# preserving, meadow mushrooms, pink bottoms



## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

I was thinking about trying to preserve some this year and was hoping someone had experience winterizing or saving with these mushrooms, drying, freezing etc. for later use. 

I like to saute them then put them on cheese casa dias for mushroom cheese casa dias, and WOW they are great. and when they are growing you can pick them by the pick up truck load in cattle fields. they stay very clean, be sure to keep them dry do not soak in any water, if they need a little cleaning run a little water on them before using and clean lightly. best wishes, ray


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

This must be what is growing in my pasture. A man stopped and asked if he could pick them. I'd like to know more about them. He mentioned "pink" mushrooms.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I, too, would like to see a picture. I have dried all kinds of mushrooms. My yard is full of Slippery Jacks right now (they're BIG this year). I have my eye on two hen-of-the-woods that are just starting to grow at the base of my neighbor's oak tree. I gather those, cut them into portions and vacuum seal them and toss in the freezer. In the spring I gather oyster mushrooms and can them. They are probably my favorite. I dry the morels that I find. Shaggy Manes are just starting to spring up. I usually cook them in a little butter and garlic and freeze them.


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

just do a search on field mushrooms, meadow mushrooms. they are very safe in usa, if picked in fields where animals graze, they usually grow in bunches, or everywhere when they grow, the gills are pink as a pink can be till they get a little older then the gills start to turn purple brown, brown, then dark brown, when you first start picking them only pick pink gilled oned, they are a cousin to the portabella. don't taste the same though, but nice. don't soak in water just wash lightly right before cooking, only pick in fields. they are safe that way. best wishes ray


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

When these first come up they look like the button mushrooms you get from the store, in fact the books say they are related. I've read they are rated one of the safest for first timers to pick because there are no look alikes. But I advise, Do not pick them in any forest only in the field!! The early ones have the pinkest underside you have ever seen, but as they age the gills turn brown as does the cap. So stay in a safe field area where hundreds of other pink bottoms, field mushrooms, or meadow mushrooms, by what ever name they are fine eating and in a good year by the ton. heres a link to some photos, be safe with mushrooms!!

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5482~gid~~source~gallerydefault.asp


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## lemonthyme7 (Jul 8, 2010)

I dry mine in the dehydrator if I don't eat them all first! They dry very well and I think that is probably the best and easiet way to preserve. Put them in something air tight and remember to soak them to rehydrate before you use them.


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

Yes, I can do a few, but usually they come up by the pick up load when they do, not always. I only have 2 dehydrators, so I am restricted As to how many I can dry without loosing the rest. 
I know I can SautÃ© them and freeze too, but I am getting To where I like to keep it as simple and easy as possible. Perhaps the weather will be warm enough during the day to sun dry most of them??? I guess we'll see what happens. I hope someone else can come along with some more options that make things easier too, thanks and I'll definitely dry some. Best of luck
I see that everything fall is starting to come up, hen of the woods, chicken mushrooms, a little earlier I was picking orangish chantrells, black trumpets, are up, blue indigo, old man of the woods, boletus, bearded tooth, although they don't have slot of flavor, and the field mushroom is. Due any time. Last year I saved near 30 lbs. Live of the black trumpet, and ended up with maybe 4 lb of dried trumpets, and we still have nearly half of them, but we had I don't even know how many hens, waymore than we could eat, I gave most of them away, and gave away most ofthe chicken of the woods too, My wife doesn't eat too many and I can only eat so many myself so my children and friends end up with most of what I pick. It seems most folks don' seem to know what is safe???? But there are so many safe mushrooms to pick that just don't have any look slimed here in the USA that if they would just do a little reading they could have more in the winter coffer than they could eat too, but, I hear so many younger folk say that they don't read and have no need to read anything, that they can. Get. Anything they. Need from the TV. WOW, WHAT HOGWASH! They ave fed themselves so much Crap they believe it But none of what they tell Themselves is true. They could learn a lot from links that are on line, but not what they are looking at, each others Facebook and Twitt acc.s that show when each takes a cr*> and a break at work, who cares. OOPS Expressing my old time opinion again sorry. Anyway good luck with the fall crop of mushrooms, time is now!!!!!


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

> It seems most folks don' seem to know what is safe????


Yep, that's me!!!!

My great uncle died as a child from poison mushrooms. I have a very foraging family on this side of the family but not knowledgeable about mushrooms. 

I would love to have someone personally show me different mushrooms, not relying on books.


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

there are some great books and web sites out there now.
There are also about 10 wild mushrooms that are considered easy and safe to pick for the first timer that actually have no look a likes, and are fine eating. I suggest one book by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, about wild mushrooms of Missouri, which you can get from their website, and you have the same mushrooms there, with one exception the Chantrel we have here has no look alike here but I don't know about where you are because there is one look alike kinda, but it is much more orange and has gills, where the true Chantrel just has small ridges up its under side where the look alike had actual gills. So you might want to check that out tho it is easy to tell the difference even for a novice IF you have both to look at. So just avoid any that have a look alike that is poison and only pick safe mushrooms. Avoid things like honey mushrooms that even the experts get fouled up on, if in doubt throw it out. They saying goes. do spore prints it is easy. They say their are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters but no old bold mushroom hunters!!!!!! keep it to the safe no look alike mushrooms. The field mushrooms I was talking about are in the fields don't try to pick them in the woods! I hope you learn a few like the hen of the woods chicken mushroom, black trumpet,spring morel, and more. good luck, good eating, ray


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## didaho (Jan 22, 2008)

I found this site, it's a guideline for foraging mushrooms.

http://www.foragingguide.com/edible_mushrooms.html

I know the good mushrooms in PA, but I am trying to learn what is safe in Idaho.


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