Okay, so winter is hitting me hard right about now as a mushroomer.
It’s almost February, and we’ve been getting hit with daily snow and temps well below freezing.
I have not been out much to find mushrooms.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t fungal activity, even now. During warmer thaws, there are still some chances to take in a variety of perennial polypores, crusts, lichen, and even occasional flushes of fleshy, gilled mushrooms.
Velvet foot, for example. Flammulina velutipes.
Their dark brown fuzzy stipes, creamy gills, white spore print, and flame like caps are distinctive, but beginners may still confuse them for deadly poisonous Galerina. So be very careful with these if you plan on cooking with them.
Mushrooms are great and all. But nobody needs to risk their lives over a pretty decent omelet. If you aren’t absolutely sure what you’ve got, do not eat it.
Brick caps, Hypholoma lateritium, are another delicious winter edible, but there are toxic Hypholoma cousins, so this is another one to be careful with.
But brick caps are out of season by now, as they come up only in early winter.
Amber jelly roll can be found throughout the winter though. Jelly fungi aren’t exactly the tastiest, but I’ve recently started drying, grinding and rehydrating them with blended fruit to make jam.
Over the next couple months, my fungi finds might not be as diverse as through warmer months, but I have no intention of staying indoors until Morel season.
Well, maybe for a bit longer. I’ve got enough amber jelly to last until the next thaw.
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