# Hunting Mushrooms? We found 'em!



## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

DH and I go hunting for mushrooms every Fall; and we got 4#s of Chanterelles this afternoon! They are late due to our extended dry period, just recently ended. We found both White and Orange Chanterelles.

Anyone else out there foraging Mushrooms? Or scored earlier in your zone...


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## Laura (May 10, 2002)

We are finally getting them out here. 

There was a sprinkle a few weeks ago and they popped, but it dried out so quickly they were gone by the next morning, I only found a few dried out ones.


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

I hope to go hunt on Sunday. We often don't find Chanterelles here until right before Thanksgiving, so I may not be successful. Will post if I find 'em, though.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I expect mushroom season to be short here, due to our weather. The reason we went out, was due to DH taking a hike in the woods, and finding them. It was too dry for them last month, so these are the first.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I was deciding what to do with my mushrooms and then thought of all the Venison, I will be canning... We will be going hunting for more mushrooms Saturday, as I know we have a short window this year. Yes, will be canning mushrooms mixed with Venison!


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## jefferson (Nov 11, 2004)

lorichristie said:


> I was deciding what to do with my mushrooms and then thought of all the Venison, I will be canning... We will be going hunting for more mushrooms Saturday, as I know we have a short window this year. Yes, will be canning mushrooms mixed with Venison!


Lori do you need another husband???


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

jefferson said:


> Lori do you need another husband???


LOL, one is all I can handle... Hey, on the mushroom front, our haul was 37.5#s in a 9 day span. I was the winner, picking 2/3s of them. All were canned w/Venison, dehydrated, or sauteed and frozen. 37 pints & 12 QTS of canned Venison, all but 5 or 6 pints, canned with Chanterelles.

Two days ago, I picked 1.5#s of Shrimp mushrooms, and 7 Shaggy Manes.


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Nice haul!!

I found the first boletes in my woods just today. Chanterelles won't be far behind.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Chanterells are just starting here in much quanity. I have gotten 4 buckets so far. I check every other day. The town used to have a mushroom festival, the firehall put it on and everyone "had" to go. Big celebration. Lately because the timber companies have closed the woods and now the roads AND making everyone get permits mushroom picking has died down a lot. I haven't seen any buyers out yet at all this year.

How does everyone like theirs? Since I only pick Chanterells (only ones we like here) I like them best fried up with butter and salt&pepper. Add them to everything but my favorite is in and with zuchinni fritters, in scrambled eggs, as gravy with thinly sliced liver or venison backstrap....James


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

We enjoy sauteed with eggs, in stews, in quiche, with venison, steak, on burgers, in burgers, in casseroles, and all kinds of dishes. We sautÃ©ed, sealed & froze, also canned with venison, and dehydrated them.

James, how long do chanterelles last out there once freezing temps hit? We have had a few nights in the 20s...

Reason I ask, is our shrooms arrived very late this year, when the rains did, usually coming out in Sept/Oct, yet this yr, not until Nov!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Not long after freezes. We haven't had but 2 freezing mornings, around 30. Late here too as it didn't rain until late, not unusual though. Yes, I did forget the mushroom burgers. And the wild rice and sauted mushrooms. I keep the dehydrators going full time. They are sooo good, but a short period to enjoy fresh. Usually put up 20 gallon bags full of dried ones.

I went out elk hunting this morning, friend dropped me off and I scouted around, got 2 13 gallon garbage bags, each half full. With 2 bags and my rifle, the walk back to town was tough, about 3 miles plus the scouting. I am suffering tonight, really bad Charley horses in my legs, cramped up tight and it is really making my hip hurt. Too damp and wet for this old man. I think I am getting a bad cold, got really wet and cold repairing a water service leak on friday. I have duty tomorrow, just rounds and take readings, check in at the waterplant to make sure all is well, an hour in the morning and just a run up to the waterplant in the evening....James


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## no1butcherman (Sep 6, 2007)

Poison Mushroom Soup Kills 2 Elderly Women - Yahoo! News


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

no1butcherman said:


> Poison Mushroom Soup Kills 2 Elderly Women - Yahoo! News


This is precisely why you should only pick easy to identify mushrooms.

I picked mushrooms as a child, back then only Morels; no one ever was sickened in our entire family (we all picked). When I met DH, 9 years ago, I began learning a lot more about mushrooms. We pick only around 8 varieties; no issues at all.

I tell every one who asks to become familiar with just a few easy to identify mushrooms, learn with experienced, and go to mushroom exhibits.

You can die from eating the wrong berries or plants, too. Simple- If you aren't 100% sure, don't eat it!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Today, DH picked most of the 5#s of Chanterelle Mushrooms. That makes 42.5#s just this year! DH had made a Crab Chanterelle Onion Quiche for Church Brunch two weeks ago. Even though I put up a card IDing Crab and WILD Chanterelles, and folks ate it without hesitation! That even surprised me.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

All the mushroom dishes discussed above sound delicious!

I am comfortable with picking morels, oysters and a few others, but I'd like to be able to learn to recognize and find chanterelles...

I've been watching some mushrooms that I think may be chanterelles for the past week or so and now that the ridges on the underside of the cap are easier to see I am feeling more encouraged.
I'm definitely still learning my way around west coast mushrooms... any thoughts on how to tell true chanterelles from look-a-likes like false chanterelles and jack-o-lanterns?
http://wellheeledhills.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/2012-11-27_11-34-31_130.jpg

http://wellheeledhills.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/2012-11-27_11-34-37_106.jpg


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

These are the only ones I pick or like. I have lived here all my life and learned from my Grandmother and have picked with some good knowledgable people. I have picked for the mushroom market for years....James

Where to Find Chanterelles Along Oregon's Coast | Suite101


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

K.B.... Chanterelles really are hard to confuse with any other mushroom -- even the Wooly Chanterelle referenced in James's link. I have good luck finding Golden Chanterelles about this time of year in my area. They grow higher (700 feet above sea level, approximately) earlier in the season, lower as the season progresses. I tend to find them more on the north side of Doug fir trees, but that's not always the case. Always fairly close to the trees, and always in the moss.

The Wooly Chanterelles referenced in James's link don't really look anything like the Golden Chanterelles. The trumpet shape is much more upright, they are a brighter orange hue, the stipe is completely different and they grow in a different habitat. I think you would be immediately suspicious if you saw one.

Also wanted to say that I don't think the Jack O'Lanterns grow around here... at least, my field guides all indicate they grow in the east. Has anyone found one in the Coast Range?

Happy hunting!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Hi James and Raeven- Thank you for the info! 

The Jack-O-lanterns are really the only ones that I am concerned about. My Audubon guide indicates that they can be found in California this time of year under oaks. However, it seems they tend to grow in clumps/clusters much more than the Chanterelles which tend to fruit in a scattered manner of single/doublets. Being down in Jackson county, our climate is much more like northern California in many ways as compared to the Oregon Coast Range or the W. Valley.

One other tip from the guide was that the jack-o-lantern types may glow a faint green if viewed in complete darkness shortly after picking.  fungi are very fun!

Do the Chanterelles in your area have the "fruity" aroma?

Thanks again!


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

K.B. said:


> Do the Chanterelles in your area have the "fruity" aroma?
> 
> Thanks again!


Yes; the apricot odor is very distinct to me. I just love 'em. 

I knew the Jack O'Lanterns glowed green but wasn't aware that any grew here in the west. Good to know. Guess I won't eat my mushrooms until I've seen them in the dark...


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

One of the resident fungal experts in Eugene provided an ID of a White Chanterelle for the mushrooms in question. Here are a couple of closer pics of the "gills".

2012-11-30_08-33-58_300 | wellheeledhills 

2012-11-30_08-34-30_835 | wellheeledhills 

I'm simply giddy! this is the same bed that had morels popping up last Spring... Now I'm on the hunt to ID the boletes that are popping up under our Doug-firs.


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

LOL, awesome, K.B.!! Now you know what you're looking for, you won't have any trouble finding them. Nicely done!!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks, Raeven! Each time we can ID something on the land or in our area, it always feels like another piece of the "puzzle" has dropped into place. 

The best part is that our 3 boys are always curious to learn what the plants, mushrooms, flowers, critters, are too...


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

morel season was exceptionally early this past spring in the northland. They normally harvest late may to mid june. This year it was all over by 3rd week May! Overall the summer was dry and difficult to find decent numbers of mushrooms in the northwoods around here. Although early fall there were good numbers of pine boletes and lobster mushrooms around to pick.


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

I am SO jealous!! I mushroom hunt here but not extremely because, well, because it's Australia. We even have mushrooms that look exactly like American edibles but will kill you long before the Taipan and brown snake do. Which, by the way, are where the mushrooms are too.

Chanterelles....Morels.... Oh, for chanterelles, I have no morels! [If you laughed, you are a bad, bad person]


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

notbutanapron... welcome to the forum. My late husband was a Kiwi who migrated to Aus when he was 22, so lived there for longer than he lived in the Top of the South before coming here to the USA. 

I will probably laugh at almost everything you post -- I miss that wonderful sense of humo(u)r!! Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!!


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Hey, K.B., I was having a little walk in the woods today when I found some Woolly Chanterelles, the ones you should avoid. I snapped a few pics to post for you:
































You can see pretty immediately that the habitat is all wrong, as is the stipe. They just look... not quite right. Hope this is of use. 

Here are some other mushrooms I snapped today, though I've no idea what they are:
































That last one is a psilocybe, but no idea if it's a, ummm, good one or not. Still, nice to look at.


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## wes917 (Sep 26, 2011)

One of our local outdoors stores here has a morel workshop each year, and each year I plan on going but never do because I have nowhere to hunt. Well this year I do so I will be making it to the seminar this year.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Nice pictures, Raeven! Thank you very much for posting them. I appreciate the help in learning how to tell the good from the bad ones


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

K.B.... well, now you've harvested actual Chanterelles, I'm sure you'd never make the mistake. But I thought I'd post the pics nonetheless in case someone else may find them helpful.  I was more worried about you before you'd actually found the right ones!!


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