Mushroom foraging and a 50s experience

We went mushroom foraging in Belangelo State Forest today. It took a little while but we collected a whole basketful of lovely fresh saffron milkcap mushrooms. Ah yum, so yum. We learnt how to collect these fabulous mushrooms this time last year with Diego, he has great information on his website or follow on instagram on @theweedyone,  . Diego was there today, I noticed it wasn't just me saying hello, he has introduced a whole lot of people to the fine art of mushroom hunting. Sadly no one in my family has had this skill to hand down.

Tonight I have cleaned and cooked most of the mushrooms - some sauteed in olive oil with chilli and rock salt, others dipped in egg and breadcrumbs - check my recipe for schnitzels.

We have been happy to pass the skill on to other friends - today we were out there with a group. Diego is a good teacher - we are confident in collecting saffron milkcaps or pine mushrooms, but don't touch anything else. You know the saying - there are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hutners but no old, bold mushroom hunters.

After our foraging adventure we stopped off in Moss Vale for a treat at Bernies, a great American style Diner.  At the recommendation of a friend I had a ginger beer float or spider.  Yum so so good.


There is a new vintage clothing shop in Moss Vale - Viva MossVale seems to be a burgeoning vintage scene happening.  Here's a cute Holden wagon - I love the pop of colour.

5 weeks break - pine mushroom schnitzels

Here's another recipe idea for using Pine Mushrooms. I chose the smallest button Saffron Milkcaps we picked on Sunday for this dish.

After cleaning the mushrooms with a dry paper towel to brush off dirt and pine needles I trimmed the stems a little.  I mixed breadcrumbs with freshly ground salt and pepper and dried marjoram.  I double crumbed the mushrooms by dipping in egg, crumbs, then repeating.

I deep fried the mushrooms which quickly formed a crisp crust.  

Served with Donna Hay's coriander mayo.  Delicious.  This will actually work for any type of firm fleshed mushrooms but pine mushrooms are so special having such a short season.

5 weeks break - Day 17 exploring Macquarie Rivulet

This afternoon I went for a small bush walk along the edge of the Macquarie Rivulet at the bottom of Macquarie Pass, Green Valley.  I drive this road every day to and from work but I have never stopped to discover its delights.  Oh I've thought about it, said "I should".  But that's the problem with life isn't it? You get into habits, you avoid doing fun things because you have somewhere to be, something you have to do. By taking 5 weeks off work I am able to go where the wind leads me and today it lead me to this idyllic spot.  A short walk from the main road there is this lovely swimming hole where the water trickles over stones.   Here are a few photos from my visit.

 The tree canopy reflected in a muddy puddle always reminds me of my favourite Escher artworks.

 Fine maidenhair fern fronds along the path.

 I don't know wht this plant is but it was popular with bees and butterflies.

Stunning fungi sprouting from a rotting log on the rainforest floor.

5 weeks break - Day 16 mushroom foraging

At last its that time of year, the autumn rains have come and the wild mushrooms have begun to appear in the local forests.

Howard and I went out this morning to forage for Saffron milk caps or pine mushrooms. These delectable delights secret a bright orange sap making them very easy to identify.

Its early in the season and plenty of people were out and about but not the number we will see in a few weeks when things get into full swing.  We worked hard for half a basket but got plenty for a few meals.

There is a delightfully simple way to cook these pine mushrooms.
Clean with a dry piece of paper towel then slice the mushroom.  Cook over heat in chilli infused olive oil and crystals of rock salt.  Serve on fresh bread toasted to make a delicious bruschetta.

Sorry I ate it all and didn't take any photos of our cooked dinner. Go cook your own :)

5 week break - Day 14 cultivating oyster mushrooms

Back in 2013 I did a course with Milkwood Permaculture in cultivating mushrooms.  I have neglected it over the past year more or less but hey, as I'm on leave I've had the time to start up my cultures again.

Mushroom science 101:

Take an existing mushroom, cut some tissue from the inside and place in a petri dish of agar (seaweed gelatin and food for the growing fungi).  Leave until the dish is full of fluffy white fungi.  Transfer to grain to let it grow some more, then straw and let the mushrooms, or fruit of the fungi, to grow.  Add humidity along the way.

The course was wonderful. Day 1, I was convinced that I could never learn it.  The science hurt my head. If this was what high school science class had taught me I would have loved the classes.  All the theory in the world is useful if you can see no useful application for it. Please hear that science teachers out there.

Overnight I got determined and went back to the course with renewed vigour.  Some wonderfully detailed notes later as well as some practical experience and yes I can cultivate mushrooms from a tissue sample. See some of my other mushroom stories here.

So I got out my kit today, prepared my agar plates and let them cool. Then I took samples from my fresh oyster mushrooms.

Now I wait. I hope I achieved a suitable level of sterility so no foreign matter contaminates my dishes. I'll let you know when I get to the next stage.

Mushroom foraging is so enjoyable, it needs to be responsible too

We headed back to Belanglo State Forest today to collect saffron milk caps without a guide, putting into place the new skills we gained with Diego.

There hasn't been much rain since we went last time but there were plenty of mushrooms to pick. We just had to walk a bit further to find them.

We had a lovely time and had mushrooms cooked on the bar-b-que plate with crusty homemade bread for breakfast. The breakfast of champions I feel. Next time I might take some eggs to add in too.

You've all heard the warnings about not picking mushrooms you cannot confidently identify. I found many mushrooms today that fit the description of slippery jacks but I left them behind.  Another day I'll find an expert to check them for me. I agree with the warnings.

One thing I am not hearing people talk much about is responsible picking. I was devastated to see how much waste people before me had created.  This was a common sight throughout the forest, people just dumped large amounts of mushrooms to rot. The could have left them in the ground for someone else to have. Even next to the bar-b-que there was a wasted pile almost as big as our basket full.

So please, if you are going mushroom foraging show some respect for the forest, for nature's bounty and others coming behind you.

Mushroom foraging for saffron milkcaps in State Forests with Diego Bonetto

We spent a lovely Autumn day foraging for wild mushrooms today on tour with Diego Bonetto.
Diego comes from Torino, Italy and a tradition of foraging for wild food, a tradition he is happy to share. Which is fabulous as my family has no tradition of foraging. Anglo-Celtic Australians such as myself have been taught to fear mushrooms and other wild foods. Caution is certainly warranted. We found maybe 20 different types of mushrooms today that Diego could not name. But he was able to teach us about one wonderful wild mushroom that is not just edible: its divine.

Introducing the saffron milk cap.

This large, distinctly orange mushroom was the object of our attentions today.  Also known as a pine mushroom this milkcap grows in a symbiotic relationship with the pine trees. This is not a mushroom that can be cultivated at home. Wild foraging is the only way to collect them.

These mushrooms are highly prized across Europe and the forest was full of people out picking today. The weather has been wet consistently across the past month and its early Autumn so picking season is upon us.

The bus tour set off from Sydney early this morning and got to one of the Southern Highlands State Forests about 9am. Mushroom foraging in State Pine Forests in allowed as a free, help yourself activity. Here is a link to the Forestry NSW guide. Diego explained mushrooming and the joys and responsibilities of foraging. We visited three different sites and today the last was the best.

This is the haul we collected. Everyone went home with a big stash.

After collecting mushrooms for a while Diego cooked up a storm for us on a bar-be-que plate: Olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sliced saffron milkcaps. The mushrooms are firm and so very tasty. The best mushrooms I have ever tasted. Truly.

I can't wait to head back out to forage for more.  I will have to be careful to not over indulge. I'd hate to get sick of them. But they will only be at my disposal for a few months.  

I can highly recommend you join a tour and learn more about this great delight and go collect your own.

Unknown fungi in my garden: can anyone identify it?

Exploring the Southern Highlands Mushroom tunnel with Foodpath Tours

I've heard stories about the mushroom farm in the highlands for years, ever since I moved to Mittagong in 2000.  "Watch out when the wind is blowing the wrong way," people warned. "Oh no, you don't want to live in Mittagong."  Yet I never noticed any bad smells, never saw any evidence for good or bad of this elusive mushroom industry. But so much of the good things in life are hidden away until you find a guide.

This week I joined a Foodpath tour and started to unravel some of the mystery.  Many mushrooms were indeed growing not far from my home but deep under Mt Gibraltar or The Gib as people around here call it.  I have driven over and past the old railway tunnel many times without ever knowing it was there.

On Tuesday morning a group of about 24 milled around the Tourism Centre in Mittagong before setting off for an unknown locale somewhere between Bowral and Mittagong. Our little bus slipped through a padlocked gate and along the edge of the Sydney-Canberra rail line, depositing us outside a tunnel built almost 150 years ago, carved out of the shale when rail travel was noisy and dirty but also terribly romantic.  Becoming redundant in 1919 when a new two line track was built in the open air, the tunnel has lived a few lives and no doubt has a few stories to impart: this is but one. Cool and wet inside and filled with hundreds of mushroom growing bags and jars, the brick tunnel was a surreal sort of place. The large exhaust fans and the hillside itself cut off all sound from outside. If you spent too much time closed inside you could lose all sense of time and place.

Despite, or perhaps in response to, Australia having few edible wild mushrooms Australians have become high consumers of commercially grown mushrooms. So many Australians hale from countries with strong traditions of mushroom eating, especially in south-east Asia and Western Europe, but for those of us from Anglo heritage mushrooms have been something to fear. Although button mushrooms are a staple the demand for more exotic varieties is growing and commercial supply is removing that fear: if they come packaged and labelled we are ok to give them a try. Our host, Noel Arrold, microbiologist behind the li-sun exotic mushroom tunnel we were visiting, noted the growing demand for mushrooms to stock supermarket shelves not just restaurant kitchens.

This old tunnel is the fruiting room for several varieties of oyster mushrooms and the much prized shiitake. Li-sun grow other mushrooms but some like enoki need specific conditions not met by the tunnel. Workers arrive each morning to harvest the mushrooms, then package and dispatch them. Mushrooms do not keep long so I imagine this process must have a sense of urgency about it. Like growing and selling delicate flowers.

Shiitake

On the way into the tunnel we saw piles and piles of black plastic bags discarded but with astonishing pink oyster mushrooms growing out of them like rare coral.  The reality of mushroom growing is that the bags must be discarded as the flushes reduce, to make space for fresher culture and a higher yield. If you are lucky enough to have access to bags of fresh mushroom compost you may be able to pick your own mushrooms for a few weeks. 

Pink oyster mushrooms

We were well looked after by our host Noel, our tour guide Jill Dyson and our bus driver too of course. Noel was generous in the information he shared about the process of growing mushrooms and patiently answered questions.

Noel Arrold held everyone's attention.

We walked the whole length of the 650m tunnel and back admiring the wonder of mushrooms at every stage of growing.

Baby oyster mushrooms

I was excited to discover how much of the process I understood thanks to my training in mushroom cultivation from Milkwood Permaculture. But background knowledge was certainly not needed. For me it was an inspiring tour, helpful in my own adventures in mushroom growing. And Noel was kind enough to share a few pointers and encourage me. I guess for most it was a great foodie moment, me included.  Its wonderful so many people want to know where their food comes from.  We all came away with a recipe booklet and a punnet of mixed exotic mushrooms.

At least a few of my pink oysters are going into a petri dish along with a few pieces from the King Brown so I can grow my own.  The rest we'll eat sauteed in butter and garlic, topped on pizza, in risotto .... Dinner time: what are you eating tonight?

I have already decided what my next foodpath tour will be, but I am reluctant to tell you until I have booked. I don't want to lose out on a seat on the tour now do I. So you'll have to check it out for yourself or stay posted here...

Jill with a massive bunch of pearl oysters. 

Growing oyster mushrooms in a bucket

My adventures in mushroom growing are about to produce a yield of delicate, gourmet oyster mushrooms.  I have successfully grown fungi tissue in petri dishes, then jars of grain. In fact I am ready to start the process over again. Just need time to order more petri dishes. I promise myself it will be this week. Its been too busy at work to make the call which of course must be done in business hours.

The last step in the process is to transfer the grain jars full of mycelium into buckets of straw. I did this in January. I have waited to get a yield from these first two buckets before setting up the next lot so I would know I had pasteurised it correctly and didn't just end up wasting a whole lot of time, straw and mycelium.

It would seem I waited a little too long. Nick from Milkwood showed us a two bucket system. The straw/fungi mix goes into buckets with holes drilled in them. A second bucket, without holes, goes on top, and a lid tops it all off.  The fungi grows in the low oxygen environment. When the outer bucket is taken off the mushrooms will grow out the holes.

The buckets are full of fluffy white mycelium. This is good

But I couldn't get the outer buckets off. We pulled and pushed and prised to no avail.  Eventually we had to drill holes int the outer bucket in order to break the seal and prise it off. Still wasn't easy but eventually they came free.

Now I can see what went wrong. I left the buckets too long and mushrooms began to sprout through the holes and in between the two buckets.  I got a real giggle out of this.

In a few days my buckets should sprout properly formed mushrooms and we'll have a feast.

Mushroom cultivation adventures: mycelium running

My mycelium is running! 

Now a few weeks ago I could not have imagined saying such words. Largely because I didn't know such a combination of words existed, let alone what they meant or that I could be excited by them.  But I am very excited.

A few days ago I did my first grain to grain transfer into the jar on the left.  It looked like the one on the right that I did today -  a solid mass of white stuff sitting on top of the grain. But after only a few days you can see that the white has softened, gone fluffy and is seeping down into the grain. The white stuff is mycelium or fungi that will produce mushrooms. And it is running into the grain. 

What I am doing here is allowing the mycelium to expand. When the jar is fully white I will transfer it all into buckets of straw. When that is fully white I will harvest King Oyster mushrooms. 

Its hard to believe I am doing it right and that I truly am going to be able to grow my own mushrooms at home from a tissue sample. Wow. I went to the course with the best intentions of putting it into practice but must admit day one spooked me. I didn't think I could do it.  I wish my science teachers could see me know. In fact I wish they had taught me this. Wow I would have love science class.  

Oh there are so many adventures ahead now I know I can do it.  If I can, anyone can.

Mushroom cultivation: course with Milkwood Permaculture

A couple weeks ago I did a mushroom cultivation with Milkwood Permaculture. Wow it blew my head. By the end of day 1 I was convinced that it was interesting but not something I could do. Too hard, too complicated. I was never any good at science.

The course was in Sydney so I stayed over night with a good friend who took me out to a great vegetarian restaurant. We had fun. And overnight something shifted. I became determined to learn everything I could in the course and give it a go.

Well I learnt the most amazing things. I know how to take a mushroom, take a small tissue sample out of it, grow it in agar in a petri dish, transfer it to grain to give it more space to grow, then to a bigger container of grain, then to a coarse substrate of straw.  Then harvest my own home grown mushrooms. It still does my head in but I know I can do it.

I have spent the last few weeks gathering equipment. I needed a pressure cooker and still air glove box like this:

My order of petri dishes arrived this week.  I am ready to go.

I am very exciting about honing my skills, and will share my stories because I want others to know that you too can grow mushrooms from home. It greatly expands your repertoire of home grown produce, adds considerably to your nutrition and options.  Once I master this and a course comes up I am going to learn bee keeping.  I suddenly feel like I am winning on the homespun front.

Eucalypt logs innoculated with shiitake spawn that we prepared in the class.