The cool temperatures and soggy conditions we experienced for most of the summer may have been depressing to some, but there was a silver lining behind those clouds.
These conditions caused mushrooms to pop up like, well, mushrooms and some local residents are taking advantage of this year’s bounty.
Take a stroll through the woods, or just about any pasture, and you’re sure to see any number of wild mushrooms growing. Many of them are not only edible but delicious, too.
“There are about a dozen edible varieties that I know of,” said Rick Neilson of Barwick, who spent much of the weekend of Sept. 18-19 scouring the fields and edges of woodlots for some of these tasty delicacies.
Some of the most common local varieties available right now are shaggy mane and chartrelle mushrooms, as well as the giant and western giant puffballs.
The latter varieties are almost unmistakable. They are white in colour on the outside and usually are round in shape, although they sometimes can resemble a loaf of unbaked bread.
They also can grow to incredible sizes.
There are a number of ways to prepare them. In the case of puffballs, for instance, perhaps the easiest way is to slice them like bread into slabs about two cc thick. Then dip them in a mixture of egg and milk, and fry them in butter with a pinch of crushed garlic.
Flip them once like pancakes and when they are golden brown, they’re done.
However, here is a note of caution: not all the local varieties are edible. In fact, some are lethal, so if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s best to leave the mushroom harvesting to someone who does.
Better yet, go out with someone and see what they pick. Once seen, the safe mushrooms are pretty easy to identify
(Neilson does not recommend depending on wild animals to identify them for you because some mushrooms are safe for animals but still poisonous to humans).
The mushroom season is short and rapidly winding down, so now is the time to take advantage of one of the natural bounties found here in Rainy River District.
In fact, things are moving along so quickly, the best harvest already may be behind us, according to Fort Frances mushroom picker Mary Gushulak.
“This year they surprised us,” she noted late last week. “After the cool and dry spell, the rain came and they popped up too fast to pick them all and then they were gone.”
However, there may be an opportunity for a second harvest. Gushulak said if the conditions are right, we could see another boom over the next couple of weeks.
“If we get a little frost, they might pop out again,” she remarked.
Like Neilson, Gushulak stresses caution when picking mushrooms. Some toxic varieties closely resemble edible ones and can, in fact, be found growing in the same locations.
There are no hard-and-fast rules involving identification of mushrooms—and no substitute for knowledge. There also is no room for guesswork.
According to one website on the subject, there is an old saying: “There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.”
When in doubt, leave them alone. And when trying a new variety for the first time, eat only a small amount and never more than one type at a time. Some people are more sensitive to these delicacies than others, and even edible mushrooms can cause problems for some people.
Gushulak recommended the library as one source of information. There are a number of books available on the subject, and there also are a number of websites that contain valuable information.
Better yet, make friends with an experienced mushroom picker and tag along the next time he or she goes out.
If nothing else, it’s a nice way to spend an autumn day in the fresh air while having a chance to learn more about the natural world here in Rainy River District.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
