By BECKY NELSON
By Becky Nelson
There’s a fungus among us!
As kids when we would discover a patch of puffball mushrooms or a downed tree with a shaggy ‘bears head” or a hardwood tree with a “sulfur shelf” mushroom we would think ourselves very clever to use that phrase. I think I passed this along to my own kids, and I still keep my eyes on the ground and downed wood for any sign of fungus.
We used to harvest some fungi when I was growing up, which landed on the dinner plate many times. My mom would sautee the sulfur shelf mushrooms we would lug home in a bag from a hike or a trek with the Landrover to places far from the beaten path. After careful cleaning to eliminate any hitchhiking bugs, the lovely fungi would hit the frying pan and make an amazing side dish. The yellow-orange fungi would sometimes cover a few feet of tree, but we would take only enough for a meal. This mushroom is often called “chicken of the woods,” and truly does have a flavor that might remind one of chicken, though I think it has a unique flavor all its own.
Another favorite when we would stumble upon one was a bear’s head or bear’s tooth mushroom. We once found one that we lugged home in a bushel basket that we froze for later use. We used this fungus in a delightful mushroom soup, more like a creamy chowder as well as stir-fried into other dishes. I haven’t seen one of these in many years, and it lives on in my memory as a favorite.
We would also find and eat young “puffball” mushrooms that were delightful both sautéed and in soups or chowders. My mom was tremendously creative in the kitchen, and would tackle many “wild” meals with partridge, squirrel and an occasional deer on the menu. She even tackled some things that never made it to the table again, with woodchuck one of the ones I hope never to have to eat again.
Foraging and eating wild fungi is a tricky endeavor, with lots of poisonous mushrooms looking like other mushrooms suitable for a meal. I would suggest never eating a wild fungus unless you’re 100% certain the one on your plate is safe for your palate.
I haven’t foraged or eaten a wild fungus for many years, but certainly would if I found a suitable patch of the ones I am certain about. Nowadays, my favorite discoveries are the rare ones that visit only once in a while when the conditions are just perfect. With the relentless rains over the past few weeks with the perfect temperatures when the sun returned, the world seems to have come alive with all manner of molds, mildews, toadstools, shelves and interesting fungal relations.
I discovered what we used to call “Indian Pipes” growing under an oak tree in the woods behind my house the other day. This interesting plant is not a fungus, but actually is a parasitic that “borrows” nutrients from roots and fungi in the soil and does not rely on photosynthesis to produce nutrients. It is also known as a “ghost plant” because of its lack of photosynthesis.
A recent discovery in the neighborhood was the Violet Coral fungus, one I had never seen before. It is a rather rare occurrence to find this striking tubular fungus, and I am hoping to keep its location secret and undisturbed, as it is a pretty cool find. Fungi are interesting living organisms, and I hope to find and maybe identify many more as the weather stays humid and conducive for their growth. Keep your eyes open when you take your walks for all these interesting little additions to our environment.
There really is a fungus among us!
Becky Nelson is co-owner of Beaver Pond Farm in Newport, New Hampshire. You may reach her at [email protected].
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