Tuesday, September 23, 2025
L:61 H:64
Martha picked up a brochure in the Farmhouse Restaurant about an outdoor class on mushrooms. We have wanted to do this for some time, so she called and scheduled it. Our last hike piqued our interest. There were so many mushrooms of all sorts. All of this rain and fog has made perfect conditions for mushrooms. They were just sprouting up everywhere!
715-209-4748
We drove to our meeting place and were the first to arrive. We talked with a gentleman who drove up, then two ladies who came. Arne Martinson, our leader, came next.
I have added and supplemented from other sources since I can’t remember all the important information Arne gave us. I would love to take this class over and over.
Dressed in hiking pants with an unusual camera setup around his neck, 28 years old, Arne (pronounced Arnie) said we would follow a popular trail. The two ladies were at least knowledgeable and Dana carried a field notebook. He had instructed us to bring a bag or basket to collect mushrooms.
He said the purpose would be to introduce us to a variety of mushrooms and to give us confidence to pick and eat several of the varieties. By the time we got to the trailhead, it was already evident this was going to be a fun day.
His enthusiasm, level of knowledge and teaching abilities are great. It took me 30 or 40 minutes to finally start recording him. In the middle the recording somehow stopped. 30 minutes later, I restarted it. The woods were chock full of mushrooms. He was spotting things right and left, and the information was coming fast. Arne has a way of slowing it down and hitting important points.
First there were the LBM’s, little brown mushrooms. There was a discussion of all the varieties, probably thousands of them. It can be hard to specifically identify them, so the simple rule for beginners is to not eat any of these. The Galerina class has over 300 species, some of which can be toxic, even deadly. “So let’s just stay away from these.”
Later he would summarize toxicity. Pick and eat what you are absolutely sure of. “Send me a picture any time of ones you are not sure of.” He got two or three of those calls or texts during the morning. He pointed out some mushrooms that are toxic, meaning you may have an upset stomach, or you might get sick, or you might wish you had never eaten that mushroom, but he doesn’t personally know of anyone who has died from eating mushrooms. Don’t eat them raw. Clean them well before cooking.
Then there were the shelf mushrooms. There are some edibles in this category like Chicken of the Woods. There were two interesting points about this group. He counted rings on one to judge its age. Like rings on a tree stump, he said this mushroom had been there for eight years.
Another was the hoof mushroom which can be prepared and carry an ember for a long time. The Ojibwe used this to carry a fire from one camp to another (my addition). The mushroom is the amadou mushroom (Fomes fomentarius).
There were the gilled mushrooms, with gills on the underneath. Again, it is too difficult to identify for certain, so for beginners like us, don’t eat them. Some have skirts on the stem. One is toxic. It has a bulb at the base along with a skirt, called the Destroying Angel. So stay away from gilled mushrooms, especially ones with skirts and bulbs.
The other deadly one is the Autumn Skullcap, which can cause liver and kidney failure. I think he said he has not seen either of these mushrooms in this area.
Interestingly, he said all animals in the forest eat mushrooms – bears, deer, squirrels, etc. “Everyone OK with going off-trail?” Then we are walking through the forest. Bending over to show us a pretty mushroom, he turns his head and gets very excited. Under a rotting log are tiny mushrooms attached to the log.
“These are (some name I can’t remember) and they had never been found this far north until I reported finding them here. I wrote an article about it with a picture on the cover,” he said proudly.
Like a professor, he is a member of the Mycological Society, going to meetings often, and goes to Colorado to explore and lecture. “I’m a total geek,” he said. His enthusiasm is contagious.
There were a number of mushrooms of interest that were unusual or pretty that he talked about, like coral mushrooms. Then he got excited. “Hey look at these! Black Trumpets!” I couldn’t see them. “They are everywhere!” Still couldn’t see them as he anxiously picked them, handing some to others, picking off the dirty bottom of the stem. “When you get them home, unfold them and wash them in a salad spinner just like you do lettuce. Keep them in a paper bag in the refrigerator. They should keep about a week and a half.”
I bent over to finally see them growing through the leaves. 2-4” in height, they did look like trumpets, and they are hard to see. Everyone was busy picking them. “Mushrooms are a living organism that lives underground and puts up shoots, or fruit above ground. It is the only animal or plant that you can harvest and not harm the organism itself.” You really are harvesting the fruit.
“Sauté them in a pan with nothing in it. You will be surprised how much water comes out. As it cooks down a bit, add butter and cook until crispy. Get a good Alfredo sauce and put it over pasta or rice. Dana said, “Makes a great risotto.” These are so unique, you really couldn’t mistake them.
Chanterelles were another group we found that everyone was collecting. https://foragerchef.com/chanterelle-mushrooms/
The Black Trumpets can sell for $140 a pound at farmer’s markets, We also found porcini mushrooms, another prized mushroom that Dana nicknamed the pancake mushroom. He encouraged such names as it can help you remember. Learning all the names can be difficult. The Porcini is an Italian name, meaning piglet. Cut them to see if there are bugs. How do you know if it is a Porcini? it is a Bolete. It feels like a spongy underside. It is called the King Porcini. It has a netting. There are no deadly Bolites in the world. Porcinis are easy to identify. They are red and brown, and the white stem and netting. Spongy. They are better dried with a dehydrator, or put in the oven at the lowest temperature possible, then vacuum-sealed.
He sliced the cap of a mushroom, which helps identify it. The first one bled blue, getting more intense with time. Dana pressed the cut piece on her notebook, and it printed a cool blue. Surprisingly, when it dried, it didn’t smear or spread. Others bleed other colors. Some ooze liquid with different flavors. I tasted one he said was spicy. It took a minute, but then the burn came like a hot pepper.
Lactifluus piperatus, commonly known as the blancaccio, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Lactifluus. The fruiting body is a creamy-white mushroom which is funnel-shaped when mature, with exceptionally crowded gills. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_piperatus)
As we got back on the trail, Arne turned around and said something like: You know humans have learned to conquer the world. We have cut down the trees, ruined the fisheries, and killed the game. Foraging for mushrooms takes you to quiet, peaceful places that help us become a part of nature, instead of a destroyer. Much like fishing or hunting, it takes you to beautiful places, helps you to see what is there. The nice thing about mushroom hunting is we are not killing anything, and we lose ourselves in the environment.
It was a great class with a great teacher!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis
https://www.shroomer.com/porcini-mushrooms
https://www.shroomer.com/porcini-mushrooms/
inaturalist app was recommended, but not always reliable on edibles, although helpful in identification.
