or Polyporus squamosu. It should have a cucumber/melon smell to it. I eat it, but not many people like it because they don’t know how to use the flavour. It goes good in salad, and it’s good marinaded. I’ve also sautéed it, and it’s not bad by itself, but like I said, it goes well in salad, both marinaded and sautéed.

That definitely looks like Lactarius Indigo, edible, but bitter if you don’t prepare it right. Russians marinade it with olive oil and spices, and serve it with vodka. Marinade in the fridge for at least overnight. They are pretty good deep fried as well.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to post some material on my experience with Chaga, and see how other people are preparing theirs. So far I have brewed tea, and I have to say, it tastes much better than I had anticipated. It has a slight bitterness, with a vanilla-like flavour. I drink my coffee black, so I like the slight bitter taste, but adding some honey eliminates that slight acrid taste. Some say to steep the grounds in hot water for 5 mins, but I have always boiled the grounds on high for at least 1 hour, to get more constituents out. The longer you boil, the more bitter the brew. However, if it’s too strong, just dilute it with water. After boiling for an hour on high, I pour the brew through a cheese cloth. You can save the grounds in the fridge, and reuse them several times, until the water stops changing colour. How do you brew your tea? Do you have any unique recipes? Chai tea lattes? Ice cream? Can you see the 75lb hunk of chaga in the tree? Look close.

It grows on Hemlock trees where I’m from, both living and dead.

Even the most poisonous mushroom can be tasted for id purposes. Just nibble a piece on the end of your tongue, until you start to taste something, then spit it out. A lot of russula need to be tasted to get a positive id, acrid and peppery are trademarks of many russulas. They do look a lot like milkcaps because of the funnelled cap, and they may be very mature milkcaps. They don’t alway exude latex, especially when they are very mature and start to dry out. This is the closet thing I could find based on the visual profile. https://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/r151168.htm (Fiery Milkcap)

They kinda remind me of psilocybe cubansis when they come up, but I know those aren’t psilocybes. My guess is they will have gills, but that’s just a guess, because frankly, I’ve never seen those before. I have a book on mushrooms thicker than the Holy Bible, and I reference it often, that one doesn’t appear in it, at least in button stage.

Looks like white Matsutake (Tricholoma magnivelare). I’m hoping to find these this season, no luck today.

I’m very mush looking forward seeing those mature 😜.