In Michigan morels are a huge thing. They grow in the spring. I just found out about 4yrs ago about a fall mushroom called Hen of the Woods. It's pretty common, pretty easy to identify and can get pretty big. We are lucky enough to have one that grows in part of our yard every fall for the last 4 yrs! We pick it and fry it up! We also go "hunting" for more in the woods. Obviously, you need to be educated on mushrooms, preferably first hand by someone who knows what they are doing. For us, this knowledge has been passed down thru generations. I'm just curious, across the USA, is this "normal"? How many of you hunt for mushrooms while they are in season in your area?
It's so funny - I was just thinking about it this morning. I'm so excited that this mushroom popped up in our yard again this year and I can't wait til this weekend to pick it and cook it up! And then I was thinking how weird that would seem to some people that I'm eating this fungus growing out in my back yard by this old tree!!!!LOL "Normal" is just whatever you're used to huh?
Candice M. - Funny! Your parents probably just told you that so you wouldn't touch them!!!!
Riley - that's horrible!!!! It's nothing like here. I've been taking my kids out since before they were 2 yrs old and often by myself. I've even had strangers give me a few morals for the kids on days we didn't find any. There's nothing violent about it here,....that's sad :(
Yes - I love that it's a family excursion. It give us a reason to go for a long hike in the woods! If we find some, that's just icing on the cake!
Momof2girlygirls - some of them ARE poisonous! That's why you have to learn from someone. Sometimes you can't even trust a field guide book for sure. Different edible mushrooms grow in the wild in different places and at different times of the year. Here in MI we have some edibles in the spring and in the fall. I'm only aware of some of them. I have friends that eat many more different kinds.
B - you should try to find someone in your area that knows about mushrooms. Here - puffballs are edibles and yours sound huge!!! Even if you don't want them, someone educated in your area might. Sorry about the person who landed in the hospital, but they were no expert - most "caps" are poisonous. I'm a novice and know that........
I LOVE fungi!!
I have to admit though...the only time I considered gathering them from the wild was when divorcing my now ex...
he LOVED shrooms too...
and the kids did NOT...
But I thought better of it...
LOL
michele/cat
I did in college! Shout out to all the magic mushroom hunters in Bryan/College Station. Gig Em Aggies.
I'd love to be able to hunt mushrooms. But I don't know enough about mushrooms to take the chance on possibly getting a poisonous one and think it is edible.
So I hunt mushrooms in the grocery store.
How fortunate you are to know the difference.
Good luck to you and yours.
It has been passed down through the generations in our family as well.
I cant wait for spring! We start at my great uncles in southern Illinois then two weeks later they are at my uncles house then two weeks after that we get to hunt for them.
Its so nice because we make it a family affair and we get to see each other each time. We save up for the trips all year so when we get that phone call "we found one!" we are ready to go :)
What's even better is knowing it only cost the gas money when we travel or free when they are in our back yard compaired to what people pay for them market price!
In our area, it's pretty huge. So much so that many of the pros become quite violent (as in it's not safe in some areas). Big money. 10's of thousands on the line from certain plots, and 6 figures in some ranges. I avoid the forests when the season's hot / it's a good idea to go with a guide if you want to go as a family, because they'll take you to where people aren't shooting each other or disabling cars 50mi from help.
Same token a lot of psychedelic mushrooms grow round about. Blue ringers mostly. Of course, there is a near identical mushroom that is *only* missing the little blue gill ring that's quite lethal. Because we're so damp, that's *very* common... both edible and psychedelic mushrooms have their deadly counterpart in the region.
LOL... PERSONALLY, I'd rather buy blocks and spores or mycelium and grow shitakes/ chantrelles/ etc in my basement or closet.
I was always told they were poisonous but man if they aren’t id love to eat them up...I love fungus!!!!
Yep we do every spring for the morels.
I live in So Cal. While I absolutely LOVE mushrooms, I have never heard of hunting them. I guess we don't do that here! LOL
When I lived in the Pacific NW, both Portland and Seattle, I knew many families that hunted mushrooms. I joined them only once, as I thought it took too long to find the coveted fungi.
Obviously, not a common thing at all in Phoenix, nor in SoCAL, unless you drove a distance.
It's prettyh common in an area of colorado where I used to live, with more mountains/forests. Now I live southeast of the Denver Metro area. Not common here to my knowledge.
We have had tons of rain lately and a huge mushroom crop in backyards. But the hospitals have had big news conferences this week and are warning folks not to pick backyard mushrooms. Four local people have picked backyard mushrooms and nearly died of liver failure because they mistook what they thought were safe varieties and instead ate deadly ones. In the case of two of these people, both would have died if not for the doctors getting permission to use an experimental, non-approved drug on them. Yes, there is no good, commonly available drug to save you -- the doctors would have to know about this experimental drug and then get permission to use it on you. Here's a link to a story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/two-mor...
The advice coming out of hospitals here has been to avoid picking mushroooms even if you think you know what you're picking. TV reports said all these folks were sure they were eating safe ones. Since making a mistake can cost you your liver in a matter of days, the word here is "Only buy mushrooms."
I know this won't have any effect on folks who've been mushrooming all their lives but for anyone taking it up just now, I would say, read about these cases. These folks really did think they knew what they were doing.
lol! I am also from CA and I have never heard of doing that. It seems very odd to me. I have always heard that mushrooms grow where dogs pee and that you should NEVER touch one because of that.
Nope...no mushroom huntin' going on in my neck of the woods.(which is actually suburbia) The only tradition passed down down in my family is a darn chocolate chip cookie recipe..not as exciting and thrilling as your shroom hunt!
Happy hunting! I love the mental pic I have of your clan out hunting for shrooms. I picture you all with with walking sticks and wearing rugged attire....and an occasional Smurf lurking out of site.
Good luck and best wishes at another fun season of shroom hunting!
When I was a child I would hunt mushrooms with my grandfather. It's a lovely memory. We might start doing it again. When I was a teenager my older brother's friends would come out to our farm to hunt magic mushies.
I think this is the coolest thing! What a unique family tradition to pass down to your kids.
I don't know enough about them to do it. But I do keep a veggie garden in the summer and herbs in the kitchen all year.Nice, but not quite as cool!
:)
I used to when we lived in a place with mushrooms. Yum. We called it Chicken of the Woods. That one is quite tasty. I've never lived somewhere with morels. I've heard they are good. I love hunting and gathering my own food...and preserving it. So satisfying!
Nope never heard of it, but im a total foodie when it comes to fruits/veggies.....meat-free stuff. I wouldnt hesitate to hunt some mushrooms given the opportunity.
My husband would probably be good at it.........he used to hunt for ":special" mushrooms in his teenage years.
I love mushrooms, and they are popping up all over my yard right now - huge massive puffballs that can get between softball and soccer ball sized.
But I have no faith in my ability to identify safe mushrooms to pick and eat from the wild.
I get all kinds in the grocery store!
I just read an article about someone around here who landed in the hospital after eating some Death Cap mushrooms. They were in the hospital a long time but survived, but many don't (it causes liver/kidney failure).
Even experts guess wrong sometimes.
It's just not something I'm willing to gamble with.
