dcarch -- some years there's a lot of rain, not many shrooms. There seems to be some subtle variables that interplay. One summer in western Masachusetts was incredible for mushrooms. The weather was moderately hot and humid, with about average summer rainfall. A day or so after a good rain, if warm, sunny days followed, the mixed deciduous woods would be a cornucopia of chanterelles, russulas, and boletes. We'd bring grocery bags and baskets of them home to identify. Even in a short few day's time, insect larvae would begin destroying the flesh. We were picky and didn't want to eat or bother with suboptimal shrooms. No Internet then, but we bough many mushroom books and spoke with people. Many boletes succumbed to worms. So many red russulas all looked alike. Worms got to those quickly too. We didn't bother collecting these to eat. Hard to quickly learn and distinguish. Some are peppery, some cause intestinal upset. Mostly we foraged for simple, easy to ID, optimal and abundant mushrooms -- yellow chanterelles, black chanterelles (spotted them when I went to take a whiz on a banking. Had never seen them before, but knew what they were. Of course, I stepped aside to whiz, collecting them later. Both chanterelles have in incredible, soft, fruit-like aroma. Unlike any other shrooms. I watch people ("chef's") preparing these (TV shows, etc.). IMO they get it very wrong and have no idea.
I had better vision then (boo hoo) and could ID even a never seen in real life mushroom easily. Pattern recognition, I guess. My husband had described C. cibarius to me and later that summer while driving through woods, I asked him, while pointing towards a sprinkling of dusky yellow, "could those be chanterelles?" Indeed! I spotted a lone parasol mushroom on another day while zipping down a highway. We picked it up on the way back home. Only the caps are edible. Delicious.
I spotted my one any one Cesar's mushroom (Amanita cesarea) -- beautiful solid orange cap. I ate that solo shroom. Yum. [you must learn the toxic and deadly mushrooms and the look a likes, as well. Any you need to examine details like stalk, colorations, gills, how stalk is attached to the cap; veil or remnants of veil?; bulb at base? Ring? Attached or free? All of this is very interesting and fun.]
I found and later ate a russula virescens (spelling?). Beautiful mushroom. I regret that I could not have somehow preserved it, exactly as it was. Ever see one?
Sometimes we miss mushroom flushes, or someone has gotten to them ahead of us. Or insects have. Sometimes, for whatever reason, they don't seem to fruit.
Meadow mushrooms are easy to ID, but careful not to mistake an Amanita for one.
And, dcarch, I think rainwater is best.
Did anyone here see my "possible/probable" oyster mushrooms tha I posted to what plant forum in July? I did not eat them. Maybe next time. I want to absolutely sure that they are oyster mushrooms -- "plutes"
(In this photo, specimen was ~ 1 to 1.5 weeks old)
fleshy. Soft, clean looking. Almost looks like poached chicken breast when tearing apart.
We never bothered harvesting these or most other log-borne fungi.
I tried honey mushrooms once -- Amellaria -- but not flavorful enough and too much work considering. I mean, I can take a cardboard cereal box and saute it with butter and salt.
'scuse typos
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I make rhubarb juice every year. Did not realize it was a thing. Never heard of 'shrub'. I also make rhubarb salsa, bbq sauce, rhubarb/apple butter...rhubarb cornbread, etc.. Chop it up, cook low and slow in a saucepan. I add lots of grated ginger but just a minor Tbsp coconut palm sugar, (can always sugar up later). Strain using a fine mesh or straining bag. I add lemon juice, a bit more fresh ginger, then freeze...ice cube trays and juice containers. In some of the juice containers I add a green tea bag so as it thaws I have a ready-to--go beverage. I harvest over a hundred pounds every year and give much of that away. One co-worker is an x-chef and took my cue and makes juice for cocktails. [sounds so good!]
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