I have long regretted not learning to identify and harvest wild mushrooms. I love free food … and mushrooms are out there in the woods, just waiting for someone to pick them and start cooking.
The disadvantage of harvesting wild mushrooms is that, as with much in life, the person doing the harvesting must know what she or he is doing.
Luckily, local residents can learn some of the dos and don’ts of mushroom foraging this weekend at the Shantigar Foundation in Rowe. On Saturday, Sept. 27, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., John Wheeler will discuss his passion for mushrooms and lead participants in a mushroom hunt.
According to Shantigar’s co-director, Didi Goldenhar, the foundation discovered Wheeler courtesy of artificial intelligence on the internet.
“Our local mushroom hunter moved out-of-state,” she told me, “so my co-director Deb Katz Googled ‘hunting mushrooms, mycology, western Massachusetts’ and came up with the Berkshire Mycological Society and John Wheeler. Voila!”
She explained that Shantigar likes to host an annual mushroom walk.
“Our 300-plus acres of glorious fields, woods, and bogs offer maitake, lion’s mane, hen-of-the-woods, and morels, among others. … At Shantigar (meaning ‘Peaceful Home’), we believe that weaving creative arts and contemplative practice with the healing power of nature helps us live more peacefully in this world.”
I spoke with John Wheeler last week. The Housatonic resident fell in love with wild mushrooms in the 1980s when he was asked to give a ride to a mushroom forager who introduced him to his first species of fungus, honey mushrooms.
Wheeler started reading about wild mushrooms, took a course on identifying them, and in 2000 co-founded the Berkshire Mycological Society, of which he is president for life.
Each Sunday morning beginning in April, Wheeler leads a mushroom walk in Berkshire County. The foraging generally ends when the snow arrives, but not always. “I have found oyster mushrooms in January,” he told me.
Wheeler loves to teach and delights in finding a variety of fungi on his walks. “Most of them are in it for the food,” he said dryly of his fellow mushroom hunters. “I’m there for the species count … Just the variety of shapes and colors. When I go out mushrooming, it’s like an Easter-egg hunt for adults.”
Wheeler noted that this year has been challenging for mushroom foraging because so much of the summer was dry. Normally in the late summer, he finds 90 to 100 species on a walk. This year, he sighed, “it’s been between 30 and 60.”
Still, he insisted, September is an ideal time to look for mushrooms, which are subject to being eaten (or at least made more holey) by insects.
“The mushrooms are smart, and they know that the bugs have stopped laying eggs [now] so they start to grow,” he explained.
Wheeler loves to teach people about mushrooms. His presentation will begin with a slideshow helping to orient participants, followed by a guided walk through Shantigar’s woodlands and bogs.
Along the way, Wheeler will identify local species, from edible treasures like golden oysters and hen-of-the-woods to “destroying angels” and other mushrooms to avoid.
Participants can pick up tips on how to harvest and cook fungi. They will also learn about the health benefits offered by some mushrooms. People are encouraged to bring along mushrooms they have found elsewhere for identification.
Of course, I asked about cooking with mushrooms. John Wheeler puts his harvest in a variety of foods and drinks. He likes to make himself a cup of reishi tea every day. Reishi, which he called “the Chinese mushroom of immortality,” helps alleviate his arthritis.
He also loves to cook with trumpet mushrooms, which he uses in the spread recipe below but also steeps in vodka to create a unique, flavorful beverage. He observed that this variety of mushroom is called “the poor man’s truffle.”
When I made the mushroom spread, I didn’t have black trumpets, and I was reluctant to seek out mushrooms in the woods without the appropriate knowledge. (Even John Wheeler admitted, “If I’m going to eat a mushroom, I look in at least three books.”)
I purchased the prettiest mushrooms in the store, a package of golden oyster mushrooms. They have a more delicate flavor than Wheeler’s beloved black trumpets so I more than doubled the volume of mushrooms in his recipe.
I think I would add even more mushrooms if I made the spread again with the oyster mushrooms. Nevertheless, it was tasty, with an appealing earthy flavor. I added a little parsley to give the spread a bit of color; it came across as rather beige.
The foraging workshop at Shantigar is open to all with a suggested donation of $20. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown paper bag or woven basket (to let mushrooms breathe), a knife for harvesting, water, bug repellent, and sturdy shoes … and to dress in layers.
To preregister or learn more, visit www.shantigar.org/mushroom-foraging or call 413-339-4332.
Master Mycologist Mushroom Spread
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 splash extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup (or more!) chopped black trumpet (or other) mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
1 splash white wine or sherry
1 small handful of chopped parsley
1 8-ounce block cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream
Instructions:
In a skillet, heat the butter and the olive oil until the butter melts. Add the onion, the garlic, and the mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes, until the mushrooms turn golden. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper (I tried 6 grinds of the pepper mill and 1/2 teaspoon salt), and stir.
Add the wine or sherry, and cook until it almost evaporates. Sprinkle parsley overall.
Let the vegetable mixture cool for a few minutes, and then combine it with the cream cheese and sour cream. (I used my electric mixer for this.)
Serve with crackers or vegetables. Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.