Mushroom Madness

As a kid, I went “mushroom hunting” in Indiana; as an adult I am learning to “forage.” It’s the same thing.

Until last summer, I had not been mushroom hunting in close to 20 years. My neighbor reached out and told me she had been going quite a lot and asked if I wanted to join her. I was incredibly stressed at work and really did not have time to go traipsing around the mountains in the middle of the week, but I agreed to go with her. It was a pretty life changing experience.

I walked to her house and she drove the 45 minutes up to her spot. It was a beautiful day and we had an unseasonably wet summer. The mountains were lush, green, and alive.

I had only ever hunted morels in Indiana and had no idea what to look for in the Rocky Mountains. We set off into the National Forest and the scenery was truly stunning. I immediately felt my heart rate decrease and my shoulders drop. I was able to take deep breaths and stopped thinking about work.

Right away, I saw hundreds of mushrooms all around me. There were brown, red, polka-dotted, and white mushrooms everywhere that I looked. I was like a kid in a candy shop.

I started pestering my friend about what each mushroom was and whether we could pick them. She told me that she could safely identify 3-4 mushrooms, so we stuck with those. Within a few minutes, I was on my hands and knees carefully cutting mushrooms out of the soil. I filled my bag with chanterelles, Hawk’s wings, porcinis and a few blue chanterelles (which are pretty hard to find!).

Blue Chanterelles

Chanterelles

I have no idea. Do not eat this!

After a few hours in the forest foraging for mushrooms, I felt at peace and calmer. We returned home and then the real work started. I had to clean the mushrooms and figure out how to store them.

Throughout the mushroom season, my cleaning protocol evolved. My friend carefully brushes the soil off the mushrooms in the forest, whereas my husband does not. This is an important distinction once you return home to clean the mushrooms.

The best procedure for me was to fill a turkey pan with water and put the mushrooms in the water. I would brush off the dirt and debris and then spin the mushrooms in a salad spinner. This can be a very time-consuming process, depending on how many mushrooms you find!

After the mushroom were clean, I would dehydrate them. I had the dehydrator humming almost constantly throughout the late summer and early fall.

Once the mushrooms were dehydrated, my husband and I packaged them in a vacuum sealer in 2 cup quantities. Now we have fresh mushrooms for the entire winter.
 
I have since purchased a book specific to my region to help me identify the mushrooms.  I never eat a mushroom unless I am 100% positive that I know what it is. I have also signed up for a 5 day mushroom festival with guided hikes, lectures, and a staffed identification tent.

Needless to say,  I am hooked and plan to spend a lot of time hunting for mushrooms as soon as the snow melts! Stay tuned!