Country found wild mushrooms for cooking - Share what you have found out there

[xaviescacs]

Man, those are clean! Some of the ones around here are full fir tree needles that take forever to clean.

I've got the same problem, but with larch needles

Cleaning is always a PITA, as you can't use water. That's why some specialized knifes, like the one in my picture, have a sort of brush, to start this process on the field, which I strongly recommend, to minimize work at home. This looks good for instance.

Another process that's better perform on the field, every time you pick one, specially with autumn mushrooms, is checking for worms. The best way is to cut transversely the lower part of the stipe and see if there are those little holes. If they are present, just keep cutting upwards, towards the cap, until disappear and keep the rest. If they don't, try cutting the cap in two halves, and if they persist, just through it away, back to nature. If you are desperate for eating some and don't mind a bit of animal protein, just ignore this part.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Ah but you are missing an important point mate . You want to take home the mushrooms, but not their spores, because you want more to grow up the next season. This is why those baskets are made of Wicker, Reed or similar flexible wood, to let the spores of your mushrooms kept falling to the ground as you walk. Furthermore, it's important to keep them free from humidity to prevent them from getting rotten, so way better with a material that lets air flow around them.

Understood. Hopefully there is a foldable basket out there doing the trick.

Don't need to thank me.

And yet i do.

 

[Killingbeans]

Furthermore, it's important to keep them free from humidity to prevent them from getting rotten, so way better with a material that lets air flow around them.

I use a plastic bag. But the kitchen is just a short walk from the patch of forest where I pick the mushrooms, so no big deal.

Cleaning is always a PITA, as you can't use water.

Yeah, I know. But sometimes I give them a quick rinse anyhow. I know it removes a lot of flavor, but the soil is very sandy around here and it's the price I'm willing to pay for not biting into a grain of sand every few seconds

That's why some specialized knifes, like the one in my picture, have a sort of brush, to start this process on the field, which I strongly recommend, to minimize work at home. This looks good for instance.

A cheap toothbrush is also great for the job.

 

[xaviescacs]

kitchen is just a short walk from the patch of forest where I pick the mushrooms

Wow, you have a personal pantry then. Anyway, mind the spores I must say also that the places where mushrooms are found here are quite rugged sometimes and almost never flat, so slips are not uncommon in autumn, and hence the convenience for a rigid basket to avoid falling upon them and ruining them all in one second. It's just a thing learnt from experience, who hasn't lost all the batch due to a step in the wrong direction...

Yeah, I know. But sometimes I give them a quick rinse anyhow. I know it removes a lot of flavor

I should have been more precise on that. Water is a problem depending on how you are going to cook them. Here Lactarius and Hygrphorus are commonly sautéd or grilled if possible, just with salt, olive oil, garlic and parsley. In that cases, the remaining water between the gills completely ruins the cooking process as the mushroom is cooked before this water is vaporized. If you are going to add them to a stew for instance, then water is not a problem of course.

A cheap toothbrush is also great for the job.

If it's gentle enough to avoid damaging the gills, certainly. It varies greatly with the type of mushroom and one's criteria of what "good condition" means.

 

[JayGilb]

Yeah, I know. But sometimes I give them a quick rinse anyhow. I know it removes a lot of flavor, but the soil is very sandy around here and it's the price I'm willing to pay for not biting into a grain of sand every few seconds

I have a friend who rinses his mushrooms and then puts them in a salad spinner to remove the extra water.

 

[Katji]

I should have been more precise on that. Water is a problem depending on how you are going to cook them. Here Lactarius and Hygrphorus are commonly sautéd or grilled if possible, just with salt, olive oil, garlic and parsley. In that cases, the remaining water between the gills completely ruins the cooking process as the mushroom is cooked before this water is vaporized.

Back in the day when I used to cook mushrooms - the button mushrooms from the supermarket, that is how I cooked them. Maybe I dried them with paper towel, but it was not a problem anyway, because the gills are sort of covered, they don't hold any water.
* Commercially grown with chicken manure.
There were also big flat ones, though. Big, the size of burger patties.