Forage with caution, says chef, as wet weather yields more mushroom varieties
Not all mushrooms are edible and some that are edible aren't tasty, says Craig Young
Sudbury chef Craig Young says it's been an interesting year for mushroom foraging.
The heavy rains have provided a good growing climate, producing some varieties that aren't normally seen in the area, but Young says people should exercise caution before heading out.
Not all mushrooms are edible, and some of the edible ones aren't that tasty a treat.
"As a chef, I try to stick to the ones that have really noticeable flavour," Young said. Some of his favourites are lobsters, chanterelle, black trumpets and hedgehog varieties.
They're not always easy to find, but worth the detective work.
"You can search high and low just to find a handful," he said. "And it's a lot of work, sort of a diminishing returns things, sometimes."
"But if you're at the right spot at the right time and you've been lucky enough to work with people that are able to assure you of the identification correctness, then I think it's really an enjoyable thing to do," said Young.
The best thing for an amateur to do is bring a biologist along for the foraging trip, if possible.
"I just always try to caution people to be careful, definitely because there are impostors," Young said. "They'll look remarkably like the real thing. And if you miss that one detail, you know, at the least you might have an unfortunate event, or not feel so well."
Young said that some foragers insist on carrying five different field guides as a rule of thumb.
"So if you've got five guides ... and all five guides point to all the identification that you've done being accurate through gills, spores, coloration, location, all of those things, then you can rest assured that you should be pretty safe," Young said.
Young also suggests visiting the Ugly Barn Farm in Markstay, for those who prefer their mushrooms pre-picked, or don't trust themselves to pick from the wild.
"They've got 18 varieties that they grow, all of them choice, some of them medicinal," he said. "And they've got a really good selection."
Young also recommends those interested join mushroom foraging groups on Facebook or Instagram.
"If you want to go out and forage with a group of people and have some experience and get out and see these different varieties, I think that's a great way to do it," Young said.