Black Trumpets and Cinnabar Chantrelles

As muggy summer nights start to fade here in Michigan and the nights have a bit of crispness to them. My thoughts start to turn to fall and some of my favorite pastimes. Hunting season will soon be upon us and will provide some delicous culinary treats for the plate.

While I wander the woods I also enjoy foraging for nature’s other treats. Mushrooms can be very plentiful when the temperature and rainfall are right. Picking mushrooms can be very tricky and requires a certain amount of expertise. A good field guide is a must! I use the Audubon Field Guide to North American Mushrooms and you will have to learn how to take a spore print.

Of course my experience as Chef is very helpful in that I have gained a lot of experience working with many kinds of wild mushrooms. When in doubt don’t eat the mushrooms! However the experience of trying to identify every mushroom you find is very rewarding and educational. A lot of things are quote “edible” bark, flowers, insects…Haha. That however doesn’t mean they taste good so I don’t even consider eating any mushroom that is simply considered edible. I only consider eating a mushroom listed as choice or good in my guide.

It is mid August and already I have begun to find Cinnabar-red Chantrelles. They have a good edibility but tend to be very small, so while finding a few it was not really enough to pick. I find them growing along paths in my oak woods which is absolutely consistent with the information in my mushroom guide. I also found one small lonely puffball.

One of my favorites that I generally find in the fall are Black Trumpets a choice eating mushroom that is very fragrant. Once you learn to find them you may find yourself smelling them before you see them! They like oak and beech trees….but since my woods has thousands of oaks my most reliable spot is under a easily identafiable beech tree. I have also in the past found the bright orange chicken mushroom…major score as they tend to be very large, although if they are to old they can get tuff and and not as good to eat. I often can recognize them from the car growing on stumps or dead trees!