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The sudden cold snap in Southern Ontario introduced deep minus overnight temperatures. I think that will mark the end of blewitts, shaggy parasols, orange milkies and other mushrooms. Tricholomas will probably proliferate after the frost. Unfortunately none of them are on my list of edibles. Too many similar gray species and some are known to be causing severe gastric upset. The mushroom that I look forward to pick is late fall oyster ( Panellus serotinus ).  It is very good edible, greatly under valued and neglected. It will be very hard to find any sources with information about cooking this mushroom. They grow exclusively on logs and trees. If they are on the live tree, it usually means that it is dying. It greatly prefers older logs with still some bark on them. The size can vary, but cap rarely grows more then 7-8 cm. Color is mainly shades of dark green but can turn tan and yellowish if frozen or growing in the some hole. The gills are dirty yellow-tan and quite dense. Frequently...

At this time of the year dried mushrooms are starting to be the main source of mushrooms for my kitchen.  In my opinion drying  is by far the best way of preservation of the wild mushrooms. I use Excalibur 9-Tray Food Dehydrator, but I am sure that any dehydrator should work. Even oven can sometimes be utilized if no other appliance is available. The air drying is certainly another option. The main thing for mushroom drying is to keep heat at minimum, while air flow is maintained.  Any higher heat settings will easily damage and burn mushrooms. That is providing that your dehydrator does have some temperature control.  This technique certainly requires longer time, but it is worth it. When preparing mushrooms for drying, make sure that pieces are roughly same size. At least stick to that rule for individual trays in dehydrator, so that everything on one tray is ready at the same time. I do prefer some of the species dried whole (e.g. Lactarius, Suillus and Blewits), regardless of the l...

I think it is safe to say that prolonged pleasant Fall temperatures are now behind us. South-Western Ontario is starting to look and feel like winter. The foliage is complitely gone and woods are starting to get dusting of snow that will soon become permanent layer. This certainly does not imply stopping my trail visits, but as far as mushrooms are concerned it marks the end of season. The absence of greenery force wild life to turn to mushroom nibbling. Evidence can be spotted everywhere.  Remember, the animal consumption of certain mushroom is not proof that it is edible! My prediction of second Blewit wave did not materialize. Generally I find a lot more Blewits in coniferous than in deciduous woods (spotting mushrooms in the needle layer is easier than digging through thick leaf debris), but this year it was not the case. As usual, one of the main Fall mushrooms, Velvet Foot , was quite rare in my area. I found only several small growths. The Oysters were complete disappointment, ...