Now is the time to go mushroom hunting. But if you are not sure which ones are edible and which ones make you go all funny (or worse) - grab a friend who knows! There is a place and time for experimenting - this is not one of them!
This is what you are looking for.
See the humps? You can bet your mushroom knife that there are pine mushrooms hidden underneath.Peek-a-boo!
Remove the (sometimes very thick) layer of pine needles.
Cut the stem close to the ground, brush off the worst of the dirt with a pastry brush. Trust me! It is worth doing it right now! When you get home, you will be very grateful that you have cleaned off the worst of the dirt. All you then need to do is wipe the caps with a damp cloth, if there is still some soil, etc. left on them. Place the mushrooms in a basket or paper bag - plastic bags are not good.These pine mushrooms have a fantastic, firm texture. So you don't need a lot of them to make a good meal. They won't shrink when cooked. Recipe ideas to follow soon.
9 comments:
Great! We shall go hunting now.
gotta just love the thrill of those mounds! i just cant believe how many there are all around and NO ONE picks them!!! and they are so easy to identify. Jaspie has been mushrooming twice now and looks a total dear lugging the basket!
Yeah, you'd definitely need to bring along a friend who knows a thing or two about mushrooms (when you're just starting out). It's best to know which ones are good to eat early on (and the ones that you shouldn't eat) to remember them. Anyway, gathering up some wild mushrooms can be pretty fun. The grocery holds some nice stuff, but it's definitely recommended to try out some wild mushroom hunting!
Went out today, near Mt Crawford. Nothing to be found out that way but we're new to this and may be missing something vital. Any more advice about where these mounds are likely to occur?
Sandy
Hey is this a big secret? I would like to collect pine mushrooms too. Used to get them at Oberon nsw but not sure where to go around Adelaide?? Any suggestions?
Do you know of any mushroom foraging tours here in Adelaide?
Too early for the saffron milk caps but wait for the weather to get down to the low 20's and heavy rain followed by good soaking rain 2-3 weeks later.
Excellent foraging through Williamstown/ Mt Crawford or if you don't mind a drive then Deep creek and Second valley never let us down.Good quantities 20-30kg in an hour for eating fresh and marinating.
Just finished 2012 mushrooms, 2013 was a slow year for preserving, hoping this year is a bumper pick.
Picked up an 80 plus year old polish guy yesterday who got lost in the forest mushrooming. He had a massive bucket full of orange/golden mushrooms...to which I asked if he knew if the variety was safe. Said he'd been going there for over 20 years but got lost, tired & couldn't walk back. Dropped him off to his friend & car who also had a big haul. I was offered mushrooms, coffee, cake or whiskey in return for my kindness of helping an old man lol. So they are out now- off gordon road near the resovoir.
And apparently the same variety of mushroom in Poland are worth lots of money...I was just hoping they weren't going to poison the guy but they clearly knew what they were looking for- they were huge!! Cheers, local resident Williamstown
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