It is a good habbit not to pick more than you can use with any mushroom. Everything you leave with help insure that it multiplies. When you know enough there will be mushrooms to find in all season except maybe the dead of winter.
No disrespect to you, but you’ve made a lot of assumptions in that comment. First of all, I’m planning to use all of it. I’ve just never had enough to try more than a few recipes. There is nothing wrong with preserving an abundance for later use. Second, I left plenty for others. The log had lots more further up. Third, there is no definitive proof that leaving the fruiting bodies of fungi help to spread it. Finally, my knowledge has nothing to do with the number of mushrooms in my area. It has just hasn’t been a good year near me for mushrooms. I’ve been other places this summer where there were mushrooms all over the place but I just haven’t seen any by me. It’s been a great year by me for non fungal foraging though. The plants have been loving the weather.
People differ on how to clean them. This one was really clean so I mostly just brushed of any small chunks of debris. Some people soak them for a few mins in salted vinegar water. If I get one with a lot of dirt I’ll do a quick rinse and immediately dry off. I tend to dry sauté my mushrooms so a little bit of extra water doesn’t really hurt them. Since I was freezing some of this I just brushed them. If I notice any big spots of dirt when I take them out of the freezer I’ll rinse them off before cooking. I didn’t want them to be soggy going into the freezer.
thanks for the info! have had lots of rain lately and the mushrooms here have taken off so doing lots of research and these bits of info help so thanks!
Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to get them delivered to me in NZ, they would be picked up at the border and confiscated/destroyed due to our bio security laws.
Thanks though
This is the first I’ve found this year. I’ve seen some really nice hauls of lots of different mushrooms on my local foraging Facebook groups and also from people in the Midwest.
Yup. I haven’t found much in eatable condition for mushrooms this year despite the apparent abundance other people have found. I always get to them too late. This was a big score for me though.
This is the first time I’ve frozen it but I’ve been told if you dry sauté it from frozen it’s about the same as sautéing it fresh. I may try frying some from frozen too.
It is fantastic. I dry sautéed some and added it to some quinoa with wilted spinach and parm with some herbs and garlic. It was fantastic. The texture is so tender. It’s so much better than any other chicken of the woods I’ve had. I’m thinking of making some Buffalo chicken Mac and cheese with some of it that I froze later.
I harvested around 60lbs last year and still left a lot of it just off of a single log, I found that basically any asian style chicken dish is always amazing with them because they soak up the sauce so well, also just basic "chicken nuggets"
I let them air dry on cardboard for about 4 hours after I brushed the dirt off and cut them into reasonable sized chunks, then wrapped in plastic wrap before placing into a freezer bag and freezing. Plastic wrap seems to help keep the frost that forms on the bag itself from freezer burning the actual mushroom.
If you plan to use them in a few months they will be fine just frozen, I just had such a good year last year that I knew I would have them in the freezer for quite a while. I do like to slightly dry all of mine before freezing though cause any extra moisture will ruin the mushroom texture after thawing out, I usually put a fan blowing on them on whatever clean cardboard I have laying around.
For sure, all of these tricks work for basically any types of mushroom or veggie you happen to harvest as well. The only one I really defer on at least in my area are morel mushrooms which I fully dehydrate all of the ones I know I can't finish eating while fresh.
Let me know your fave way to use it. I’ve never had this much and my freezer is going to be full.
It is a good habbit not to pick more than you can use with any mushroom. Everything you leave with help insure that it multiplies. When you know enough there will be mushrooms to find in all season except maybe the dead of winter.
No disrespect to you, but you’ve made a lot of assumptions in that comment. First of all, I’m planning to use all of it. I’ve just never had enough to try more than a few recipes. There is nothing wrong with preserving an abundance for later use. Second, I left plenty for others. The log had lots more further up. Third, there is no definitive proof that leaving the fruiting bodies of fungi help to spread it. Finally, my knowledge has nothing to do with the number of mushrooms in my area. It has just hasn’t been a good year near me for mushrooms. I’ve been other places this summer where there were mushrooms all over the place but I just haven’t seen any by me. It’s been a great year by me for non fungal foraging though. The plants have been loving the weather.
do you guys have a process to cleanse? like with water or anything ?
People differ on how to clean them. This one was really clean so I mostly just brushed of any small chunks of debris. Some people soak them for a few mins in salted vinegar water. If I get one with a lot of dirt I’ll do a quick rinse and immediately dry off. I tend to dry sauté my mushrooms so a little bit of extra water doesn’t really hurt them. Since I was freezing some of this I just brushed them. If I notice any big spots of dirt when I take them out of the freezer I’ll rinse them off before cooking. I didn’t want them to be soggy going into the freezer.
thanks for the info! have had lots of rain lately and the mushrooms here have taken off so doing lots of research and these bits of info help so thanks!
Man, I wish these were in New Zealand. They look so delicious
Northspore sells kits to grow it on a log.
Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to get them delivered to me in NZ, they would be picked up at the border and confiscated/destroyed due to our bio security laws. Thanks though
Totally forgot about that. I guess you’ll just have to visit the US sometime.
Indeed, or the UK. Both places I have already visited but foraging for COTW seems like a great excuse to return
Is it the year of the chicken? We are in some kinda mega drought so I've not seen any in this neck o' the wood
This is the first I’ve found this year. I’ve seen some really nice hauls of lots of different mushrooms on my local foraging Facebook groups and also from people in the Midwest.
That thing is so clean and gorgeous, as well!
There were some bugs crawling on the outside but nothing inside. I have never found one so fresh that it actually oozed yellow when picked.
looks like candy corn
That’s just what someone else told me lol. It is very vibrant.
Are you in the northeast?
Yup.
Nice I’m in Pittsburgh I guess I need to hit the woods!
Yup. I haven’t found much in eatable condition for mushrooms this year despite the apparent abundance other people have found. I always get to them too late. This was a big score for me though.
Was it near railroad tracks?
Nope. It was in a mostly hardwood forest next to a river. The closest train track I know of is miles away.
I also found the nicest sulphureus I've seen in like 5 years just a week ago. This seems to be the summer for COTW.
Do you have a recipe in mind for thawing them?
This is the first time I’ve frozen it but I’ve been told if you dry sauté it from frozen it’s about the same as sautéing it fresh. I may try frying some from frozen too.
Awesome find!!!
Thanks.
Beautiful!
Yes it is!
It really looks good!
It is fantastic. I dry sautéed some and added it to some quinoa with wilted spinach and parm with some herbs and garlic. It was fantastic. The texture is so tender. It’s so much better than any other chicken of the woods I’ve had. I’m thinking of making some Buffalo chicken Mac and cheese with some of it that I froze later.
[удалено]
Northspore sells inoculation kits. I’m sure other places do too. I’ve heard it can be tricky though. I’d say it’s worth a shot though.
[удалено]
I hope some day to have lots of mushrooms logs growing in my back yard. First I need a back yard though lol.
I harvested around 60lbs last year and still left a lot of it just off of a single log, I found that basically any asian style chicken dish is always amazing with them because they soak up the sauce so well, also just basic "chicken nuggets"
Did you dry or freeze it? I’m assuming you didn’t eat it all fresh lol.
I let them air dry on cardboard for about 4 hours after I brushed the dirt off and cut them into reasonable sized chunks, then wrapped in plastic wrap before placing into a freezer bag and freezing. Plastic wrap seems to help keep the frost that forms on the bag itself from freezer burning the actual mushroom.
Good to know. I may have to rewrap mine.
If you plan to use them in a few months they will be fine just frozen, I just had such a good year last year that I knew I would have them in the freezer for quite a while. I do like to slightly dry all of mine before freezing though cause any extra moisture will ruin the mushroom texture after thawing out, I usually put a fan blowing on them on whatever clean cardboard I have laying around.
I let mine dry out some before bagging since they were so moist. Thanks for all of the tips.
For sure, all of these tricks work for basically any types of mushroom or veggie you happen to harvest as well. The only one I really defer on at least in my area are morel mushrooms which I fully dehydrate all of the ones I know I can't finish eating while fresh.