Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fungi Fear.


More than a year ago, I inoculated logs with shiitake plugs.

And nothing happened.

Well, something happened. But it didn't look like a shiitake.


I was too afraid to feed it to my family. (Which really means, I feared poisoning Peter and me. Our kids would never let a mushroom pass their lips.)

I tried doing a spore print, but then was too freaked out that I wasn't reading the print correctly. So, I tossed the volunteer mushroom.

Two hours later, I learned from a mushroom expert that it was an oyster.

Oysters are perfectly safe. And delicious.

I'm such a coward.

I must admit, I pretty much gave up on the logs.

But then yesterday, I saw this:

It looks like a shiitake.

It's growing where the shiitakes should emerge.

It looks delicious.

Now, though—can I overcome my fears? Do I harvest it and serve it to Peter? Is his life insurance policy up to date? Will our children become orphans if this isn't a shiitake?

It's ridiculous, really.

I've participated in two workshops about growing mushrooms. I own several guides to identify mushrooms, including the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Mushrooms. People often forage for mushrooms. In fact, there's a group in our area that regularly meets to mushroom-hunt.

Yet, I can't get past my fear of fungi. Perhaps it's the skull and crossbones I keep finding in my guides. 

If I found a sudden flush of uniform looking mushrooms on the logs, I'd be more likely to harvest and eat them. But instead of a flush of shiitakes produced from plugs, nature invades and produces a variety:

 


I'm fairly certain that these are Turkey Tail, a mushroom used medicinally.

And what's this? It doesn't look like the other mushroom that I think is a shiitake.

So, it's daunting. I really, really want to grow mushrooms—but I also want to EAT them.

And live.

I've realized it's time.

I need to suck it up and enroll in a full-blown class.

The brilliant Tradd Cotter at Mushroom Mountain offers classes and workshops onsite. I've realized that I can't do this on my own. I need an expert. I need to fork over the cash and learn how to safely produce and identify mushrooms.

Peter is safe. No mushrooms for dinner tonight.

What's your experience with mushrooms? Have you ever foraged for wild mushrooms, or do you only dare to eat packaged mushrooms from the supermarket?

Stay tuned...I'll let you know what I learn from my hands-on class!

Julie




16 comments:

  1. Great minds run in the same direction Julie! I have taken some wonderful fungi fotos and plan to do a Dirt Diaries posting soon :) Enjoy the class. Will be interested in what you discover.

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    1. Funny, Lynn--I think it's that time of year for mushrooms! They are so weird and beautiful...but I'm still uncertain if I'll ever be brave enough to eat them. Tradd is a mushroom genius, so I know I'll learn a lot regardless of if they ever are grown and eaten from our garden!

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  2. I'm afraid of mushrooms, too. When my brilliant mycology professor told me that even experts misidentify mushrooms sometimes and that she didn't eat wild mushroom herself, I became way to afraid to try them. So, I completely understand your fear. Have you read some of the things that can happen to you if you eat a bad one?? (I bet you have!) I would need to take a lot more classes to feel comfortable, but maybe... eventually. Nah, who am I kidding? Not going to happen! But having said that, I know there are some great mushroom foragers in SC and I'm sure they would think I'm being ridiculous.

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    1. Daricia, I have to say--the words of your mycology professor have now terrified me! Honestly, the reason I didn't eat the original oyster mushroom I found several months involved an episode of The Today Show. The morning I harvested the first mushroom and had it out for spore printing, I listened to an interview on "The Today Show" involving an author who almost inadvertently killed his family by feeding them foraged mushrooms. And he foraged often! The family members survived, but I know he needed a kidney transplant, and I think his wife did as well. At that point, I tossed the mushroom. I think it was a sign! I'm not sure I'll ever be brave enough to eat a mushroom I grew/found...

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    2. Thank was my reaction, Julie...terrified! I really doubt I can ever eat any wild mushrooms now. Even store bought mushrooms worry me from time to time, though I do eat them. I guess you would call that mycophobia!

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  3. Oh, I don't blame you! I feel the same way about ingesting mushrooms unless an expert IDs them. But it sounds like you're on your way to becoming a mushroom expert1

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    1. In Switzerland, where my husband is from, you can take mushrooms to the pharmacy for identification. I wish we had that option here! I don't think I'll ever be an expert--but they are kind of fascinating.

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  4. I think growing mushrooms is fascinating. I love photographing them in the wild. But I don't know that I would ever trust growing them myself. I look forward to reading what you learn in your class. I love the turkey tails!

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    1. Mushrooms are really interesting, aren't they? I'm excited to take the class, but I can't do it until late this fall due to conflicts. Still...I'm not sure I'll ever feel confident eating a foraged mushroom unless I have an expert ID it for me!

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  5. Hi Julie, Mushrooms are delicious, but lets face it, they are a bit weird looking. I think it is instinctual to be cautious around them. And I am sure your husband would agree that cautious is not a bad thing when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I think a class will make you all the more confident about growing them.

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    1. Jennifer, after my hubby read this post, he said, "You know--let's just keep buying them." ;-)

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  6. I'm happy to eat the ones I know from foraging, and to rely on my expert friends for those I don't. They're probably just what you planted.

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    1. I think I need you to come forage with me! Honestly, I probably wouldn't have hesitated to eat the mushrooms if they all looked like shiitakes--but where I had only inoculated shiitakes, I had at least three varieties of mushrooms on the logs in the forest. I know the plugs were shiitakes--I completely trust the source, but the logs are in the middle of our forest, and spores spread. So, that's where I got a little nervous!

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  7. Your post has me laughing, I hope mine will come with papers, verifying they are in fact either oysters or shiitake. Are Tradd's classes one day or multiple days? I know you won't poison your family. hahahah a

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    1. Janet--I think your log will be fine. Our logs are in the middle of our forest, and we have lots of strange mushrooms back there. I'm sure the spores just spread to the logs. I don't question the plugs at all--Tradd and Olga are brilliant, and I know their plugs were top quality. The class I want to take is one day out at Mushroom Mountain, but I can't take it until later this year. (Soccer conflicts until early November.) Want to go?

      BTW--Peter read this post, said he thought the class sounded great...but that we should just keep buying our mushrooms! (Coward! ;-) Hee hee!)

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    2. Sounds good Julie. Let's look at doing this.

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