Mushroom and other wild edible foraging

SilverFly

SilverFly

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I know they are some avid mushroom hunters on here so thought this could be a fun and informative thread.

I'll kick it of with some "early morels" (verpa bohemica) I got into yesterday. First time I've picked them in years... decades really.

While not true morels, they taste similar and are, I think, delicious. The main difference is they lack the substance of a true morel. Verpas are fragile by comparison, and cook down so much it takes a lot to make a "meal". One suggestion I came across was to dry them for soup and to add flavor to dishes. Provided they are cooked! DO NOT EAT ANY WILD MUSHROOM RAW.

I sautéed these and more, ending up with enough to top a couple steaks.

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SAFETY NOTES: I split one for verpa ID. The cottony stuff inside the hollow stem, and the cap being attached at the very top of the stem, confirm these as verpa bohemica. I did find one toxic false morel yesterday in an area with more firs. Pretty obvious if you've seen before them but could mislead a first time morel picker. Also, some people have a sensitivity to verpas, but basically just an upset stomach, made worse by consuming with alcohol.

That said, my wife had them for the first time last night, thought they were good, and no issues.

Look for verpas under cottonwoods when the leaf bud casings have dropped (yellow triangles).

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Hope this thread takes off. Looking forward to foraging reports and recipes from other fun guys ;).
 
G_Smolt said:
Gonna be months before I see my first golden chanterelle, and that's the only thing I pick anymore
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Love chantrelles. I didnt find any around here last fall, in spite of some good looking chanty ground. Hopefully this fall when I have more time.

Chantrelles, morels, and verpas are all I've picked on the past, but now that we live in the woods, I'm carefully expanding my foraging.

I noticed this flush of massive oyster mushrooms next to our access road about a week late. One was the size of my hand, but getting soft and buggy :sick:.

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The places I was able to find morels last year are up in the mountains. Probably be another month or so
 
Morels will be popping in peoples yards soon as the temps get warmer. I still have a bunch of dried morels from the Bolt Creek fire a few years ago.

Last year was good, actually great for Chanterelles. I think I added up around 30lbs over the season. Fall can't get here soon enough.
 
Matt B said:
You could also get some cultured mushroom logs going at the new homestead. Shiitakes, for example.
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Thought about drilling some plugs from that oyster infected alder snag to try that. Actually kinda doing that already with some turkey tail (trametes versacolor) I found in some leftover log debris from site clearing. Not an "edible" but one of the most studied medicinal mushrooms on the planet. I collected the logs and set them on others without obvious growth.
 
One thing about Verpas is that you shouldn't drink alcohol while consuming them.

Their chemical make up combines with alcohol to make a substance the same as rocket fuel.

First timers with this mushroom should only eat small amounts and it's advisesble to eat just the caps. Once you know your body is OK with them then they are great.
 
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My wife found 3 small true morals last week at river level in Klickitat county.

There are hundreds of different morel species that pop at different times. Check your spots early check them often.
 
Rob Allen said:
One thing about overpass is that you shouldn't drink alcohol while consuming them.

Their chemical make up combines with alcohol to make a substance the same as rocket fuel.

First timers with this mushroom should only eat small amounts and it's advisesble to eat just the caps. Once you know your body is OK with them then they are great.
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Think you had autocorrect verpas to "overpass" (effing autocorrect!).

But yes, thanks for pointing that out. So weird that anything living can produce a chemical as nasty and volatile as hydrazine.

Another tasty edible to avoid alcohol with are shaggy manes.
 
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Rob Allen said:
My wife found 3 small true morals last week at river level in Klickitat county.

There are hundreds of different morel species that pop at different times. Check your spots early check them often.
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Not super hopeful to find true morels being in low elevation Western Washington, but there are a couple species that could pop. Most likely half free morels since they like similar habitat as verpas.
 
SilverFly said:
Not super hopeful to find true morels being in low elevation Western Washington, but there are a couple species that could pop. Most likely half free morels since they like similar habitat as verpas.
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I've found true morels at BA beach. How's that for an ancient reference and not giving away a spot? :) I've also found them in various undeveloped land in North west Portland . Not lots of them due to competition but they are there
 
Did a quick foray looking for true morels. Morchella populaphila, and maybe M. brunnea, should be coming up under the cottonwoods any time now. Only found one old verpa, so I think those are about done.

However, I did find this fine looking, and highly toxic Amanita (phalloides?) [Edit: more likely A. pantherina, toxic but not the Death Cap] that popped up inches from our property line stake. Looks like a tasty, perfectly baked bun... I'll pass on the liver transplant.

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Did see some cool stuff and spring blooms though.

Moss "knob" on an old cedar log.

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Purty yeller flowers.

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We would get morels when we placed fresh bark at our house in Kennewick. It would occur only one season, but they were tasty. Like others, I find mine in the mountains so it will be a month or so before I start looking.
 
Eastside said:
We would get morels when we placed fresh bark at our house in Kennewick. It would occur only one season, but they were tasty. Like others, I find mine in the mountains so it will be a month or so before I start looking.
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Probably "landscape" Morels (Morchella importuna) which is what these likely are. Apparently they like wood chips, construction sites, and other areas where the ground has been disturbed. I had no idea there were so many types of morels, then found this YT channel https://www.youtube.com/@mushroomwonderland1. There's like 9 species of morels in Washington. Gonna scour the property for more landscape morels, and also hoping to find some of the cottonwood types this weekend.
 
The verpa toxin can be removed by boiling the mushrooms for 15 minutes, with ventilation as the toxin comes out as fumes and is still toxic. After the boil they should be fine for everyone, but as always with wild shrooms, try a bite first and see how you do.
 
nwbobber said:
The verpa toxin can be removed by boiling the mushrooms for 15 minutes, with ventilation as the toxin comes out as fumes and is still toxic. After the boil they should be fine for everyone, but as always with wild shrooms, try a bite first and see how you do.
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Never had a problem with verpas, but I tend to cook them down pretty well. Some people in Europe will eat the false morels (found one of those 2 weeks ago with the verpas). Supposedly safe if you boil them twice, in a well ventilated area to avoid the hydrazine fumes, and then cook them. Effing hydrazine! Same stuff the Nazi's powered their rocket powered fighter plane with!
 
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