Going to post up all my foraging finds and n this spot. Went out a couple days ago and found some chicken off the woods, lobster mushrooms and some saffron milk caps. Proper score
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Awesome! I’m too afraid to forage for mushrooms because I don’t know enough about them. But I love the idea.
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Same here , not sure what to look for
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That’s awesome @GreenHighland
I would love to try some chicken of the woods. I’m sure they are around here. I know what morels look like, but don’t really care for their taste.
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On a slightly related note I got some truffle fries the other day. When I reheated the leftovers in the oven the day after the house was filled with this delicious dank stinky goodness.
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Outta likes.
Wonderful thread! I wonder if other wild edibles will show up?
When I lived rurally, I foraged quite a bit using Ewell Gibbons classic. Some things were better than others, but all were crazy fresh (like when you have a garden that’s in).
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I like foraging for fiddleheads in early spring but I didn’t do it this year. Mushrooms, too scary though.
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I started foraging about 15 years ago. I’ve been a professional chef for 25 years and working with wild foraged ingredients has helped to recognize certain mushroom, loads of reading and most importantly taking spore prints and finding and examine 1000’s of mushrooms.I stay away from some varieties because they have too many look alikes, like the white daperling, it grows all over my yard but it looks very similar to the destroying angel which will kill you. They aren’t supposed to grow in my area but I still don’t eat it’s look alike, same goes with any toxic mushroom, I never hunt for their look alikes. loads are completey safe Once you understand what you’re looking for. You follow certain checklists and criteria and that eliminates certain species. But I totally understand why people are cautious and you should be. Once you understand the mushrooms a little more it becomes a lot easier to identify. Chanterelles, morels, chicken of the woods, hen of the woods,oysters , bolettes, lions mane and puffballs all have very distinct traits once you know what you’re looking for and are considered some of the safest to hunt. They are also all the choice gourmet varieties as well.
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That’s my understanding, that spore prints are the most secure way to identify mushrooms. A little time consuming, but far better to be safe than sorry (particularly in a dead way).
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Would love to find wild asparagus, never have. That books looks really cool. I find lots of wild leeks, fiddle heads, lambs quarters, wild raspberries, wild strawberries, apples, pears and wild grapes in the forest about a ten minute walk through the forest. I live in forest conservation area at an elevated altitude and it’s pretty lush and bountiful. Pictures below are of wild leeks from the spring,wood blewits from last fall, sweet tooth hedgehogs from last week and a type of coral mushroom from last fall, it’s a type of lions mane,all are edible, I don’t eat the wood blewits because they have a look alike than can get ya, even though I take a spore print and in 100 percent confident on my blewit ID I still don’t eat them, the others, I eat them all the time. .
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Love cooking with truffles. Love the smell
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I just made this with the chickens I found and it was crazy good https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XDrsyintClk
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He wrote several ‘stalking’ books, beginning in 1962 with wild asparagus. Excellent books, at least for the time.
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Looks delicious. I have always heard great things about chicken of the woods. I don’t believe I ever had it.
I really should educate myself on mushroom identification. Can you suggest a book or website for researching what is available in my area?
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Where do you live? The reason I ask is because yiu can take a more focused approach to mushrooms of your area by using books that are focused on specific areas.
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I use this one a lot but they have one for pacific north west etc as well: I use multiple books and have a couple apps as well. https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Northeastern-United-States-Eastern/dp/1604696346
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I don’t know how well it works or how accurate it is so if you don’t die you can thank me. If you do die then you can’t complain. Win win 
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You could always ask this lady her opinion
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Haha, I have a couple apps that I use but I learned from a teacher first hand and bring my field guides for figuring out things. These apps are great for leading you in The right direction but I would never solely rely on it.
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Anyone could create an app like that. If the app got it wrong and someone died would the app creator be held accountable for the death??
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