Try fall mushrooms for a wild delicacy

As I’ve said many times before, technology and I don’t always get along. Facebook’s been a fun way to reach out to current friends as well as old friends from high school, but it’s also been a colossal time-waster.

If you’ve read my column for very long, you probably realize I’m a conservative (Of course, if I own guns, enjoy hunting and appreciate my Second Amendment as well as all my other constitutional rights; that’s going to be expected). I’ve kept a few liberal friends and acquaintances, but for the most part, I embrace my conservative values and bash the liberals on Facebook, which is my God-given right as a redneck American who thinks Ted Nugent would make a great president. Let’s go huntin’, baby.

I’ve been the victim of Facebook “values,” seeing their censorship of conservative comments firsthand. It’s a widespread problem that may not be apparent, but censoring social media has a subtle-but-sure effect on the public, as intended.

The Federal Trade Commission in July imposed a $5 billion fine against Facebook for misusing personal information in a strong blow for personal privacy, although we willingly give up much of our privacy when we sign up.

While there’s much to dislike about Facebook, there’s also many great features, too. One of them I’ve been using more and more is the information from Facebook groups that you can sign up for. I’ve joined many groups interested in specific firearms or airguns, and I recently signed up for one called the Mushroom Identification Page.

If you haven’t signed up for a “closed” group, they typically ask you a question or two to see if you are there legitimately and agree to their terms.

The Mushroom Identification Page seems to have plenty of fungi experts who quickly provide the name (normally scientific name) of a mushroom in question as well as a bit of other information about the species.

I’ve been mushroom hunting since childhood, normally focusing on spring morels, the undisputed king of wild fungi. These sponge-shaped mushrooms are incredibly delicious, but often hard to find and only pop out for a few days or weeks per year.

I’ve read that there are far more edible fall mushrooms than springtime ones, but caution is a must when hunting new ones.

Over the years, I’ve tried giant puffballs, which are basketball-sized, white fungi that look like nothing else (not bad when picked fresh, then sliced and fried in butter), inky caps (not bad) and I think a shaggy mane (don’t remember the taste).

The danger, of course, is mistaking a poisonous or inedible variety for a good one. Several species of the genus Amanita (one is called the destroying angel) can cause permanent liver damage and death if less than one mushroom is eaten. And that’s where the Mushroom Identification Page comes in.

A week or so ago, I noticed a large cluster of mushrooms on an ash tree stump in our front yard. We lost the ash tree in a historic June 2001 windstorm that left thousands without power (ours was out for 72 hours) and took thousands of trees in the Fox Valley and elsewhere. I couldn’t identify them and was curious if they were edible.

A quick photo with my smart phone and a message to the Facebook site and two answers came back within a minute or two. Two experts agreed they were oyster mushrooms, which are considered one of the tastiest.

They told me what to look for on the gills below, and yes, they were decurrent gills, meaning they run down the stem of the mushroom. They are oyster or fan-shaped and are smooth and white or light brown with firm flesh.

Visit www.mushroom-appreciation.com/oyster-mushroom.html#sthash.IgeSHLvn.dpbs for more information on oyster mushrooms.

Oyster mushrooms are easily cultivated and often sold at Asian grocery stores. My wife said she’s seen similar clumps on the stump in previous years (now that I know they are edible, I’ll start paying more attention).

Preparation is easy. Wash them in water, slice them and fry them in butter or olive oil until golden brown. A friend of mine agreed to cook one of mine, but didn’t get it quite brown. Season with salt and pepper. You can add some garlic and also may choose to bread them (I will do that next year).

I thought the taste was good, but not nearly as delicious as morels. Best of all, I never had a stomachache afterward

Oyster mushrooms, like most other edible species, can be frozen (blot them completely dry and don’t wash before freezing in Ziploc bags) or dried and used in soups or other recipes. I found recipes for breaded and fried oyster mushrooms, and since we live in Wisconsin, that’s the one I’ll try next.

Mushroom identification books are available, and the Facebook sites work, too, but nothing beats showing the specimens to an expert for positive ID. Don’t risk illness or death if you aren’t sure.

If you are a fall mushroom hunter, I’d love to hear from you and share some of your finds with readers.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.

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