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Mushrooms are great, and are aspect of many culture's interaction with nature. In Eastern Europe and the Baltics, every autumn is the mushroom season. People young and old wander into the woods looking for mushrooms, and usually return. SAR calls spike during that time period, because peeps focusing on the ground usually end up having no idea where the are. This has gotten better with the introduction of smartphones. I'm far from a mushroom expert, but I've taken a few courses on them, and can generally identify them properly. Unless I'm 100% sure, I double check with a guide. Make sure your guide is current, as in the last 5 years. Mycologists sometimes come to new conclusions on edibility after research. Make sure your guide is local, mushrooms that may look the same as at home sometimes are not (EE immigrants in Israel often get mushroom murked). In the Nordic countries, mushroom hunting and other foraging activities are generally protected under their nation's Rights of Public Access A great NA pocket guide is https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883 the cover of which is one of humanity's crowning achievements.  Weirdly, most of the mushrooms I end up picking grow on trees, and are generally not eaten. A few of my favorites. Chaga, Inonotus obliquus  This one grows on birch trees, generally injured or sick ones. it looks like a big gross burl. It's usually harvested with an axe and allowed to dry. The inside is fibrous and golden colored. Chaga is sometimes known as tinder fungus, and when dried it makes a fantastic firestarter, catching sparks very effectively. It's often used to make tea, and can be sold to commercial harvesters. I've never done so, and only harvest it to give as gifts or for my own use, I think it tastes nice. There is some Chinese and Russian research saying it has anti-cancer properties, but I'm pretty skeptical about that. Razorstrop Fungus Piptoporus betulinus  Technically edible, but I've never tried. Grows on birch (Betula), and is fairly common. I like it because you can cut out a small bit, and the flesh acts as fairly passable strop for a razor, knife, or axe. You can also burn it, and it makes a slow smoke for keeping away mosquitos, which does not smell great. Artists Conk Ganoderma applanatum  This one usually can be found on downed logs, and is notable mostly for being fun. Pressure applied to the spores on the bottom leaves an ink-like mark, and can be "drawn" on. I've left friendly notes for groups following me at shelters with this mushroom, and it usually is memorable.
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Nov 12, 2016 22:40
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It's a fairly neutral taste, I've found it just adds an earthy undertone. Some people sweeten it with honey. I drank a liter of it before a particularly hellish week, and credit my survival to it (not really). I've always heard Fomes fomentarius referred to as false tinder fungus, but that could be a regional thing. Chaga doesn't need the intervening boiling and pounding step that fomentarius does, was my theory of the false/not false conundrum.
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Nov 16, 2016 16:51
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As for identifying chaga, the clearest thing is how black it is, it also tends to grow in more "parasitic" shapes than a burl. If you're still not sure, you can try breaking off a bit by hand. Chaga should come loose, a burl will not.
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Nov 16, 2016 16:55
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extra stout posted:LoTR gifs should be a staple of this subforum, thank you send me a message at hewtangclan@hmamail.com Free Market Mambo fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Nov 17, 2016 |
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Nov 17, 2016 15:43
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