Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius)

Season: July-September
Edibility: Choice!
Defining characteristics:  Orange color, ridges on underside of cap that look like gills but are not, growing in spread out groups but NOT a single large cluster, odor (from none to apricot-like).
Don't confuse them with: The False Chanterelle or The Jack-O-Lantern mushroom

I have now been hunting New England mushrooms for 1 year.  I have been hoping to find the chanterelle, and finally this last weekend I had success!  While visiting family in Maine and we took a hike along an old dirt road that proved to be full of fun mushrooms.  I will try and get to some of the other species in a later post, but for now- the chanterelle.

Chanterelles are one of the most sought after and popular wild mushrooms (you can read all sorts of neat things about them at wikipedia, from mushroomexpert.com, and mykoweb).  They have resisted attempts at cultivation thus far, and while they will come up in the same spot year after year, the amount varies from year to year, and the habitat is very sensitive to disturbance.  All this means that chanterelles are not a common find, and very expensive commercially.  So if you happen to find a chanterelle harvesting ground, please treat it with respect so that they can continue to be harvested in years to come!

Chanterelles and Black Trumpets getting ready for dinner

I found them in a dark, thick conifer forest that was fairly wet and near a marshy area.  There were probably 100 or so chanterelles spread out over an area about 30 feet wide, quite a great find.  We collected about 1/3 of them and got out of the area quickly, so hopefully next year we will get another excellent crop.

There are a couple potentially confusing look-alikes, so be VERY careful if you are not confident about your harvesting skills.  Read about the False Chanterelle and Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms (which glow in the dark!) and make sure you know what you are doing.

We made up the pasta below with our chanterelles, black trumpets (to be written about soon!), and our own garlic.  Super simple, and incredibly tasty- you can't beat fresh quality ingredients!


                                                                                
                                                                                

Red Russula (Russula sp.)

Season: June-October

Edibility: Varied- but probably won't taste good, almost impossible to ID, and may be poisonous. Why bother?

As I mentioned in a post about another Russula, these buggers are almost omnipresent, not safe to eat (unless you are incredibly good with your Russula taxonomy) and you're going to find far more of them than what you are searching for. This has led to them being referred to as JAR's (just another Russula). There are probably at least 2-3 red Russula species in the area- and possibly many more. For my purposes I shall call them all Red Russulas.

Thus far in 2009 the chestnut bolete has been the only edible I have found (and only 4 of them at that), and I have probably seen 200 Russula's with bright red caps. Identifying features include a fairly dry cap, generally brittle, and a bright red cap. The stems of most of the red JARs I have found have been fairly pure white. They are normally 1-3 inches wide and sit just a couple inches tall.

The only similar mushroom I have found is a milky cap species that has a similar red cap. The milky caps are named thus because if you draw your finger across their gills they will exude a milky latex in quite copious quantities.

Happy hunting and let me know if you figure out how to tell the various species apart!

Chestnut Bolete (Gyroporus castaneus)

Season: June through October

Edible: Yes (with extreme caution as always!)

Defining characteristics: Chestnut colored cap, pale yellow underside, pores, hollow chestnut colored stem

The rains have finally slowed long enough to venture outside- and there are mushrooms! The boletes have started popping up right on time here in Rhode Island (mid-late June). I found my first Chestnut Bolete right in my backyard this morning. About two inches across, solitary with a deep chestnut colored cap and a very pale yellow underside.

I am focusing on my bolete identification skills first for a couple reasons: boletes are a smaller group of mushrooms, more easily identifiable, have fewer toxic species, and a bunch of tasty ones are locally available.

Basic mushroom lesson: The "classic" mushroom has gills on the underside of the cap (known as the pileus in mycology circles). They includes most of the mushrooms we are used to buying in the store- white button, crimini, portobello, oyster and are often refered to as "agarics". Boletes by comparison do not have gills- instead they have pores on the underside of the cap, as show in the picture of the Chestnut Bolete below.

Now that the mushroom season seems to be in full swing I hope to start compiling a good list of local mushrooms, as there does not seem to be such as list readily available online. Leave a note if you have more information on a species or if I have mislabeled a species!

Further reading:

MushroomExpert.com

Wildman

Rogers Mushrooms

Growing Oyster Mushrooms

Chronicle of my efforts to grow oyster mushrooms indoors on used coffee grounds.

10.9.08- gallons of coffee grounds mixed with a Fungi Perfecti indoor mushroom kit (espresso oyster mushroom) on 

11.10.08- Stalks growing- but no caps.  Insufficient light- need to add a floral grow light!

11.20.08- Floral grow light added to boost light input. 12-hour on/off schedule using an electronic timer.  Temperature about 65-70F.

11.25.08- First oysters ready!

11.25.08- Second 5 gallon container of coffee grounds mixed with mycelium from first containers to start a second batch.

11.29.08- Full harvest of the oysters- about 20 full size mushrooms.

12.6.08- I am keeping batch 1 in the grow light with water for 2 weeks- after which time I will water again to try and get a second flush.  Batch #2 is mostly covered in mycelium now.

Short-Stemmed Russula (Russula brevipes)

Season: July through October

Edibility: Not reccomended!

Well it's late October in Rhode Island, and freezing temperatures are very near. Mushrooms are not completely done for the year- but they are rapidly becoming scarce. After a dry spell for a couple weeks we finally had a good rain two days ago- and a few mushrooms have popped up. Today's mushroom, Russula brevipes is one of the most common mushrooms this time of year in this area. Russula's are very common, and infamous for being very hard to positively identify.

In general, members of the genus Russula are fairly large, gilled with a white underside and a cap that most often is a variation of white or red. They are so common and generally unedible (due to a bitter or acrid taste, as well as some species being poisonous) that they have earned themselves the acronym JAR (Just Another Russula). Bear in mind however that the rule with mushrooms is that there are always exceptions! There are some species that are supposed to be delicious, and many different colors, sizes and variations within the genus. Positive ID is often difficult if not nigh impossible. Russula's are often confused with another genus- the Lactarius genus (known as milky caps) with the primary distinguishing factor being that Lactarius species exude a milky liquid when injured.

As far as chowin' down on these guys- here is my recommendation. Many of the poisonous Russula's are red capped- so I would avoid those. A few of the white capped (and in particular a green capped variety) can be tasty, however the odds are that what you find will either taste like nothing, or have quite an acrid or bitter taste. If you really want to try one out and you are pretty darn sure you have a Russula, taste a tiny bit. Chew it- and then spit it out. If it tastes great- then you are lucky and got a good variety. I would also suggest waiting at least 5 minutes after you taste it- as often the bitter flavor will slowly develop in your mouth. If it is bitter, or bland- don't bother with it.

Most people avoid eating Russula as the vast majority are no good for eating- and many species can make you vomit/quite unhappy. The samples I collected today are probably Russula brevipes- one of the most common species. I did taste two of them- both were exceedingly bland- with a slow bitterness developing in my mouth. I always spit out any mushrooms I taste and rinse my mouth thoroughly afterwards. No reason to take undue risk!

To learn more about various Russula species check out the wikipedia page or the MushroomExpert.

Hedgehog (Hydnum umbilicatum)

This little hedgehog mushroom (a relative of the larger and better known h. repandum) is probably the most desirable species I have found thus far in my adventures.  It is relatively small(~1 inch across the cap) and grows very close to the ground.  It is suspected to be pretty closely related to the chanterelle (oooohhh) and is delicious! I have only found one small area where they are growing, however as they are supposed to be a perennially recurring species, I look forward to seeing them again next year with any luck!

Hedgehogs are considered one of the "safest" wild mushrooms to eat, as their spore bearing surface (underside of the cap) is quite unique.  Instead of gills on the underside (most common) or pores, the underside of these guys is covered in little teeth that look like mini icicles.  

All told I probably only collected about 15 of them- just enough for a tasty appetizer when sautéed in butter!

Read more about the Hydnum umbilicatum here or here.

(Note the teeth visible on the underside)

Flavor- Sweet and rich with a crunchy bite.

Edible New England Mushrooms

Below are a list of edible New England mushrooms I have encountered (and eaten).
It is not even close to comprehensive, but I hope you find it useful!

1. Chanterelle
2. Hedgehog
3. Chicken of the woods
4. Hen of the woods
5. Chestnut Bolete
6. Honey Mushroom (with caution)
7. Beefsteak Polypore
8. Matsutake
9. Painted Bolete

Additionally- here is a list of mushrooms that I have experimented with (and had at least some success) in growing in New England.

1. Wine Cap Stropharia