Any good (mushroom) finds lately?

[pushbutton]

In all seriousness ...county plat map book. Don't know if they are "onlinable" yet. Other than that you have to ask your self if certain scenes in Deliverance make you uncomfortable........well, other than Burt's mustache.

[Stick in Mud]

Yeah, funny you say that. Some of the places around there have that banjo ring to 'em.

[Portlis]

So, I'm fascinated by you guys and your shrooms. I love all these pictures and stories of shroomin', it looks fun.

I'm an agate hunter sort of guy, so I do have the "go out and wander around looking for stuff" gene in me, and I think I'd enjoy this hobby too. Plus, the wife and I like eating mushrooms, so it makes sense lol. I'm outside a lot fishing, grouse hunting, looking for agates and playing disc golf, so I'm often around what would likely be good shroom areas too.

I've literally never eaten a wild mushroom though. Never looked for them either. Any general tips on how a rookie might get started? Are there any good field guides that you guys rely on to identify your finds? There's a ton of various books out there, but maybe you guys would recommend one over another?

Obviously once you've done it long enough I'm sure you just know, but I'd definitely need something to get me started. Just looking at the pictures posted here, I'm sure I could identify some of the easier ones (morels, chickens, puffballs) but I wouldn't want to take any risks of course.

Thanks!

[erikwells]

I found this with my boys this weekend, chicken of the woods right? Ant suggestions on how to prepare? Also will it keep for a week in the fridge so I can share some with my boys next weekend. Attached is a pic sorry it is of the underside the top was much more orange and yellow. Thanks.

[pikestabber]

Yes, it looks like COTW, but it is WAY, WAY, WAY over-the-hill, I'm afraid. A fresh specimen should be ringing wet with moisture, and the above seems to be very discolored and dried out. Is it leathery/tough? If it were me, I would toss it.

In my opinion, even a prime 'shroom should be eaten or processed within a day or so, I find, or they start to decline quickly in the fridge (drying out, primarily).

[pikestabber]

Any general tips on how a rookie might get started? Are there any good field guides that you guys rely on to identify your finds? There's a ton of various books out there, but maybe you guys would recommend one over another?

Welcome to your new addiction, Portlis. "100 Edible Mushrooms" by Michael Kuo is a commonly referenced and recommended book, and I am sure others will chime in, too. I also recommend going here and snooping around. Also, reading back through this forum will give you lots of good advice and motivation. Good luck!

[erikwells]

Thanks for the info pikestabber. I'll get that book so I'm ready when spring comes to get out and enjoy more of what mother nature provides in the woods. I'm frankly pretty pleased I found a chicken of the woods past its prime or not because I now know I can find them. As Tanner from the bad news bears once said "You just wait until next year". Thanks again, Erik.

[pikestabber]

Thanks for the info pikestabber. I'll get that book so I'm ready when spring comes to get out and enjoy more of what mother nature provides in the woods. I'm frankly pretty pleased I found a chicken of the woods past its prime or not because I now know I can find them. As Tanner from the bad news bears once said "You just wait until next year". Thanks again, Erik.

That's a great way to look at it. You already know a place they grow... This year I had multiple picks off the same tree, so keep that in mind,too, and don't be afraid to check it often if it's convenient to do so.

[Stick in Mud]

I'll second the recommendation to pick up Michael Kuo's "100 Edible Mushrooms." It's more than enough to get you started, and his writing style is pretty engaging for a book about mushrooms.

I'd also recommend putzing around on youtube. There are lots of helpful videos out there.

You might even have some good resources in your local bookstores. The local Barnes and Noble (I live near St Cloud) has six or seven books on identifying mushrooms--everything from huge tomes to small field guides.

[pushbutton]

Portis, for a more practical field guide would also recommend Kuo's book. He is not as technical, really stresses safety, and is kind of geared more for the beginner.. If you enjoy a little more scientific approach, check out Mushrooms Demystified. Also as Pikestabber mentioned, the mn mushroon society is a nice way to learn from others and make yourself feel a lot more comfortable in the beginning stages of consumption. We all have been there .....it is a little nerve racking at first.

My best advice, is just to concentrate on a dozen or so "easy" ones. Get to know them as well as you can with books and pictures. Learn the main identifying characteristics like wether they have stalks, pores, gills, false gills, whether they grow on earth or wood, and if so what type of wood. Likewise, do the same with any possible poisonous "look alikes." It is not that difficult, but some time will have to be put in. Once you get comfortable with these "beginner" shrooms you can get further into it like Matt or Stick. If not, there will still be plenty out there for entertainment and filling the belly, and got to say, even the less desirable tasting ones, will taste better than those rocks your always looking for

Congrats to you as well Erik, have a feeling we will be seeing you around here a lot next year.....

[Stick in Mud]

Found this little bugger this morning on a quick tromp through the woods....can't give up quite yet! It got a bit dirty in the bag, and it was frozen solid when I plucked it, but I just fried some up and tossed it over some tortellini...it tasted magnificent.

[Stick in Mud]

Great advice, PB. I think that's how pretty much everyone gets started....walking around, identifying the "easy" ones, keeping an eye out for the dangerous ones, and adding to your "life list" (hey, the birders have them, why can't we?) slowly as you gain more and more experience.

It really is an awesome hobby. Not only is it good exercise, but it is also intellectually challenging, good to do with kids, and my favorite part is it turns everything from a drive home to a walk in the park to a round of disc golf into a treasure hunt.

[pushbutton]

Nice find!..... but tonight you are fatherless in my mind

[wildsmallie]

Found a few of these on Saturday, North Metro area. Someone thought they were blewits, any opinions?

[pushbutton]

Could be, would need to see the underside a little better. Smell and feel is also helpful to positively identify that one, as well as to rule out its possible nasty look alike. I think i found some about a week ago, but the underside did not show enough color for me and was too lazy for a spore print.....actually almost always too lazy for a spore print

[Stick in Mud]

For whatever reason, photos don't quite do justice to the colors of mushrooms (at least on my cell phone). If it's got purplish tints, you're in the right area. Old ones fade out, though, so color ain't the way to go for these. I can't see any ring-like stuff on the stem, so that's good, but that's not enough to be safe. Corts usually have a leftover ring on the stem (but they don't always).

Despite what PB says (yeah, I said it ), a spore print is pretty easy....that's the way to go with this one to make sure you avoid anything unpleasant. Be careful because some of the corts can give you more than the runs.

Blewits are one of those that I make 100% sure I know what I'm getting. I'll settle for 99% if there are no really dangerous look-alikes (apart from gastric upset...which I've never had (yet)), but there are look-alikes that'll put you in the hospital with this one. Plus, the corts are cold-weather ones, so they'll be out this time of year.

[pushbutton]

Ok, you got me....a spore print is not that hard But still don't like to do them as it personally pretty much puts the mushroom in a category of "don't bother with" If I can't find one of the easier ones, guess I will just go hungry

[MnCatGuy]

I found 3 different fall shrooms a few days ago. They were all way past their prime so I'm having a difficult time identifying them for next season. I've done a fair amount of spring shroomin' over the past few years but this is my first fall doing it. Can anyone give me an idea as to what I found so I can do some more research?

[MnCatGuy]

I knew what this one was, though.

[JP Z]

The first shrooms look like elm oysters I think was what we decided. The middle looks like a inedible like a polypore and the last I'm not sure.

[NoWiser]

I agree, the first looks like it could be elm oysters. Speaking of which, does anyone here pick them regularly? I ate a few last year and thought they were delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to look for them or any other fall shrooms this year. I did find a couple while bowhunting last weekend but they were too far gone to make it worth climbing the tree for.

[pushbutton]

The gills on it look decurrent and do not think it is an elm oyster. Will post a pic of one later to show you what i mean, or maybe when Stick gets off the lake he can scour his books and shed some more light. Best guess is some oyster look alike, but just a guess. Not aware of any really bad ones though.

Nowiser, I will eat them, ...kind of like throwing a couple rockies in a pile of gills, no one will really be able to tell the difference unless you were the one that threw it in. The last few trips out Mrs Pushbutton wanted to keep a bunch, and ate some and gave some away.... but they do have a little different smell, flavor, texture.

[jerkin'm]

Picked a few elm oysters up at the cabin last weekend to try. Also found some nice fresh shaggies....Long story short, put them in the beer fridge in the garage at the cabin...beer fridge too cold for mushroom storage and they were frozen solid when I went to grab them...oops... PB, the first thing I noticed when I smelled them was they didn't smell like mushrooms, more like tree bark or something...

[pushbutton]

Mental note...no beer fridge Yeah, Jerky is right about the smell, i should have clarified a little better, but was in a hurry on the cell phone. The smell is downright earthy, and while I said I will eat them, do not often go out of my way to pick them because of it, freaks me out a little, suppose kind of like eating a rocky Would be interesting to see someones reaction if they have never smelled a real oyster, probably would not seem as funky. Mrs. Pushbutton, new to the gig, without any pre conceived hang ups, thought they were great..... a lot like a rocky taken from a nice clean cool lake Actually, kind of prefer the little firmer/dryer texture compared to the "real" oysters, which are so porous and soak up so much water after cleaning them.

As mentioned is not a true oyster mushroom and given a different spiffy latin term, and part of which discerns it from one is, also as previously mentioned, that the gills, to my knowledge anyway, do not go into the stem like a true oyster. Scan a little closer on the 2nd pic and you should see the difference with the one above. Looking at the other one again, the gills seem pretty large, possibly even false.The ones I am most familiar with, and comfortable with an ID grow on Box Elders, and pretty sure I have only seen them grow only out of old knots of them, wether still alive or fallen.

[jerkin'm]

All the ones we found were strictly on box elder wounds as well, and there were tons of them around...similar to the tree volvariella, another one I have been leery to try that seems to be everywhere at times..No beer fridge??? You just mean for the shrooms right????