Late harvest shrooms

Ok, I lied. I couldn't close shop for the winter without mentioning my new favorite mushroom Flammulina velutipes, aka, Enokitake, aka Enoki, aka winter mushroom, aka velvet foot.
I found a small dried out bunch a few weeks ago, and after confident ID, I fried it up for a first taste. It's a good idea to try a small amount of new mushrooms fried in a bit of butter and/or oil. This will give you a good idea of the flavor while also testing for any personal sensitivities to new species. The winter mushroom has this really (really) great nutty umami flavor. I threw the rest of that small harvest into a homemade miso soup. The absolute best flavor of any mushroom I've tried yet!

I was out a couple days ago on the lookout for Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) and was super excited to see this big splash of orange off the trail. F. vuletipes likes the colder fall temps and is usually peeking out of knotholes or from behind peeling bark. The caps are sticky when fresh and the stems turn fuzzy black in mature specimens (thus the velvet foot name). They have a white spore print and are always found in clusters growing on wood, sometimes very large groups. They can even be found growing throughout the winter if you're lucky enough.

velvet feet

stock photo

Enokitake is the name for those long, skinny, tiny capped, white mushrooms commonly found in Asian cuisine. This is actually the same species, a cultivated form of F. vetulipes. It is grown in darkness in tall jars to bleach it and stretch out the stems creating a form unrecognizable compared to the wild specimens





As I was harvesting the large clump above, a big piece of bark peeled back and revealed these little babies.  I now see how the popular cultivated form must have began. I'll probably go back to check on these little ones in a few days. This tree was very popular!

Wild Enokitake!

I also found my first Wood Ears (Auricularia auricula). These are also an edible commonly found in asian cuisine. They are a little creepy, some resembling their namesake a tad too much for my taste. I thought briefly about stringing them as a necklace for Halloween, we'll see.  They have little flavor but give a great chewy texture for soups and other dishes. Warning: DO NOT pan fry these. They inflate and explode like little balloons. I, of course, had to try it when I heard that, so trust me they really POP!

Hello?...

...Is it me you're looking for?