Wild Edibles - Mushrooms

Chantarelles are a popular wild edible mushroom having a pleasant apricot-like flavor when sauteed. - note the Partridgeberry leaves on the left, next to them. Careful, there is a look-a-like, called Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, that some consider edible, but doesn't taste very good.

These chantarelles are about two weeks older than the ones in the photo on the left, and clearly show the wine glass shape and distinctive folds that distinguish chantarelles from mushrooms with gills.

Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulfureus, aka Sulfur Shelf, growing on an injured black cherry tree. It tastes like chicken breast when coated with egg and bread crumbs, then fried or broiled, but must be harvested when moist and tender or else it will be woody and flavorless.

Shaggy Mane mushroom, Coprinus comatus, also known as Lawyer's Wig, is one of the easiest wild mushrooms to identify, usually appearing in late September or early October. Sauteed with onions and oil, and then stirred into scrambled eggs, this is one of the tastiest wild edibles. It is important to know that, once picked, this mushroom deteriorates in just minutes into an inedible, inky black substance. Always be ready to cook them immediately after gathering.

Dryad's Saddle, or Pheasant Back ( polyporous squamosis ) is one of the first edible fungi to appear in the spring. These beauties are growing on a Cottonwood stump and always seem to appear in the same general area every year. The outer edges are great when simmered in a little oil and butter.

Almost all puffballs are edible while they are still young and firm and solid white inside. Once they darken they are no longer edible. Just be sure they are really puffballs, having no gills or stem.

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