The Gift Of Fungus

Last week some neighbors of ours gave us a couple of bags of mushrooms sourced from local Brussels growers - Wild Eastons.  Oyster and Lion's Mane shrooms to be exact.  They had travel plans so we scored a gift of two big packages of beautiful fungi.  

For a couple of days I pondered what to do with them.  Pizza came to mind first.  A pasta dish next. And then a light came on; how about soup?  Homemade mushroom soup.  Consulting with the missus she agreed.  And suggested that there was a good mushroom soup recipe in the older of her two Moosewood cookbooks; the 1974 edition.  She shared that she used to make it for herself back in the day.

So I looked it-up; Mollie Katzen's Hungarian Mushroom Soup. And I had everything needed on hand to bring this recipe to life.

Upon serving, Jill declared, This is the soup I remember!  And it was fantastic; a rich and hearty mix of two mushrooms in a chicken stock accented with three kinds of dairy and a couple types of Hungarian paprika.  The only substitution I made to the recipe (linked above) was heavy cream instead of milk.  Because I could.

I'd make it again.   Come to think of it, Until now I don't ever recall knowingly eating a Lion's Mane mushroom before. Fantastic!

 

Le Champignon

Puffballs can be as small as marbles to as large as a watermelon. And they generally appear during the late summer and fall.   

From our walk the other day we spotted a scattering of individual puffballs the size of golf balls including this cluster on one of the trails. The surfaces can be smooth or corrugated like these. Sometimes that have spikes Unlike other mushrooms these do not have a stem. 

I’ve traveled in France a number of times and a lesser known and one of the most important functions of the French pharmacist is that of mushroom identification.  French pharmacists are trained in mycology.  All French pharmacists are required to study mushroom taxonomy as part of their training and provide the service of examining any wild-foraged fungi you collect. It is a valuable cultural and public service to encourage collection of free-range fungi and avoid poisoning. 

I am told that these puffballs are edible but because I am not an experienced forager of wild edibles and certainly not a trained mycologist.  As a consequence of this situation I am disinclined to bring these home, slice them up and saute in butter for a breakfast omelet. 

For the record - all mushrooms are fungi - yet not all fungi are mushrooms.

Fungus Amongst Us

Meet Omphalotus illudens – the Jack-O-Lantern mushroom.  

It is reasonably common east of the Rocky Mountains and is often found in urban habitat.  West of the Rockies it is rare.  It sprouts from dead tree limbs and stumps and is characterized by the bright orange color and distinctive clusters. 

To the untrained eye this fungus looks like a chanterelle.  However, unlike the edible chanterelles this fungus contains the toxin illuden S and is poisonous to humans.  While it may not kill you – you are sure to come down with a wicked-bad course of cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.  Ugh. 

Notable to this mushroom is an attribute that just might lead you home in the dark woods at night.  It glows in the dark.  Yup, it has  bioluminescent properties.  The whole mushroom does not glow—just the gills.  They contain the enzyme called luciferase, which acts upon a compound called luciferin, leading to an eerie green glow.  The process is similar to the light produced by fireflies. 

Fungus Among Us

The other day Jill brought this to my attention.       

Black spots on the leaves of a soft maple tree. 

I did a bit of interweb self-diagnosis and learned that there are a multiple number of causes of black spots forming on the leaves of any number of tree species.  And while most are caused by fungi they all had different names, were caused by different fungi and some were benign and a few were bad news.    

So I send a couple of photos along with a description to a retired forester pal of mine and he confirmed that as I suspected it was a consequence of the very wet spring we had. It is called Anthracnose.  (Nice word of the day). 

Anthracnose is a common fungal disease that affects shade trees and results in leaf spots, cupping or curling of leaves and early leaf drop.  As a general rule it is more common in cool, wet spring weather.  It is largely a cosmetic affliction and not a significant threat to the health of the tree.  Moreover, I don’t have to treat it as the tree is otherwise perfectly healthy.  

You can learn more about anthracnose here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticultural Extension.

Le Champignon

Since the days of Molière, Voltaire and Flaubert, the French have celebrated their pharmacies and the local pharmacist. 

Without a doubt the French pharmacy is not to be confused with an American drugstore.  You won’t find cigarettes, liquor, groceries, greeting cards, magazines or other convenience store items such as you will find in a Walgreens or CVS.  Of course, you will not find a bottle of aspirin in a grocery store in France.   

When traveling it is easy to spot a Gallic pharmacy.  Simply look for the universal green cross.  And if you are suffering a traveler's malady of some sort the pharmacist will set you right with a scrip and save you a trip to a doctor. 

Lesser known and one of the most important functions of the French pharmacist is that of mushroom identification.  Pharmacists in France are trained in mycology.  All French pharmacists are required to study mushroom taxonomy as part of their training and provide the service of examining your basket of wild-foraged fungi.

Thus, if you are a mushroom hunter, and as a public service, you can take the mushrooms you find to the pharmacy to ensure that they are edible.  In the fall of the year it would not be unusual to note lines of men and women toting bags and baskets to have their woodland and field fungi inspected by the pharmacist before they are incorporated into rich and delicious French cooking - or dried and preserved for future use..    

Raising a toast to the French pharmacist.  Vive la difference!

Morels

I got a bag of morels from a buddy a week and a half ago.

To prep I sliced them lengthwise and soaked them over night in some salted water.  The next morning I drained them and patted them dry and sautéed them in some better.  They were excellent in an omelet.

He suggest I train the dogs to become mushroom hunters.  Not a bad idea at all.