This is one way i like to cook mushrooms. In this one I'm using Saffron milk caps (Lactarius deliciosus), a mycorrhizal associate of Pine trees, they're found in autumn/winter in Southern Australia. Other mushroms can be cooked this way including Oyster M, Elm Oyster M.(incorectly called Shimeji in Aust.) Agaricus spp. (the common cultivatedMushies), Shiitake, Wood Ear M. , Shaggy Manes etc. Clean and slice mushrooms slice onion and fry in oil add a sliced fresh chile add mushrooms and salt, stirring over med-high heat for a few minutes add some Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides), cause I'm doing Mexican flavours. > other herbs that work well are Thyme, Tarragon (use the real one), Oregano or Parsley< Add 1/2 -1 cup of water and cover to steam for about 5min. Here I've made a fresh salsa, then served the mushrooms on fresh warm corn tortillas spread with a bit of sour cream and topped with the salsa. Saffron Milk Caps are easy to identify. Carrot-coloured latex will bleed from any cuts made in the gills near the stem and they will bruise and age an unattractive greenish colour. They're brittle and can be snapped when the hollow stem is bent. they dont reduce in volume as much as a lot of other species. The texture can be a bit sort of 'grainy' and not to everyones liking. If you cook them long enough the texture changes. They're also really nice placed gills up and grilled on a bbq (over charcoal best) after dressing with olive oil , garlic and salt. In Europe they are often preserved in jars with salt, though I've not tried that yet. Even the Peppery milk caps (L.piperatus) is supposed to be rendered edible with the salt treatment.
Wow Speedy - I just love your work. I wonder if I got someone to milk the cow for a few days and get myself down south, would you take me mushrooming? Identification and preparation are definate holes in my education. Thanks and more please.
Yeah, for sure. nobody where I live seems to be interested in mushroom hunting. The other thing is making your own spawn at home and inoculating logs and woodchip piles with it and laying them in the garden to 'fruit' with the seasons. convenient and a good way to convert wood to plant food ...and people food. ...but I think thats the subject of another thread in another subforum... more recipes to follow , later
Is there a simple rule of thumb for identifying edible mushrooms? I have mushies popping up around the garden - which I THINK have come from the mushroom compost, but I haven't been game to try them in case I start seeing green monkeys on the ceiling.
Only rule of thumb for identifying mushrooms that I would sugest is only eat them if you've properly identified them from a good field guide or other reputable source. even then don't be too hasty and when tasting a mushroom species for the first, dont overdo it. some people can eat a species mushroom with no ill effect , while others eating the same meal can have a stong reaction to it. There are old stories like about a silver coin turning black indicating that a mushroom is poisonous, but there are always exceptions to these 'rules'. Fariliarise yourself with the parts of mushrooms (stem - rings, volva, texture, dimentions etc. the cap- gills or pores, habitat etc.... These are the keys to how to identify them. Some books on edible mushrooms categorise them as beginner (easy), intermediate and experienced as far as identification goes. suffice to say that some in edibles in the latter category are easily confused with poisonous species. Even experienced mycologists have been known to make the ultimate mistake. most good books will have 'Poisonous lookalikes' next to the edible ones. and I cant't help but to quote an old Russian proverb, or answer to the question "Is that mushroom edible?" "All mushrooms are edible... some, only once"
Damn - I was hoping that a simple - if it is grey its OK - or something that easy! I do like the Russian advice though.
I have an idea, but I'll get a second opinion to make sure. Do they ever have a burgundy coloured cap? are they growing in woodchip or straw or old compost?
A NSW Mushroom farm is open for inspection! I would love to go but my car is kaput! https://www.smh.com.au/entertainmen...shroom-mans-tunnel-vision-20100924-15qku.html I noticed the exotic mushroom grower at Sydney's Paddy's markets in Sydney had mushroom logs for sale for only $5 this week. I might give a couple ago next week
That would be good to see. I phoned them about 5-6yrs ago to see if could buy spawn from them but they weren't selling any so I just make my own. Eco4560, sorry , I got a bit slack and forgot about this thread. I'm 99.9% sure that the mushroom in your pics there is Stropharia rugosa-annulata , as I first suspected. It is edible and a very handy species to have in the garden. grows in woodchip beds, on straw or old cornstalks. It's a popular species in Europe and Nth Amer. in gardens. fairly easy to grow by transfering clumps of the mycelium to suitable food sources. it likes disturbance and or regular feeding (more wood or straw etc.) and it's a case of 'feed it, move it or lose it'. https://www.mushroomexpert.com/stropharia_rugosoannulata.html https://wildbranchmushrooms.com/king-stropharia https://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/fungi/family/strophariaceae/strop12p.htm Grow them in mulch beds in the garden with summer crops (Tomato, Eggplant, maize etc) in the mulch and then havest when they fruit in the autumn. As well as their ability to break down straw and wood into yummy rich soil, they can kill nematodes in soils with the aid of special spikey shaped cells (acanthocytes) formed on the mycelium. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449000/ They also have a reputation for killing Eschericia coli ...and Here is a blog by a guy who's crazy about this mushroom and how he's improving his garden soil with it.
Thanks Speedy! We are about to get a week of solid rain so I'll see if more pop up and see what I can do to nurture it.
I'm officially joining the "in" crowd when it comes to mushroom cultivation. There was a stall at the Garden Expo selling various different species growing in various different media. I left with 2 logs of Shitake mushrooms. They are currently enjoying a soak in my bathtub (which means I'm not ). The chap said to put them somewhere not too sunny (but it doesn't have to be really dark), moist and where I'll remember to spray them with water twice a day. I had a bit of a think and discarded the bathroom - as I have a big sky light so it gets quite warm and sunny. So they are going to live by the loo. Strange idea I know - but on permaculture zone principles it is definately in zone 1 of my life - visited several times a day - so I'll keep a spray bottle beside me and give it a squirt every time I - um - go for a squirt! Should have mushys in about 3 weeks. Then I can get cooking! Will post photos once they get to harvest.
Wow! When I read all this about the mushrooms I just want to start growing them. I saw things in books and on video's and internet about growing, but it's so contradicting. Some just grow them on a log - without any (visible) fuss. Others have big issues - growing in a house on bags with specific regulated temperatures.... That seems to much fuss for me, I would like to grow them - but not sit at home all day watching their temperatures and so on?! What is the truth about mushrooms? Oh, I guess this question belongs somewhere under another category - sorry for that! Where should I put it?
Sepp Holzer's new book on Permaculture has a section on mushroom growing outdoors, its a good primer to get you even more excited. I have found that Shitake mushrooms, be it on an alder or oak log is exceedingly simple to create (See YouTube) and really take little to no care. For my shitake mushroom log I had to soak it for 48 hours, and then I put it in a very shady spot. Next summer it should start producing for 2-3 years!! As a result, my wife and I are looking into more spores and such because it just makes sense that as I clear trees that I need to, I might as well inoculate the stump with mycellium spores to break it down and provide me and my family with food.
This is the people that were selling them at the Expo https://fungi.net.au/about.php I got a great discount now that I see their prices on the web! I paid $28 for 2 shiitake logs. Sorry - I doubt they deliver to Namibia or Oregon, but the Aussies will be delighted!
LOL... In Oregon , they've got access to https://www.fungi.com/ just to the north... and plenty of other growers of mushroom spawn and kits etc., not to mention all the edible species growing wild in the forests. A friend of mine inported shiitake dowel spawn from https://www.fieldforest.net/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=3&chapter=0 He said that AQIS were quite helpful but it just took a bit of time and money. but now he's inoculated heaps a logs of sugargum (Euc. cladocalyx) thinnings from his farm forestry plot. Shiitake also grow well on Tasmanian Bluegum (Euc. globulus) as is done in Brazil. Namibia... Ellen, you could start to grow your own spawn, you could obtain cultures through via mail and get started that way. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (By Paul Stamets - the guy who owns Fungi Perfecti) is a good book to start with. you can grow cultures on agar using H2O2 rather than getting an expensive laminar flow cabinet. check out R. Rush Waynes website https://www.mycomasters.com/
I knew as soon as I posted about Mushrooms we'd be hearing from you again Speedy. How are you? Been a bit quite lately.
Hi Speedy, What is this recipe called? Speedy mushroom recipe! I have bought 2 tins of mushrooms in grocery for pizza but now I am thinking of trying this one. Thanks for sharing with everyone.
https://www.agroforestry.net.au/main.asp?_=Shiitake this link might be of use to someone who wants to set up a shitake mushroom venture in their community.
