top of page
Search

Washington Mushroom Foraging

Writer's picture: norahyoung93norahyoung93

Mushrooms – Find, ID, pick, eat

Foraging for mushrooms has been one of my favorite perks of being a forester since I started cruising timber back in Maine. There, we had a short, wet, summer season to pick chantrelles, oyster and lobster mushrooms, and chaga. Washington is a whole new world for me, and it’s both exciting and intimidating that there are so many varieties of mushrooms to pick almost year-round. When I started working with Small Forest Landowners and began getting questions about picking mushrooms, I decided to delve deeper into the world of Washington mushrooms to be able to better educate folks. Here’s my disclaimer; don’t use this article alone to identify mushrooms, and if you aren’t 100% certain of your I.D., don’t eat them! On an ecological note, when foraging, don’t deplete an entire population of mushrooms. Leave some, take a GPS point, and come back to harvest more later!


Chanterelles

Chantrelles foraged at work. Photo by Sam Decker.

Chanterelles are by far my favorite mushroom to eat. They’re tasty, versatile, and plentiful to find in the woods! Found in this area primarily in wetter, darker parts of coniferous forests, chanterelles begin to show as early as July (I found my first on July 19th of this year!) and continue into early winter. Depending on the variety, they can range from deep golden orange to pale, almost white, yellow. The most common varieties are golden chanterelles and white chanterelles. Their most distinctive feature is the gill-like ridges on the underside of the cap. They can almost always be found growing in a large cluster. I particularly love them fried up on pizza, but you can’t go wrong sautéing them in butter and salt and serving them straight up.


Morels

Some of the morels you might find in Washington. Photo by Sergei Boutenko.

Emblematic of the eastern Washington post-fire regime, morels are one of the only edible mushrooms that will emerge once the weather begins to dry up and soil temperatures exceed 50 degrees Fahrenheit. While they’re known for their presence in recently-burned areas, they also are partial to otherwise disturbed ground, and can be found in healthy conifer forests, though with less frequency. Moderate-intensity fires where dead, decomposing wood remains intact are the morel’s bread-and-butter. Morels are identifiable by their honeycomb-like upper structure, and can range from black to yellow or gray. While a false morel does exist, it lacks the honeycomb structure and looks more like a melted, reddish mushroom (in my opinion). Feel free to pick morels at any size. They’re treasured for their culinary value, so recipes abound, but be sure to cook them in one way or another before eating. They’re great cooked up in butter, but I’ve also heard great reviews of them in a grilled cheese sandwich, or dried and used later to bulk up winter soups.


Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster Mushroom infested tree. Photo by Miles Oleskiw.

Oyster mushroom is the common name that encompasses several wild and cultivated species worldwide. They are saprotrophic, meaning they feed on dead wood, especially hardwoods. One variety, Pleurotus populinus, grows exclusively on cottonwood trees in this area (and aspen in other areas). Oysters have a large, broad cap ranging 5-25 cm, smooth on the top and gilled underneath. I’ve mostly seen it to be white or off-white, but it can be gray, tan, or dark brown. There are several toxic doppelgängers, so take care to understand its attributes before picking. Similar to chanterelles, it can be fried up on its own or added on to many dishes, but my personal favorite is in a stir fry.


Lobster Mushrooms

Lobster Mushrooms. Photo by Norah Young.

Lobster mushrooms are one of my favorite fungi I’ve learned about recently. Lobsters are actually not mushrooms at all, but rather parasitic fungi that grow on, and essentially absorb host mushrooms. In this region, lobster fungi parasitize Lactarius (milk-caps) and Russula mushrooms. The parasitic fungus is a reddish-orange color, giving it the name “lobster”, and its’ shape can vary based on the host mushroom. You might see them take on a concave cap, or it could look like an irregular blob. The cap will likely be cracked and pockmarked, with lots of dirt, and there are no gills. Clean them aggressively to remove the dirt as soon as possible, and fry or sauté them to your heart’s content. They can also be pickled, turned into a risotto, or used for dyeing fabrics if they’re past their prime.


Boletes

Cute little Spring Bolete found in the high elevation North Cascades. Photo by Sam Decker.

Boletes fall into multiple different categories, including King Boletes, Spring Kings, and Birch Boletes. Spring Kings are fun to search for even in summers at high elevation, and often grow associated with large, old growth-type cedars. King Boletes are less choosy and can grow amongst multiple different species. Anecdotally, they’ve been found ranging from 200-4300 feet in elevation in hemlock, douglas-fir, and silver fir stands. Identifiable by their tan-brown “hamburger-like” cap, porous underside, and bulbous stem, be on the lookout for the pores to be reddish, as these are poisonous. Boletes can become wormy quickly, so try to avoid picking one that look past their prime. Boletes can be fried, sautéed, or dried and used later. They make a great side dish along with potatoes, but the next recipe on my radar is a mushroom gravy.


Truffles

Oregon White and Black Truffles. Photo by Kjersten Hellis.

I recently took a class at Centralia College about hunting for truffles, and I really look forward to getting into this hobby. Oregon truffles, which differ greatly in taste from Italian truffles, abound in our region, preferring young (30-40 year old) douglas-fir forests. Truffles grow underground, and can be searched for in a variety of ways. Traditionally in Italy, they were hunted for with pigs, but the pigs developed a taste for the fungus and aren’t particularly kind to the environment. Rakes can be used to uncover the duff layer and expose truffles, but this is also a harsh method and doesn’t discriminate between ripe and unripe truffles. Recently, truffle hunters have used trained dogs, particularly the Lagotto Romagnolo breed, to sniff out ripe truffle scents with great success. While the Lagotto is bred for this task, any dog can be fairly easily trained to sniff out truffle scents (even a pug!). With truffle prices reaching $300/pound in some places, it might be a worthwhile task.

Oregon black truffles are a sweet, strong, “dessert” truffle that may not be particularly appealing to everyone. It can easily be infused into butters, oils, or anything fat-based and used for baking. The black truffle looks a bit like a lump of coal and is a tan or gray and porous when cut open. The smell is strong and unmistakable. Oregon white truffles are more similar to an Italian truffle and excellent for cooking. My favorite method so far is having it infused into olive oil and sprinkled over popcorn. The white truffle can range from white to reddish-brown as it matures, and also has a strong odor. Both truffles can be found primarily from January to March, but anecdotally has been found nearly year round.

This article does not nearly encompass all of the edible mushrooms available to us in Washington, but there are plentiful resources if you’d like to delve further. “Mushrooms Demystified” by David Arora is the Mushroom Bible for me, and I highly recommend purchasing or borrowing it if you’re planning on hunting for unfamiliar mushrooms. Several websites like northernbushcraft.com and foragerchef.com provide helpful information and citations. Additionally, the South Sound Mycological Society is an active group that would happily take in new members and provide excellent speakers monthly.

54 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page