On the mushrooms, ready, go! Mushroom picking with professional tips

This time I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite hobbies. The mushroom picking. I'll tell you my favorite mushrooms, tips on how to prepare to clean.

I love it. I can not say more :) Mushroom picking I find super relaxing and of course delicious. I wanted to dedicate a post to my hobby for a long time. Autumn is the perfect time for it. On the mushrooms, ready, go :)

That's what I like about mushroom picking

1. The tranquility of mushroom picking

   The absolute most beautiful thing about mushroom picking for me is the silence in the forest. Everything you hear: the chirping of the birds, the crackling of the branches on which you step and if you're lucky a woodpecker. Dreamlike this silence. And the natural sounds.

2. Shine with knowledge

   Taking someone with you and then educating them about the most common mushrooms is pretty fun. Even as a child, I went mushroom picking with my parents. I learned a lot from them. I'm not a professional, but I know the most important rules :)

3. No stress in the forest

   Wonderful - finally no stress. When I'm picking mushrooms, I can concentrate on the here and now. Nobody needs anything. No rushing and no hurry. I can concentrate for an hour only on the mushrooms. And that's just great.
   

4. The hunting instinct when picking mushrooms

   Once he's awakened, there's no stopping him. Even if the basket is already full and the mind says: Man, what do you want with so many mushrooms? The hunting instinct is simply stronger when picking mushrooms.
   I love the feeling of having collected my own dinner. May well still be such a remnant from prehistoric times. :)

5. The food after picking mushrooms

   Funnily enough, the food is not as important to me as the picking itself. But that may also be due to the fact that you still need quite a lot of time at home for processing the mushrooms.
   The problem: I really love to collect mushrooms. Who is going to eat that many mushrooms? Since I'm sitting in a coworking space, this is pretty handy. In the fall, there are regular mushroom dishes for everyone :) So everyone gets something out of it: I get to keep collecting and my coworkers are happy about a delicious mushroom dish.

But at some point, even in the coworking space is enough with mushrooms. :) What I do afterwards with the mushrooms, I tell you a little further down.

Too many mushrooms? This is how you dry them properly!

What you need to collect mushrooms

• A basket or bag

  Better is a woven basket, so the mushrooms can not be crushed. By the way, also looks great - just like Little Red Riding Hood :)
  

• One knife

  To cut the mushrooms. I always use a Swiss knife.

• One long pants

  So you can save your legs from unnecessary scratches and also against ticks long pants are a great protection when collecting mushrooms

The best season for mushroom picking is autumn. When it gets cooler in the evening and rains more often, the chanterelles, porcini and parasols sprout from the ground.

Is it allowed to warm up mushrooms?

Cut off mushrooms do not tear

This paragraph is very important to me. I am always annoyed people who pull out mushrooms, destroying the whole root system.

For all mushrooms applies: Do not tear out of the ground or twist! This will destroy the root network. Small mushrooms can no longer grow back.

I always take a sharp Swiss knife with me. With it I cut off the stem of the mushrooms. Just above the moss, so that the stem remains in the ground!

Here you can see well that I cut off all the mushrooms and did not turn them out of the ground.

These 5 edible mushrooms I collect

1. Chanterelles

   How could it be otherwise? Chanterelles are unbeaten in first place :) Here in Austria they are also called Eierschwämmchen, Eierschwämme or Eierschwammerl. A delicious recipe are Scrambled eggs with chanterelles.

2. Porcini mushrooms

   Many would put them in 1st place. With me they are on place 2, because I find so rarely :D Therefore, they usually end up mixed with chanterelles in a large pot

3. Parasols

   Mid-September is parasol time. The large umbrella of this mushroom resembles a parasol. Caution: confusion with the tuber leaf fungus can be fatal.

4. Curly hen

   This is probably one of the funniest looking bear tits. The ruffed hen is also called fat hen. It is crinkled and slightly yellowish. Tastes super delicious. Disadvantage: Complicated to clean

5. Autumn Trumpets

   I have only recently discovered these mushrooms for myself. I know of no mushroom that tastes as intense as these black trumpets. They protrude from the ground like a funnel. The edges are slightly bent outward. Autumn trumpets always grow in a large pack.

What you need to know about chanterelles

You can recognize the chanterelle by its bright yellow to orange color. On the underside of the cap, the most popular edible mushroom in Germany has lambs. In the medium-sized mushroom you can clearly distinguish between the cap and the stalk. The lambs end under the cap.

The cap is often funnel-shaped, the cap rim often curled.

The perfect chanterelle location is in mossy coniferous forests. There are a total of 14 different chanterelles in Europe. The best known and most widespread is the true chanterelle.

What you need to know about porcini mushrooms

Much rarer and usually not found in such large groups when picking mushrooms is the porcini. It is one of the noblest mushrooms in Europe. This can also be seen in the selling price.

The porcini mushroom belongs to the group of thick boletus. It got this name because its flesh is relatively firm compared to other mushrooms. Thick boletus are strong and thick-fleshed tubular mushrooms.

There are a variety of boletus that you will come across while mushroom picking. As with all mushrooms, if you are unsure, it is better to leave the mushroom.

You can recognize the porcini mushroom by the color of its cap. The cap is medium brown and shiny. And also the thick stalk makes you recognize the mushroom when you pick it. The stalk is club-shaped and has a slight pattern and is otherwise completely white.

The most common double

The boletus is often confused with the chestnut boletus. You can recognize it by the fact that the cap turns blue when you cut it. You can enjoy this mushroom without any problems.

Quite similar to the boletus looks gall boletus. The cap is usually dull and the stalk is not so thick. Just a small piece of this mushroom in your food and the whole dish is bitter. It is not poisonous, but the taste is not intoxicating.

If I'm unsure, I lightly cut the cap and taste with my tongue to see if the mushroom is bitter. If it is, you've got a gall bolete.

Prepare porcini mushrooms

If the boletus is a bit older, I remove the sponge from the underside of the cap. As long as the sponge is firm, you can leave it in place.

With porcini I always pay very close attention that it is not wormy. Unfortunately, that happens all too often. You can see that when you cut the cap in half. If you find holes in it, they are from small worms. If there are only a few, I close all eyes. But if there are too many, I think twice :D

What you need to know about Parasols

The parasol is the largest leaf fungus in Europe. It loves forest edges, clearings and likes to hide in undergrowth. So if you go parasol hunting, be sure to wear long pants.

You can recognize the parasol by many features. The most important is the ring that it has on the stem. On the top of the hat it has dark brown scales. But at the latest you should recognize the parasol by its smell. It smells very pleasantly nutty.

The stem of the parasol can grow up to 50 cm long. And the head is also huge, up to 40 cm in diameter.

The taste of the parasol reminds peanut butter :) Often parasols grow in groups. Just recently I found 5 huge parasols.

Most common lookalikes:

One of the most common doppelgangers of the parasol is the saffron parasol. It looks like a parasol, is smaller and is usually found under spruce trees.

The cut on the cap and stalk turns reddish. The saffron parasol mushroom is a good edible mushroom.

Attention: Often inexperienced mushroom pickers confuse the parasol with the tuberous-leaf mushroom. This confusion can be fatal!

What you need to know about the ruffed hen

First of all, you can hardly confuse the ruffed hen. It is curly, yellowish and smells nutty, peppery.

Purely visually it reminds of a brain :) The ruffed hen is also called fat hen. It can be quite huge. I have also found a ruffed hen with a diameter of 30 cm. Allegedly, they can grow up to 5 kg.

The ruffed hen can be found in coniferous forests from September onwards.

I usually mix them together with chanterelles in a mushroom sauce.

Clean the ruffed hen

Unfortunately, this is the most complicated edible mushroom when it comes to cleaning. Needles, stones, moss and one or the other beetle hide in the many twists and turns. In my opinion, it is not possible to clean the curled hen without a water bath. I put it in the water for a few minutes and needles and leaves float to the surface.

Now I cut up the bear paw and try to get it as clean as possible. A nice challenge. But it's worth it :)

What you need to know about autumn trumpets

Few people know autumn trumpets. Therefore, when picking mushrooms, they are usually left standing. But they are a real delicacy.

They live up to their name thanks to their shape. They rise from the ground like trumpets. Autumn trumpets grow about 5 cm high. When picking mushrooms, they are easily overlooked because they are black.

I have never seen a double.

A photo I deliver you after as soon as I have found which. This year, unfortunately, I had no luck.

How to prepare autumn trumpets

Since they taste very intense, autumn trumpets are best for sauces. I dry the mushrooms in the sun after gathering. Then I grate them very finely into powder. This powder is like pepper substitute.

A little of it over puree or in the mushroom sauce and you have quite an extraordinary taste :)

Here are my top 5 tips for picking and preparing mushrooms:

1. Unsafe? Hands off!

   Not sure if this is the mushroom you think it is? Play it safe: Hands off! In the worst case, mushroom poisoning can be fatal!
   

2. How to clean mushrooms properly

   As fun as mushroom picking is, when it comes to cleaning, the joy is often gone. But I'll tell you a great trick for cleaning chanterelles, which you can of course also apply to all other mushrooms :)
   It doesn't help: Thorough cleaning is simply part of mushroom picking. However, cleaning under running water or in a water bath is taboo. I only do this with chanterelles that are already very dry. Just put them in water and they are fresh again.

   Mushrooms that are really juicy should not be cleaned with water. The egg sponge has its name rightly: Within a short time it soaks up. The aroma suffers as a result.
   To remove leaves, needles and moss is suitable kitchen brush. I often do it so that I have two large bowls. In one is water. To clean, I quickly dip each mushroom into the water to rinse away the impurities. Just don't let them float in the water!

   My 2 tips:

   Clean the mushrooms as good as possible already when collecting. This saves time and a lot of nerves. Especially with mushrooms that have very branched fruiting bodies like the morel.
   

   By the way, the water is a great watering water for your plants. You do not need to throw it away :)

3. Freeze mushrooms

   If you know you won't be able to use them up in 2 days, they're also great to freeze. To do this, I let the chanterelles cool. Then I put them in margarine boxes and label them. You should use them up as soon as possible.

4. Prepare mushrooms - my basic recipe

   Whether to prepare porcini, ruffled hen or chanterelles - for all, I have a very simple basic recipe.
   Sauté chopped mushrooms with onion and a little oil. Important: Do not salt - this removes liquid.
   So they keep 2 days without problems in the refrigerator. After that you can use them as a sauce for meat, as a pasta sauce, as a sauce for dumplings or prepare them as you like.

   Quick recipe after picking mushrooms

   There are hardly any limits to your imagination. I usually find so many chanterelles that I prepare a quick portion with egg.

   You need:

   • 1 hand chanterelles
   • 2 eggs
   • diced onion
   • Parsley
   • Salt and pepper

   
   Here's how:

   Cut the onion into cubes and the chanterelles into small pieces. Now fry both with a little oil in the pan. Add two eggs. Stir well. Add pepper, salt and finely chopped parsley. Done. It goes well with: A good wholemeal bread.

5. Dry mushrooms

   How much water is in such an eggshell or other mushrooms, you can see not only when roasting but especially when drying. There is almost nothing left. :) But that's not bad, so is again time for new :D
   Dried mushrooms last a very long time. I still have some from last year. You can use them to refine sauces. I always chop them very small - otherwise they are tough.

   Drying mushrooms: Here's how

   I cut the large chanterelles, bearclaw or porcini mushrooms into small pieces. Now you can either dry them in the oven. For this you put a baking paper on a tray and put them in the oven at 50° top and bottom heat. The whole process can take up to two hours.
   If you have a sunny spot in the apartment, you can also just dry them with the power of the sun. That's how I always do it.
   Place the mushrooms nicely spread out on the tray and find a sunny place. If you have them outdoors, you must bring them back indoors in the evening. Otherwise they will get wet again from the morning dew.
   Attention: Sun is really important, otherwise your mushrooms may start to mold.

   My Tip:

   Dried mushrooms are a great Christmas gift. With me this year everyone is surprised with dried mushrooms :)

My conclusion:

I hope I could infect you my mushroom fever. Collecting mushrooms is really great. I always take a small bag and a knife for hiking. You never know... :)

What other mushrooms are you picking? I am glad about tips

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