Hope you haven't tried any yet. It is also very toxic, effecting some much more than others! There is a show on TV with some geeky looking guy traveling the world sampling primitive drugs and medicines etc. I believe he had an episode featuring this mushroom. Weird premise for a show but interesting.
Last hunt for Chanterelles. Also picked up a Bears Head. This is a variety of Tooth mushroom that is rated delicious some saying it has a crablike flavor. It has a cousin called Lion's Mane. It has no poison look-alike. It grows on conifers in dark forests. I have never had this before but will be cooking it soon.
I will have to be on the look out for this one. On our first walk in a month through the woods, I saw lots of mushrooms that weren't edible. I didn't spot any Chanterelles either. I think it is too late for the little patch I have seen before.
We had the Chanterelles a couple nights ago. Dry sauteed them until most of the water in them had dissipated. Then added some Merlot with a chicken bullion cube dissolved in it. When this was just about reduced I added a tablespoon of finely chopped onions and a cube of butter. Finished the saute and plated it up. Very good! Wished I had a steak to go with it. We also tried the Bear' Head Sauteed with butter. Was not impressed. Very bland with none of the seafood flavor I had been led to expect. Also had a stringy texture close to bamboo shoots that I did not like. In all fairness, some mushroom friends of mine have said that, with the extremely long dry season we have had, and then a lot of rain, that many mushrooms have sprung up and grown quickly in a vert wet environment. According to them, this makes for less flavorful fungi of all sorts than those that have grown more slowly in moderate conditions. They were unhappy when I told them that I had trashed the remaining Bears Head. Both said they would have marinated it, before cooking for more flavor. Next time I find one I will save it for them to cook with some heavy hints that I would be available for an invite!
What kind of tree did you find it on? I didn't ask campinspecter to ID it for me. I looked on our walk yesterday but no Chanterelles to be found.
Hi Woodwidow , It was in a very dark patch of Doug Fir. There were several smaller patches of the fungus on other trees nearby. My Mushroom book says that Bears Head will usually regenerate on the same tree year after year. Hope you find some.
I WISH I lived in morel country, those things are so freaking good. You can find them down here, but never in great numbers. I do grow shiitake mushrooms and am about to inoculate some oyster logs as well. It is a bit labor intensive on the front end but after that you throw them in a shady spot and reap the benefits. Here is a pic of my old logs. I make some mean shiitake burger patties with them.
It is called the crib method. It allows you to see most surfaces of the logs so you can see the shrooms. For shiitake they say white oak is the best wood to use. Different mushrooms like differnt wood. I am going to inoculate the oysters into willow logs. And for that I am going to use the totem method where you use larger rounds and layer spawn in between the stacked rounds.
Thanks for the feedback! I've seen logs laid side-by-side but not cribbed. I'm thinking about trying this as I have lots of shady area (and a record number of types of natural fungus already growing this year). I don't get a lot of morels on my property so supplementing with shiitake would help.
There are lots of great resources on the internet. A place called Field and Forest has all the equipment/spores you need and TONS of excellent information on the subject. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions. I am on my second set of logs, just harvested 3 pounds yesterday.
