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Gardening

In reply to the discussion: Any mushroom foragers out there? [View all]

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
4. I have been eating wild mushrooms for about 20 years.
Sun Sep 30, 2012, 06:21 PM
Sep 2012

Odd how it happened. After my dad (who was an avid forager or Polish decent) passed away, my mom and I started to take daily walks. We kept seeing so many mushrooms and kicked ourselves in the ass for never getting the knowledge from my dad when we could. So we just got some books and started studying. We first found the chicken mushroom that is so distinctive that you don't have to worry about if you have it right. We kept studying and kept gathering and trying all kinds of mushrooms. Since my mom passed away, I have found people who also love foraging and have taught me even more.

But as to cooking and preserving, I am still a beginner. I do know things that don't tend to work. Like you, I have found that you cannot freeze them raw, and that rarely are they as good after any freezing. Many mushrooms will parboil and freeze well, at least for using in foods instead of alone. The chicken mushroom (from what the internet is telling me) does not dry. It is just too fleshy...it is a solid chuck of fungus that can run 40-50 pounds.

If I don't hear from anyone about how to freeze it, I will just keep eating it in large quantities until it is done. Too bad that you are not close to me here in PA, I would be willing to help you with what I have learned. If you really are interested and are often finding mushrooms that you don't know, get a book or two---Audubon has a classic that also tells how to cook them and how to do spore prints for identification. That was my first and still my favorite.

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