IMG_3488

 

Markers of late summer include the elegant, swooping migration of night hawks, the gilding of goldenrods in meadows and the buttering of wetland edges with yellow blooms of Bidens (commonly called beggar ticks). But I have a marker that is unknown to others. My neighbor will call me and pronounce, “Those toadstools you like are on one of our oaks. Come and get them if you want.”

And my predictable and wry response is, “Are you sure you don’t want to eat them?”

“No.”

With the title of “toadstool” it is no wonder that so many folks don’t want to eat wild mushrooms. It’s absurd to think of a toad sitting perched on a piece of furniture yet, that is the unappetizing image. Consequently wild mushrooms have a public image problem. Most folks wouldn’t associate them as kin to those fungi found in the grocery store packaged on a sterile bed of styrofoam and swaddled in plastic wrap,

Too many kids that ramble through yards, gardens or woods are warned “Don’t touch that mushroom! It’s poisonous.” Additionally when you grow up hearing that not only are they poisonous mushrooms but they are toadstools, that only adds to the fodder of blasphemizing the beautiful.

In the Middle Ages people really believed that the skin of toads with its warty glands was poisonous.
So poisonous fungi were christened a title evoking the image of a stool for poisonous toads.

Let’s not besmear our midwest toads for their drab and warty appearance. Catch all the toads you want. Stare into the gold speckled eyes and smile at their pudgy demeanor but then let them go and get back to work catching those insects that like to harvest your garden.

The fungus that my neighbor so generously guides me to each August is the sulfur shelf fungus. It is considered one of the “foolproof-four” edible wild mushrooms in Minnesota. They are very easy to identify.  The other three species are shaggy manes, morels and puffballs.

Non-poisonous fungi outnumber the toxic ones but some of them look similar so you need to be certain in your identification. Good field guides,  mushroom identification classes and experienced fungi collectors can help ease your fear of fungi and enhance your culinary skills. And regarding touching, none of them are toxic to touch but ingesting some can make you very sick and on occasion kill you.

Sulphur shelf is one of my all time favorite fungi to collect. It tastes like chicken. Really, it kind of does have the texture of chicken breast and tastes kind of like poultry. Not surprising, another common name to this fungus is “chicken of the woods.”

Called a shelf fungus because it grows out from its host tree like a fluted shelf. It is named for its glowing golden to blaze orange color. This makes it easy to spot in the shadows of the woods. Rainy and humid conditions seem to inspire this late fungus to suddenly appear. While I can find it in June, it is most prolific from mid-August to late September.

Collect it when it is really fresh because in just a matter of days the brilliant colors fade and scores of tiny black beetles will have deposited eggs which quickly hatch into tiny cream-colored worms that riddle the flesh with serpentine tunnels.

Upon discovering a sulfur shelf a quick glance will tell you how fresh it is. The freshest sulphur shelfs are those with the most intense flame colors. In a matter of days, after their emergence, the colors fade and a quick glance will tell you it is too late to harvest. Additionally, I always break off one of the shelflike fronds. It should break almost crisply the flesh should be firm. Closely inspect the underside and the interior of the broken off flesh for small, shy black beetles running about. I move on to seek fresher fungi if I discover tiny writhing cream-colored beetle larvae (worms) riddling the fungus flesh. They won’t hurt you and if you are willing to put up with an additional dose of protein, you could eat them.

For easy collecting, use your pocket knife and carefully cut or if you have no knife, carefully break the fungus from away from its attachment to the tree. Around my east-central, Minnesota home, oak trees, both dead and alive, are the most common hosts. It is not unusual to cut five pounds or more of this meaty fungus from the tree. I like to carry an empty paper sack or plastic will do, to carry my prize home.

After proudly displaying my find to my equally glowing wife, Nancy, I trim away any dirty or damaged pieces. This fungus stores well in the fridge for several days. We have dehydrated small slices for future use but we usually freeze slices on a cookie sheet and later bag them and tuck them in the freezer.

IMG_3492

 Our favorite way to prepare them is to  slice them approximately 1/8 inch thick and slide them into hot melted butter in a cast iron frying pan. Stir them occasionally. As the pieces turn slightly brown, you can squeeze or mix finely chopped fresh garlic  over them. One clove is good, but I like two better. Garlic salt can be added or substituted. Salt and pepper to taste and get ready for a fine treat to serve as an appetizer or a side dish.

Be forewarned, it is easy to overeat these buttery morsels and if you do you could feel the ills of indigestion.

IMG_3494

Sulphur shelf are also a delightful addition to egg and pasta dishes.

With September here, there is a good chance that I will be outdoors contemplating goldenrods and nighthawks. And that puts me out of reach of our phone.*  I can’t afford to miss my neighbor’s toadstool alert.

*(I’m a rebel and rarely carry our flip open cell phone.)

 

Filed under: Uncategorized