Golden Chanterelles are out Near Campbell River

Spent an enjoyable day wandering through some mushroom patches I scoped out two years ago in the Sayward Forest near Campbell River. Found lots of Golden Chanterelles at all stages of development, so I would say we are early to mid season on the North Island. I haven't seen any in my usual haunts near Nanaimo, so suspect we are a week or two behind. Here is a video from today, and a few photos.

Large Fluted Black Elfin Saddle and a Sweet Patch of Sweet Tooth

It is hard to believe that I could love the Sayward Forest, just north of Campbell River, any more than I already do. I've been enjoying it from the canoe for years, and over those years I have gazed at certian forests thinking, "I'll have to come back here in mushroom season." This year I did.

In the above video I ramble for a bit about the type of forest, then show some truely MASSIVE Elfin Saddles, a nice patch of Hedghogs, and more.

Here is a video just of the Hedghog Patch:

And just of the Elfin Saddles:

I'm really interested to hear from anyone who has eaten Elfin Saddles, how you cook them, and if it is worth it. Some smell delicious, some don't -- Why is that?

Thanks!

The Secret to Delicioius Chanterelle Mushrooms

I remember the first time I tasted a wild mushroom. It was a Giant Puffball that my father had rescued from us children.

"Oh, hold on!" my dad called, and something in the tone in his voice made us stop. Someone, not me, one of the other kids I'm sure, was winding up for a kick at the baseball sized mushroom. Dad plucked it, took it in the house, cut it into "steaks" and fried the steaks in butter till they were golden and almost black around the edges. He handed me one of the slices on a plate with a fork and I sniffed it wearily. Then I took a bite. I never looked back.

I was 12 when that happened and I've been frying wild mushrooms in butter ever since. But I have to say there are a few things that help mushrooms shine. A fine olive oil is as good as butter, the right cheese, garlic for some types, onions for most, and for Chanterelles, a good rich Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here is my recipe:

Still Nothing in Nanaimo, but Up-Island it is Well in to the Season

I drove today to a spot near Port Alberni that I have been speculating about for some time. This was a new area so I had no idea what I would find. Within a few minutes hiking I found many bleeding milk cap (Lactarius rubrilacteus) and then a patch of Golden Chanterelles, and some Hedghogs.

Golden Chanterelle

Golden Chanterelle

Cauliflower Mushroom

Admirable Bolete

Admirable Bolete

Admirable Bolete

Here is a video I took. In it I say that the Golden Chanterelles are just starting, but I did find several patches that were very mature, and most of them had been invaded by a white fibrous mold. I have not seen that before. Other patches of younger specimens were very firm and fresh.

A little further on I found some Hedgehogs.


Lastly I found some Elfin Saddles (Helvella) -- Maybe this year I will actually try eating some...

Fluted Black Elfin Saddle, Golden Chanterelles, Hedgehog

Helvella lacunosa

 Found these Fluted Black Elfin Saddles today, along with a few Chanterelles and one lone Hedgehog. Was surprised to find the hedgehog!

Hydnum umbilicatum

Golden Chanterelles

White Chanterelles

Monday 08 September 2014

Several days of rain in August and a day of light rain a week or so ago has brought out the White Chanterelles.

I filmed a little video of the find:


Cooked a bunch of them for dinner last night, and breakfast this morning. Very firm, on the verge of being too dry, but they pick up the butter really nicely, making for a very creamy smooth texture in the mouth with good tooth. This reminds me of just how nice White Chanterelles are compared to their more popular sisters the Pacific Golden Chanterelles.I think I like them better than the goldens.

First Frost

Earlier this week the temperature dropped below freezing. Last weekend I had the pleasure of showing some friends a spot I knew to be good for hedgehogs and chanterelles and as it happened we found a small quantity of both.

Then this weekend I visited some old haunts to see if anything was left, and to my delight I found a good number of fairly large belly button hedghogs, and some late Golden Chanterelles. I also visited a log where I had left an Admirable Bolete and found that it had begun to rot. So with the data from several years now in hand I came up with the following table for when the various choice forest mushrooms are likely to flush. I'll adjust it in the future as I gather more data.

	August		September		October		November		December
Lobster
White Chanterelle
Pacific Golden Chanterelle
Cauliflower
Bleeding Milk Caps
Admirable Bolete
Mika Cap
Pear Shaped Puffball
Conifer Coral Hericium
Club
Fluted Black Elfin Saddles
Hedghogs
Matsutake
Winter Chanterelle
Winter Oyster

First Chanterelle and Califlower in Nanaimo Area

Last weekend I walked in local parks and saw only one mushroom, a Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus) which was in a public area, so I did not pick it.

My finds today were a Cauliflower and a few small Chenterelles.

Here is the Cauliflower:

 Note the blue mold on it. I saw mold on several Chanterelles too, which leads me to think they came out earlier in the fall, and have been sitting here for quite a while.

Here is a Chanterelle completely covered in the blueish mold:

I walked for several hours and checked out a few spots that I know have had Chanterelles two years in a row.  Finally on a low spot where a creeks flows in the winter, in near some exposed bank, I found a few fresh ones, peaking out:

They were really small and I didn't pick them. A little further down the gully I found some more and took a picture with my headlight to show the size:

Then, finally I found a few worth picking:

No Slippery Jacks or Gomphidius or any of the common non-edibles. Did see a few Fir Cone Cap and some LBMs.

Some folks are saying we may not get the regular flush this year, and maybe not with the long Indian summer and no rain. Still, with all of November before us, I'm staying optomistic.

Maybe the Golden Chanterelles Where Late This Year?

It occured to me today, when I saw two more lights shining in the forest that turned out to be Golden Chanterelles, that it was white chanterelles I collected earlier in the season. Maybe with the funny weather in August and September (touch of rain in August, stretch of sun in September) that the Golden Chanterelles came out in early September, and this is a second, staggered bloom late in the season?

They are definitely mature, but not waterlogged, and these were, like the one's I got yesterday, tight in near trees, away from frost and rain. So maybe it is just that the bushes have lost their leaves and so there is a little more vista in the forest and otherwise hidden mushrooms become visible.

Whatever the explanation, it is a happy discovery.

Ok, so the Season Goes on a Little Longer...

I was out for a walk today and enchanted by a patch of little mushrooms glowing in the dimness, possibly Mycena alcalina, and that pulled me off the trail where I found some greenbacks (winter oysters) just starting to show.

Later at another site in the forest I saw a little chanterell peaking out of the moss and thought of "Stay in the Wild's" video in which he finds chanterelles on January 15th.

So I wandered into the forest and within a few minutes, using Stay in the Wild's technique of looking near debri that would shelter the chenterelles from frost, I found some nice ones.

It was getting dark, so I headed for home. The thermometer outside my office window read 2 degrees. Gotta love it -- chanterelles on December 11th!

Cantherellus subalbidus (White Chanterelle) and Cantharellus formosus (Pacific Golden Chanterelle)

Mike Orr's video from the 23rd motivated me to get in the vehicle and drive to some spots where I have found Chanterelles in the past. The first 1/2 hour was disappointing, and then I stumbled upon a patch of tinny golden Chanterelles.

Interestingly there was evidence that someone else had been there before me -- I could see the neatly cut stipes of larger mushrooms beside the small ones I found. I wandered around in a wider circle, went up the hill a ways, found nothing, so circled back and proceeded downhill from where I had found the small ones. Then I came across a patch of White Chanterelles and picked a bag full.

I walked quite a while after that but did not find another patch.

I did, to my great joy, find a red legged frog. Quite unexpected in the forest. And she sat still so I could take some photos with my iPhone.

After leaving her to her -- I'm not sure what -- burying herself in the mud for the winter??? I went down the road to another place I have had luck in the past and found one small Golden Chanterelle in well over an hour of tramping through the wet salal and deep woods.

It was a lovely spot with the sun streaming through the trees and just before I gave up I came around a big old stump and found this:

The fungus had an unpleasant smell.

 But was impressive in heft and detail.

 A little further on I found some polypores:

I'm going to guess that this is Coltricia perennis (Tiger's Eye). There were several lovely speciments: