Summer Mushrooms, Anyone?

[Dark Cloud]

Anyone getting into any?

We have been finding enough chantrells for some omlets but last week we found a big haul of Black Trumpets.

They are easily my favorite mushroom!

Here is some info on them I found on the net...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps the least likely looking edible wild mushrooms, the Black Trumpet mushroom (Craterellus fallax, see photos, right and below right) and its twin species, the Horn of Plenty (C. cornucopioides, see photo, above) are exceptionally worthy of their gourmet status. Some of my favorite mushroom-hunting areas are aound the Binghamton area of upstate New York, where there are plenty of oak and beech, which are the usual mycorrhizal tree partners with these symbiotic mushrooms, and the only mushroom hunters thereabouts who don't guard the secret locations of their black trumpet spots as they would the combination to their safes are those who haven't found a good patch of 'em yet.

The reason for their popularity? Though their size is modest and their flesh thin, their flavor is outstanding—and it's matched by an aroma so delightfully fragrant that this mushroom is actually used to flavor dry, mild-tasting white wines: a few fresh or dried specimens are slipped into a freshly opened bottle which is then recorked and allowed to sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remarkable, delicious, and fun! Of course, the choice of wine is everything, but those who practice this art find the search for the best vintage for this unusual recipe to be half of the fun.

Fruiting in July, August and September in locales where snow falls each winter (later in the fall in warmer climes), these mushrooms can be difficult to locate, as their color is variable but varies only between gray, brown, and black! Sometimes they will stand out fairly well against a green-moss background, perhaps near the base of a tree, but just as often they elect to fruit amidst dead leaves and twigs, where their drab colors camouflage them very well. The best place to watch for them is in places where beech and oak trees are mixed throughout many acres of forest. Perseverance is mandatory, but it is also very nicely rewarded… eventually, for usually where there are any at all, there are usually a lot more fairly nearby. And that's a good thing, since it takes a sizeable number of individual mushrooms to make a pound fresh-weight.

Close examination will show that there are no gills or any other specialized spore-producing structures on one of these mushrooms: It is simply a cone- to trumpet-shaped layer of fungal tissue that flares on the"bell" end of the "trumpet." The edge at the flared end is typically inrolled. Occasional specimens flare only little or not at all, seeming more like tubes than trumpets. For the most part, they grow in clusters.

Based on DNA studies, some mycologists are no longer convinced that there are two distinct biological species here—but many who have studied these and the related chanterelles a lot, myself included, do. I find two distinct forms: One (which I regard as the Black Trumpet, C. fallax) is gray to black, very scaly on the inner surface, fairly fragile, and produces pinkish-tinged spore prints; the other (the Horn of Plenty, C. cornucopioides) is consistently brown, not markedly scaly, fairly elastic, and produces unpigmented white spores. Also, darker specimens of C. fallax appear almost blue on the outer spore-producing surface—a feature which often seems exaggerated by photography—and it is typically more robust, with thicker flesh near the base.

In any event, the mushroom hunter needn't fret over which is which, for both forms taste and smell fantastic! They're commonly dried and stored in airtight containers for use months or even years later

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the picts of the ones we got...

We also got some chantrells. They have a unique mild flavor and a firm texture. Great with scrambled eggs! Plus a 2 litre bottle for perspective.

Here is a link to the cooking forum for the dish I like to make with them...

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2619127/Summer_Mushrooms

[ramjam]

Not much going around the metro area yet. It's been a bit on the dry side for the last couple weeks. Had some good rain over the weekend with warm temps. The chants should be going good within a few days. The few I have found were small(1"-2" or so) and dried out. Once again the mushrooms are behind last year.