Drying Wild Fungi

1.) For smaller mushrooms such as:- Winter Chanterelles, Girolles, Horn of plenty, Amethyst Deceivers, St Georges, Morels, Wood ears, Orange Peel Fungus these can all be dried whole and placed directly onto the cake tray or Dehydrator.

2.) For larger mushrooms such as:- Hedgehog Fungus, Safron Milk Caps, Cauliflower Fungus, Blewits these can be torn or sliced ready to go on your chosen dryer.

3.) Champagne cork boletes will need to be sliced the stem can be attached.

4.) For much larger mushrooms i.e Bolete family its best to remove the stem form the cap and slice both individually.

5.) The mushrooms do not need to be washed Just brush the dirt off and remove any foliage or bugs!

6.) Only collect on days of reasonable weather as Boletes especially will act like sponges and therefore be no good to slice and dry.

7.) Always store in an air tight container.

We first started drying small amounts of fungi on cake trays (see below image) and placing them over the radiator.  This is a great way to start out!

We then progressed to larger stackable trays again to go over radiator.

Now we have a 9 tiered dehydrator which is amazing! we can dry loads at once and quickly!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stockli-Dehydrator-With-Timer/dp/B000LR0GTC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325703003&sr=8-3

End results:-

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October foraging

 

October started off well we had our first full day Wild Fungi Tour:

 

Orange Peel Fungus – Aleuria aurantia

Orange Peel Fungus – Cup 0.5–10cm across, cup shaped becoming wavy and flattened, inner surface bright yellowish-orange, outer whitish.  Flesh thin and brittle.  Habitat gregarious, on bare soil, or amongst grass in lawns or at roadsides. Season early autumn to early winter.  Edible.

 

 

Parham House

Also this month we attended an Autumn foraging day at:

http://www.parhaminsussex.co.uk/events-and-courses/events.html

We then found along with a lot of other keen foragers up and down the country that due to weather conditions being to warm and dry the mushrooms went away!! but we were still hopeful!!

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July Foraging

Porcini/Summer Cep – Boletus edulis

Porcini – Cap 8–20(30)cm, brown often with a whitish bloom at first gradually lost on expanding leaving a white line at the margin, smooth and dry initially becoming greasy, in wet weather slightly viscid and polished. Stem robust, pallid with white net. Flesh white, unchanging, flushed dirty straw-colour or vinaceous in cap. Taste and smell pleasant. Tubes white becoming grey-yellow. Pores small and round, similarly coloured. Habitat coniferous, broad-leaved or mixed woodland. Season summer to late autumn. Un-Common. Edible – excellent.

Red Dotted Stem Bolete – Boletus erythropus

Red dotted stem Bolette – Cap 8–20cm, bay to snuff-brown with olivaceous tints, tending to yellowish ochre towards the margin, slightly velvety at first, soon becoming smooth and sometimes slightly viscid when wet, bruising blue-black. Stem robust, yellowish densely covered in red dots. Flesh yellow, immediately dark blue on cutting. Taste and smell not distinctive. Tubes lemon-yellow then greenish, becoming dark blue on cutting. Pores small, round, orange-red becoming rusty with age, readily bruising dark blue to black. Habitat in coniferous, broad-leaved and mixed woodland. Season late summer to autumn. Common. Edible only when cooked.

Bay Bolete –Boletus badius

Bay Bolete – Cap 4–14cm, bay to dark brick-colour later flushed ochraceous brown, downy when young, soon becoming smooth and polished, slightly viscid in wet weather. Stem same colour as cap or paler, surface slightly cottony. Flesh white to lemon-yellow on cutting becoming faintly blue particularly in stem apex and above tubes, vinaceous in cap. Taste and smell mild and mushroomy. Tubes cream to lemon-yellow, bruising bluish green. Pores large, readily bruising blue-green. Habitat in mixed woods. Season autumn. Edible – very good.

Orange Birch Bolete – Leccinum versipelle

Orange Birch Bolete – Cap 8–20cm, tawny orange, slightly downy at first becoming smooth, dry to very slightly viscid, the margin overhanging the pores. Stem white or greyish covered with woolly brownish-black scales. Flesh white then dark vinaceous, but blue-green in stem base, finally blackish. Taste and smell pleasant. Tubes white to buff, vinaceous on cutting. Pores small, mouse-grey at first later ochraceous, bruising vinaceous. Habitat with birch in scrub or open woodland. Season summer to autumn. Edible – good.

Girolle/Chanterelle  – Canthrellus Cibarius

See June for fungi description – The Girolles are deferentially up early this year, here is a pic of the amounts we managed to pick ready for the CLA Game Fair.

Wild Plums

A nice selection of Wild Plums, we foraged ready for CLA Game Fair.

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