Laura Smith
Mushroom hunting and growing are popular activities during the fall. While spring is the most popular season for mushroom hunting in some regions, such as Missouri, fall offers a variety of edible mushrooms, including Chicken of the Woods, Oyster mushrooms, and Chanterelles. For those interested in foraging, it is crucial to correctly identify mushrooms as there are several poisonous varieties that resemble edible ones. Additionally, fall is an ideal time to prepare mushroom projects for spring through inoculation, which can lead to earlier fruiting in the subsequent year and offers benefits for fungal growth and cultivation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Mushroom type | Chicken of the Woods, Oyster, Bearded Tooth, Wine Cap, Nameko, Chanterelles |
| Mushroom features | Shell-shaped cap, gills, pores, stalks, bright orange color, cream color, pale grey color |
| Mushroom habitat | Fallen trees and logs, hardwood forests, tree roots, garden plants, garlic |
| Preparation | Remove outer skin, slice, batter, fry, parboil, saute |
| Season | Fall, early fall, late summer, September, October, November |
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What You'll Learn
How to identify fall mushrooms
Autumn is the perfect time to forage for mushrooms, with cooling temperatures bringing out many edible and medicinal varieties. Here is a guide to help you identify some of the most common fall mushrooms.
Puffball Mushrooms
Puffballs are considered one of the easiest mushrooms to identify. You can find them almost anywhere, from open pastures to dense forests, and they can range in size from a baseball to a basketball. To identify a puffball, cut it open; if the flesh is solid from one end to the other, then it's a puffball. If there is any kind of hollow area, stem, or cap, then it's not. Quality puffballs will have solid white flesh; if there is any purple or black hue, trim those areas or discard the mushroom.
Shaggy Mane Mushrooms
Shaggy manes have one of the longest growing seasons for wild mushrooms, appearing from spring through to fall, typically after rain. They are most likely to appear in disturbed areas like backyards, bike trails, parks, and sports fields, and they favour open spaces over dense cover. Shaggy manes have delicate flesh and a short shelf life, so cook them soon after harvesting.
Chicken of the Woods
Chicken of the woods mushrooms are another easy-to-identify variety, with their vibrant rooster-like colours. They get their name because they are a favourite substitute for chicken in vegan recipes. You can find them on freshly dead trees, standing or fallen, usually at waist height or lower, but sometimes higher.
Hen of the Woods
Hen of the woods mushrooms are similar to chicken of the woods, but they lack the bright colours. They often have tan or cream-coloured, spoon- or fan-shaped caps that are tightly stacked in a large rosette.
Black Trumpet Mushrooms
Black trumpets are worth seeking out for their flavour, but they can be tricky to identify as they blend in with the dark colours of the forest floor. They are similar to chanterelles and have a fragrant, fruity aroma.
Wild Cauliflower Mushrooms
Wild cauliflower mushrooms are easy to spot, as they look just like a head of cauliflower growing out of the ground. They are sometimes called "noodle mushrooms" because their texture resembles al-dente pasta noodles when cooked.
Other Varieties
Some other fall mushrooms include pheasant back mushrooms, hedgehog mushrooms, which have distinctive tooth-like projections from their undersides, and yellow foot chanterelles.
Remember, mushroom identification can be challenging, and it's important to be 100% certain before consuming any wild mushroom. Always use a reputable guide or seek the advice of an expert.
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Where to find edible fall mushrooms
Mushroom hunting is a popular activity in the spring, but there are many edible varieties that grow in the fall. Fall is the peak season for mushrooms, so it's a great time to learn how to identify edible mushrooms. Remember, if you're collecting mushrooms to eat, some of them could be deadly poisonous. Only eat a mushroom if you are 100% certain of its identification.
Puffballs are one of the easiest mushrooms to identify, and they are commonly found in lawns and open woods in the fall. They are usually white or brown and can range in size from one inch to a foot in diameter. If you cut into one, it should be totally solid from one end to the other. If there is any kind of hollow area, stem, or cap, then it is not a puffball.
Shaggy manes are another edible mushroom that grows from spring to fall, especially after precipitation. They are commonly found in disturbed areas like bike trails, ditches, parks, and boat ramps. They are more likely to grow in the open than in dense cover. Shaggy manes have a delicate flesh and a short shelf life, so cook them within a few days of harvesting.
Honey mushrooms are commonly found near hardwoods that are rotting, dying, or dead, as well as near wood chips or standing conifers. They have a mild, nutty, mushroomy flavor but can be a bit slimy when cooked.
Lion's mane mushrooms also appear in the fall. They are white when fresh but turn yellow or brown when they are past their prime. Look for their white spines hanging off of tree trunks and fallen logs.
Other edible fall mushrooms include chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, maitake, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, and winecap mushrooms.
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How to cook fall mushrooms
Fall is the best time of year to cook mushrooms, and there are endless ways to cook them. Here is a simple method for cooking mushrooms on a stovetop.
Firstly, select your mushrooms. Any variety of mushroom will work for this recipe, but wild mushrooms are particularly good. You can use just one species, but using a variety of mushrooms will allow you to enjoy different textures, colours, and flavours. Remove any hard stems and cut or tear your mushrooms into similar-sized pieces.
Next, heat a dry, wide, heavy-bottomed pan on medium-high heat. Do not add any oil, butter, or salt at this stage. Add the mushrooms in one layer—do not overcrowd the pan, as this will cause the mushrooms to steam instead of brown. Leave the mushrooms to cook until they start to brown, then stir them and spread them back into a single layer to allow the other side to brown.
Once the mushrooms are mostly golden brown on all sides, add olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can also add aromatics of your choice, such as thyme, rosemary or sage. If you would like to add butter, add it at the end, after removing the pan from the heat.
Mushrooms can also be roasted in an oven or added to soups, stews, pasta, ramen, tacos, skewers, risottos, or salads. They can be cooked in spiced coconut milk or bacon fat and tossed with cream and pasta. They can be sautéed with garlic, shallots, and thyme, and combined with chicken broth, Marsala wine, and cream.
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How to grow fall mushrooms
Growing mushrooms in the fall can give you a head start for the next growing season. Here are some tips for how to grow fall mushrooms.
Firstly, you need to decide whether to grow your mushrooms indoors or outdoors. Indoor growing can be done all year round in a climate-controlled room, whereas outdoor growing is more dependent on the seasons. If growing outdoors, you should check your region's first frost dates and aim to give the mushroom mycelium a couple of weeks to a month to establish itself before freezing temperatures set in.
Next, you should choose which type of mushroom to grow. Some mushrooms that can be grown in the fall include Wine Cap, Oyster, Lion's Mane, Comb Tooth, Chicken of the Woods, and Nameko. Some of these mushrooms can be grown in beds, such as Wine Cap, which can be grown in straw or wood chip beds, and Nameko, which can be grown in beds of freshly chipped hardwood. Oyster mushrooms can be grown in wooden boxes with coffee grounds, or on dead or dying logs.
If you are creating or maintaining wood-chipped pathways in your garden, you can incorporate Wine Cap mushrooms. You can also inoculate wood chips with king stropharia, aka "Garden Giant", spawn, and sandwich it between layers of cardboard, which can then be used as mulch for tomatoes.
If you are planting garlic in the fall, you can mulch with straw inoculated with oyster mushrooms.
By inoculating in the fall, you can take advantage of the spring rains to bring about a good crop of mushrooms.
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How to distinguish fall mushrooms from poisonous varieties
It is important to be able to distinguish fall mushrooms from their poisonous varieties, as some poisonous mushrooms can kill. There is no home test to distinguish between edible and poisonous mushrooms, and cooking, peeling, drying, or soaking the mushroom does not make it edible. The only way to tell whether a wild mushroom is safe to eat is to have it identified by a mushroom expert (mycologist). If you are unsure if a mushroom is safe to eat, don’t eat it.
- Avoid mushrooms with red on the cap or stem.
- Avoid mushrooms with white gills, a skirt or ring on the stem, and a bulbous or sack-like base called a volva.
- Avoid false morels, which have wavy, crumpled caps and nearly solid stems, unlike true morels, which have pitted caps and hollow stems. False morels contain gyromitrin, which is highly toxic and carcinogenic.
- Avoid the "Alcohol Inky Cap", which gets its name from its toxic component, "coprine", which is highly reactive with alcohol and can cause extreme nausea and headaches.
- Avoid the Destroying Angel (A. virosa), which is native to the region and fruits around mature trees in forests and yards.
- Avoid the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides), which is responsible for about 9 out of 10 fungi-related deaths.
- Avoid the yellow-staining mushroom (Agaricus xanthodermus), which is the most commonly eaten poisonous mushroom in Victoria.
- Avoid the Green-Spored Parasol, which is the most commonly consumed toxic species of mushroom in North America.
- Avoid the Jack O'Lantern mushroom, which is very toxic.
- Avoid the Golden Top (Psilocybe subaeruginosa), which causes hallucinations.
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Frequently asked questions
Foraging for mushrooms in the fall can be a great way to find edible fungi, but it is important to be able to distinguish between edible and poisonous mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms, for example, are cream-colored, pale gray, or pale tawny and grow directly on wood substrates, not on the ground. Chicken of the Woods mushrooms are also easy to identify and can be found in the cooler days of September.
When identifying fall mushrooms, it is important to look for key characteristics such as the shape, color, and gills of the mushroom. For example, Chanterelle mushrooms are distinguished by their decurrent gills, which run down the stem and are more shallow than typical gills. It is also helpful to know the typical habitats of different mushroom species. Oyster mushrooms, for instance, grow on dead hardwood trees, while Chanterelles are found in older hardwood forests, typically near trails.
Before cooking fall mushrooms, it is important to properly identify them and ensure they are edible. Bearded Tooth mushrooms, for example, should only be consumed when they are young and white, as the older, yellowed ones are sour. To prepare mushrooms for cooking, you may need to remove the outer skin if it is tough, slice or batter them, and then fry, sauté, or parboil until tender. Oyster mushrooms work great in sautés, stir-fries, or as a side dish.
