Mushroom Cultivation Class

Learn how to grow your own edible mushrooms. Paul Maschka will be teaching a mushroom cultivation class at the Casa Del Prado in Balboa Park on Saturday, March 31st from 11 am to 2 pm.  It will start with a classroom session in Room 104 (across the courtyard from our usual meeting location), then move outside for a hands-on workshop.  You will prepare your own cultivation kit to grow oyster mushrooms at home.

Cost for members:  $ 10, paid at the door.  RSVP by email to:

paulmaschka at mac dot com

Cost for non-members: $ 30 paid by check in advance.  This includes a 1-year membership in the  San Diego Mycological Society. Make check payable to SDMS, and mail to:

 Pat Nolan

 7135 Calabria Ct. Unit B

 San Diego, CA   92122

 

Mushroom Identification Classes

Come out and learn more about mushrooms in April. Two Monday classes are being offered this month to help increase or reinforce your knowledge of fungi. Both are going to be held across from our usual meeting room, Casa del Prado Room 104, at 6:30 p.m.

Cost for members:  $ 5, paid at the door.  RSVP to Bonni by email to: burrogb at aol dot com or phone at (619) 263-0704.

Cost for non-members: $ 25 paid by check in advance.  This includes a 1-year membership in the  San Diego Mycological Society. Make check payable to SDMS, and mail to  Pat Nolan at the address above.

 

Beginning Mushroom Identification - April 16.

Learn to see the various features of mushrooms which help in differentiating genera from one another. Using our eyes with at most a hand loupe/lens, inspect the macroscopic details of fungi that are used in "keying out" genus and species. Noticing their odors, cutting them open, spore-printing and other mushrooming techniques will also be covered. We will discuss mushroom field guides and reference books.

Please bring any fresh wild mushrooms you encounter in order to increase our chances of finding representatives of several species. Remember to ALWAYS collect entire specimens from their deepest base, including any attached mycelium or duff. And NEVER place specimens in plastic bags or they will quickly rot. Use waxed paper, or paper bags.

 

Mushrooms Under the Microscope - April 30.

Basic use of a microscope for the amateur mycologist. Learn to mount cross-sections of gill (and hopefully other) tissues on slides for closer analysis of spore-bearing structures. Also make quick slides of spores that can be used to check identifying color reactions to classic reagents in the study of mushroom species.

Please bring in fresh wild mushroom specimens to help widen our perspective on observable differences under magnification.

 

Meeting Monday,
April 2^nd

The next meeting will be in Room 101 at the Casa Del Prado on Monday, April 2^nd.

Seth Menzer talk on Spore Prints and Art, plus members talks about mushroom adventures.  This is your chance to show off the pictures from one of your mushroom adventures.

Bring slides or a laptop if you want to share pictures, we will have both types of projector ready.

 

Future Programs

No meeting in May.  We will have our annual end of season potluck party instead.  Location to be determined.  Plan to bring a mushroom dish or other goodies to share.

 

Ramaria of the Pacific Northwest

The Salem Unit of the Bureau of Land Management has published a book on the Ramaria species of the Pacific Northwest.  The 157-page book includes summary descriptions, color photographs, and a key to all Ramaria species known to occur from Northern California to British Columbia.  The cost is $ 27 including shipping.

It can be ordered by mail or phone.  Call 503-375-5646, or write:

Bureau of Land Management

Attn Ramaria Publication

1717 Fabry Road SE

Salem, OR 97306.

 

For more information, email Ron Exeter at rexeter at blm dot gov, and include “Ramaria Booklet” in the subject line.

Club Stuff

By the Editor

 

SanDiegoMyco Group

I have established a new group on Yahoo.  This is a supplement to our SDMS email list.  It provides a place where we can all easily share pictures, files, and links.  So far, there are 16 members, and there are pictures posted from a number of recent events.

The group is set up as unlisted and moderated, as it is intended to be limited to our own group and close friends from other clubs.  To join the group, go to :

groups.yahoo.com/group/SanDiegoMyco and follow the instructions.  Note that you are not required to fill in any personal information to join, just your name and an email address are enough.

Note that the Yahoo group is separate from the email list.  You can sign up for either or both, and you are responsible for maintaining your own information.  Please make sure you put your correct email address, and enough identifying information that I know you are a member and can approve your request.  If I cannot identify the source, I reject the request.

I have noticed that some people have put the SDMyco email list as their email address on the Yahoo group.  This is not a good idea, and I have no idea why anyone would do it.  It prevents you from getting any messages, and causes the Yahoo Group to send messages to the SDMyco list, which get rejected.  Then I get multiple automatically generated messages about the problem.  My cure for this problem is going to be draconian.  I will immediately delete any such entries without warning or notice.

 

SDMyco Email List

I have noticed that some emails have been dropped from the list as undeliverable.  If you have stopped getting the email notices, you may want to make sure you are signed up on the list with the correct email address.

You should receive a password reminder for the list on April 1^st.  If you do not, you should sign up again at: http://lists.igc.org/listinfo/sdmyco

To be sure of getting announcements of forays and other events, you should keep your information current.

 

Carpooling

There have been a number of requests and suggestions that we do something about carpooling.  I think this is a great idea, but I do not have time to manage the process of connecting up rides and riders.

Since we have a number of new members, I suggest that we have a round of introductions at the April meeting.  People can say where they live, and whether they are interested in ride-sharing.  Come prepared  to exchange phone numbers with potential rides or riders. 

You can also post a message on the yahoo group or the email list, and it will go out to all of the members of the group or email list.

 

SDNHM Specimen Collection Project

A note from Dave

(To Be Repeated In Every Issue Until Some Help Arrives)

To make it easy for more of our members to stay informed about the project, and maybe get involved as well, we have added a section to our SDMS web site.  There are a number of documents posted there about the project, including a list of the things that need to be done.  See :

www.sdmyco.org/SDNHMCP.htm, or go to sdmyco.org, select the “What We Do” link, and look for the link for the SDNHM project.

Many hands make light work. Help! Many of the tasks can be done by one person, and brought to a meeting for approval by the group. Your participation will help us to get all of this done before another season goes by.

I have added some voucher slips borrowed from the FFSC web site.  The Excel version can be downloaded and is modifiable.  Feel free to experiment with it for your own use, or to share.

 

March Update

At the March meeting, Bonni Mackintosh reported that some specimens collected during a March foray are now drying, and will be submitted to the museum for the collection.

 

Renewals

Remember that when I highlight the expiration date on your newsletter mailing label, it is time to renew your membership.  Please save me work by renewing promptly.

I spite of the best efforts of the treasurer and newsletter editor to keep the information current, we occasionally make a mistake.  If you think we have missed updating your expiration date, please email me at:

DavidGrubb at sbcglobal dot net

 

Morel Foray

I will be traveling at the time when we normally hold our morel foray to the San Bernardino mountains, so I will not be able to go this year.  We need a volunteer to take the lead in organizing a foray, or it will not happen.

If you are willing, contact me and I will give you information from previous years that will help you get started.

 

Morel Camouflage

If you want to creep up on the morels unobserved by man or morel, you may want to check out this web site: http://www.morelcamo.com/

 

Morel mushrooms are tasty and fun to hunt

Phil Junker, Outdoors Columnist,
Central Kentucky News-Journal

About the only thing better than hunting morel mushrooms is eating them. They are fun to hunt and find and just downright delicious.

For me, the tasty morels are a rite of spring and it won't be long until time to start the hunting.

Prime morel time depends on weather and where you are located. I've found morels (rarely) as early as the end of March, but the best picking usually comes about the middle of April.

Some morel enthusiasts then head north into Michigan for more picking. Some areas in Michigan are well-known for their fabulous wild mushroom crops.

There are several types of morels and the earliest to appear are called by a variety of names, including "hickory chickens." They must have at least a dozen other local names. And while I have found a few of these small black mushrooms after warm days in late March, they don't start appearing in significant numbers until early April.

Deep, heavily wooded areas are the places I usually find the blacks. I normally find the first blacks and on the south or southeastern side of hills where the early spring sun strikes first.

The blacks are followed (and overlapped) with the long stem variety, then the white morels and the big yellow sponges. There usually is three weeks or so of good morel hunting.

While hunting morels, it also is a good opportunity to scout for wild turkeys and find good hunting locations. It's also fun to enjoy a combination day of mushroom hunting and crappie fishing. If successful, it makes for a great meal. It just doesn't get much better.

I strongly recommend that new morel hunters NOT eat any mushroom they aren't positively sure is safe. The morels are wonderful eating. However, some other types of fungi are poisonous, some very poisonous. There are numerous books and Internet Web sites that identify the edible mushrooms.

While there are many types of mushrooms, I concentrate on the morels. They are the ones I know best and I feel confident picking and eating them.

When I return home after a successful mushroom hunt, I cut them in two pieces lengthwise, rinse off any dirt and bugs and place them in a bowl of salt water. I let them soak in the salty water overnight to kill any bugs missed in rinsing. There will be some. That's part of mushroom hunting and eating.

When I'm ready to cook them, I rinse them again. Next, I roll them in flour, salt and pepper, and place them in a skillet with about a half-inch of hot canola oil. However, I cook up several cut-up pieces of bacon in the skillet for flavor before adding the oil. In my opinion, it enhances the flavor.

I cook them until golden brown then place them on paper towels to drain prior to serving with the rest of the meal. Unfortunately, I seem to sample so many it's tough to cook a serving plate full. Don't put paper towels on top of the fried morels or place them in layers after cooking. It makes them soggy.

Some people find enough morels to save them. They can be dried or frozen and some people even can them, although I've never tried it.

The best way I have found to freeze them is to prepare them for frying. Then freeze them individually on a cookie sheet before placing them in a sealed bag. When you want to eat them, you can take out the individual morels that already have the flour and seasoning on them, and fry them as you would fresh ones.

 

Signs warn of
'Death Caps'

By Julia Scott, Staff Writer InsideBayArea.com

For years, amateur mycologist Dr. William Freedman read stories about people from other countries who came to the Bay Area and ended up in the emergency room after ingesting the poisonous Amanita phalloides, or Death Cap mushroom, because they mistook it for another species.

"The immigrants who come here think it looks like something from home," said Freedman, a Hillsborough resident who has death caps in his backyard.

Most recently, a grandmother visiting from Mexico died and five members of her family became seriously ill in January after eating Death Caps they found at Wilder Ranch State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

No one who enters San Mateo County's Monte Bello, Russian Ridge and Coal Creek open-space preserves is likely to make that mistake this spring. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has posted warning signs at the entrance to each recreation area this month to warn hikers against picking and eating Death Caps and other poisonous mushrooms found in the area.

The red signs, designed by Freedman with his wife's help in 1998, feature drawings of the Death Cap and warnings in ten languages, including Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Khmer and Laotian. The signs, which the district began being posting two years ago, are in use all over the country. The Death Caps peaked in January, but the signs are designed to apply to all poisonous fungi — which is the point, according to Freedman.

"In the springtime we get another

mushroom that's even more dangerous — Amanita ocreata," he said.

Death Caps first appeared in 1935 on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, when the school imported a new kind of tree from Western Europe, said Freedman.

They are now found in moist, wooded areas, mostly near oaks, across the West coast, as far north as Vancouver and as far east as New Hampshire and North Carolina.

"Some years you see a ton. There was one year I swear there were thousands. I guess they like warm, wet winters," said Chris MacIntosh, a docent who leads fungi walks in the Peninsula Redwood Open Space Preserve.

"They're kind of cool to show people because they have this vulva at the base — the stem and the shell are sitting as if in an eggshell," she added.

Cool to look at perhaps, but not to eat. One bite of a death cap could send you to the hospital needing a new liver, or worse.

"They're pretty hard to track. We're asking people to stay away from mushrooms altogether," said Rudy Jurgensen, spokesman for the District.

Freedman worries that the harmless-looking death cap has not yet gained enough instant recognition among knowledgeable mushroom fans elsewhere in the country.

"Someday, I predict it will cover the whole U.S., and that is a danger, because local experts will not be familiar with it. People who gather mushrooms will look them up in their field guide and they won't recognize it," he said.

 

National Park Promotes Spore Dispersal

(Mammoth Cave National Park – March 13, 2007) Mammoth Cave NP requires visitors to use a mesh sack when collecting mushrooms in the park.  The sacks, similar those used to package potatoes or fruit in a grocery store, are available at the visitor center, the campground kiosk, and from any patrolling ranger.

“Many mushroom hunters come to the park each spring, and we’re concerned about the sustainability of morels,” said Chief Ranger Wayne Elliott.  “We allow two gallons per person per day, and the morels must be collected in a mesh sack, allowing their spores to drop to the ground and help propagate the species.”

The following are excerpts from the Superintendent’s Compendium regarding the collection of firewood, berries, nuts, and mushrooms with the park:

“The following fruits, nuts, berries, and fruiting bodies of mushrooms may be gathered by hand for personal use or consumption, in accordance with the noted size, quantity, collection sites and/or use or consumption restrictions.  Commercial use is prohibited.”

“Morel mushrooms – 2 gallon per person per day;”

 “Any person gathering morel mushrooms will collect said mushrooms in a mesh sack, allowing for the distribution of spores throughout the forest as the person gathers more.”

 

Foraging Festivals

By Kim Schneider, www.mlive.com/travel

 

[Editor’s Note:  These are out of our area, but fun to read about anyway. Maybe they will inspire someone to organize a Morel Foray.]

 

Forest festivals abound in Michigan, giving novices a chance to learn the art of foraging, experts the chance to compete for prizes in various morel hunts and everyone the chance to enjoy culinary feasts that feature wild edibles.

Here's where to head when you want to join a party that celebrates spring, pick up some hunting tips or see what creative chefs can cook up with the ingredients under our feet.

 

Wild Munchies 101

Head to the Grass River Natural Area in Bellaire for a guided morel hunt (at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26) or a class on summer and fall woodland munchies such as berries and cattails, at 1 p.m. Aug. 18. The 1,000-plus acre preserve features several forest ecosystems, observation platforms and guided hikes. The spring class, which targets families and kids 12 and older, helps you learn how to identify morels and where you'll likely find them. $10/person or $20/family. www.grassriver.org. Make it a weekend with a stay at nearby Shanty Creek Resort, where spring and summer deals abound. www.shantycreek.com.

 

Festival Fun

If you want a horse pull, a mud bog contest or a pasty dinner with your morel hunt, you'll want to head to the 48th annual Mushroom Festival in Mesick, May 11-13, a favorite of experts for the competitive hunt that's become a festival staple (www.mesick-mushroomfest.org/).

But those longing for a guaranteed taste of the tasty mushroom treat may opt for the 47th annual Boyne City Morel Mushroom Festival, May 17-20. Buy a long string of tickets, or just keeping going back for more, because everything's addictive at the "morel taste of Boyne," a May 19 event featuring morel specialties of regional chefs.

This year, you'll find a "shroom hunter's blues" concert, a morel seminar and a guided hunt as well. (http://www.morelfest.com). For lodging options for the Mesick fest, see www.cadillacmichigan.com.) For Boyne, www.boynechamber.com.

 

Hunt -- then Dine

Agri-tourism is taken to a tasty new level with the "Pleasures of the Table" series at sprawling, ranch-style Black Star Farms. On May 15, the award-winning winery and inn features a guided morel hunt in woods that surround the vineyard and serves up a five-course dinner for $75/person. Lodging is available but not required for the 1 p.m. event; dinner guests qualify for 20 percent off the regular room rate. www.blackstarfarms.com/.

 

What’s Cooking

Fungi As Food

By Dave Grubb

While we are not in the best of areas for collecting wild mushrooms for the table, we are very fortunate in having a local producer of specialty mushrooms.  Our friends at Golden Gourmet Mushrooms have been providing a number of interesting varieties to local markets and restaurants for years.  

Now they have formalized an alliance with Hokuto Corporation of Japan to create the largest specialty mushroom production facility outside of Asia.  A new 250,000 square foot facility at the GGM location in San Marcos will increase current production to about six million pounds per year.  The new facility is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007.  When it is finished, we will schedule a tour to see it in operation.

Initially, the new facility will grow the familiar King Trumpets (Pleurotus eryngii), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), Buna Shimeji, and Bunapi (brown and white Hypsizygus tessulatus varieties).  These are all wood rotters, known in Japan as kinoko, or “children of the trees”.  At GGM, they are grown on a substrate of sawdust mixed with ground corncobs and other agricultural waste, in re-usable plastic containers.

The Golden Gourmet web site has a wealth of information about their mushroom products, and many recipes for the various varieties.  See:

GoldenGourmetMushrooms.com.

My personal favorite is Maitake. I have used it in a variety of recipes, and find that it combines well with many different ingredients.  It also lends itself to a variety of cooking methods, from a simple stir-fry to a slow-cooked lamb stew.  I look forward to seeing an increased local supply.

Here are two recipes for Maitake from the GGM web site that illustrate its versatility.

Maitake and Gorgonzola Penne

For 4 Servings

7 oz. GGM Maitake mushrooms

8 oz. penne pasta

2 strips bacon

1 cup milk

1 cup fresh cream

4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese

3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. parsley

 

Boil penne pasta.

Break up Maitake mushroom cluster into pieces with fingers.

Cut bacon into 1/2-inch pieces.

Fry bacon until rendered.

Add milk, fresh cream and Gorgonzola cheese.

Sauté at low temperature until cheese is melted

Add and mix maitake, Parmesan cheese, butter and salt.

Place in serving bowl. Sprinkle parsley over top.

 

Maitake, Salmon, and Broccoli Bake

For 4 Servings

7 oz. GGM Maitake Mushrooms

1 bunch of broccoli, chopped

2 salmon 6 oz filets

4 Tbsp. mayonnaise

4 eggs

 

Break up Maitake clusters into small pieces with fingers.

Put chopped broccoli in a microwavable dish. Add a little water. Cover. Microwave for about 4 minutes.

Thinly cut each salmon piece into 4 equal parts.

Place 2 pieces of salmon on aluminum foil per servings. Arrange mayonnaise, broccoli and Maitake piece on top of salmon.

Whisk eggs and put on top, close foil and bake in oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes.

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SDMS Information