FOOD The magic of mushrooms

The field mushroom, Agricus campstris, is common in fields and grassy areas after rain from late summer onwards.

The magic of mushrooms


“There are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters but there are no old bold ones”

Organic Growing
Hans Wieland

My parents always collected cep and chanterelle mushrooms and dried them on clothes lines crisscrossing our kitchen. Only when I was in my 20s did I find out that my father made chanterelle schnaps.
When it comes to mushrooms I am very conservative, and stick to the ones I know. For the more adventurous amongst you readers, I recommend attending a course by an expert mushroom hunter first.

What are mushrooms?
They belong to the fungi family like moulds and yeasts and are neither plant nor animal. They form a group of their own. fungi in general are present almost everywhere and they have adapted to many different environments. The mushrooms we eat make up only a tiny portion of the fungi world.
Fungi are not able to produce carbohydrates through photosynthesis and so digest living or dead organic material. They also often form a symbiotic relationship with another species, connecting into their root systems. For example, fungi supply a tree with trace minerals and the tree in return supplies the carbohydrates.
About 85 per cent of all higher plants have a fungal partner. Some of these symbiotic relationships have become very highly specialised so that certain fungi will only grow in the vicinity of certain trees, and in fact often derive their name from that circumstance. The larch bolete and the birch bolete are good examples, as is the field mushroom and the pavement mushroom.
The mushrooms we collect are the fruiting body of the fungi and their primary function is to disperse the spores with which the organism perpetuates itself.

Identifying mushrooms
The identification of fungi can be a very difficult process. Mushrooms can vary enormously in shape, colour and consistency and, as the science of fungi classification has traditionally been mostly the domain of amateurs, names and descriptions vary significantly across the different books available.
Many modern books are created by compiling information from other books. As a result, a lot of mushrooms are now classified as inedible because one book has classified them as such and has been quoted ever since without question, whereas the older books tend to refer to mushrooms found and eaten by the author and his or her acquaintances. A simple rule: Don’t collect and eat what you don’t know.
I have asked my friend and mushroom hunter Alan McCluney from Rossinver for some advice and here are his three top tips:

• When starting out, go with someone who knows what they’re doing
• Start with chanterelle, porcini and hedgehog
• Get a good book. Alan recommends The Collins Guide ‘How to identify edible mushrooms’, as it  introduces the edible mushroom on the left page and the lookalikes, some of which – but not all – are edible, on the opposite page.

Chanterelles
The intensely orange trumpet shape of the chanterelle has an appealing scent of dried apricots with a hint of citrus. It is one of the best known of all the edible fungi. The habitat is usually broad-leaved woodland (especially beech or oak), and it’s in season in the summer and autumn. Best eaten with garlic, parsley, lemon juice and fried in butter. Excellent in omelettes!

Hedgehog fungi
Mature specimens can be bitter and are best cooked with butter and herbs. Young hedgehog fungi have a peppery, watercress quality and are used in raw salads. Hedgehog fungi have a firmer texture than the chanterelle. The habitat is under coniferous and broad-leaved trees, especially beech. They are in season in the autumn.

Cep
After truffles, this is Europe’s most highly prized edible fungus. It is a good one for beginners, as it is easily distinguished from the few poisonous species found in the same family. Best eaten young, they are delicious sliced and eaten raw. Their habitat is woodlands, and they prefer oak, beech, birch and pine. Ceps are in season early summer to autumn.

Eating (and drinking) your bounty
There are as many recipes for mushrooms as there are mushrooms, if not more, but the following recipe for soup is simple, tried and tested, and delicious. It can be accented with roasted pine nuts.

Wild mushroom soup
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
• 100g cup pine nuts (optional)
• 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tblsp whole butter
• 1 large yellow onion (finely diced)
• 2 tblsp garlic (minced)
• 10 Roma-type tomatoes (diced)
• 3 tblsp flour (wheat or spelt)
• 1 pint vegetable stock
• 1 tblsp flat leaf parsley, fresh thyme and rosemary (all chopped)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Spread the pine nuts an a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and golden (around five minutes). Remove, cool and set aside. Warm the olive oil and butter in a heavy pan. Add the onion and sauté until soft and golden brown. Add the garlic, tomatoes and mushrooms and continue to sauté for another five to ten minutes, stirring often. Once the mushrooms begin to release their cooking liquid, add the flour and stir to create a roux to thicken the soup.Add the stock and herbs, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to blend the flavours. Season, top soup with pine nuts, and serve.

Chanterelle schnaps
I know, I know, you are still waiting for the schnaps recipe… Here it goes!

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of schnaps or vodka
• 10 chanterelles

Method
Dry the chanterelles, break into small pieces and pour the alcohol over them. Leave for two days, then strain, and you have a lovely, golden-yellow liquid with the gentle flavour of chanterelles. Drink very cold – and in moderation.

Hans Wieland is joint manager of The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, which offers courses, training and information in organic growing, and runs an Eco Shop and an online gardening store. For more information, visit www.theorganiccentre.ie, e-mail info@theorganiccentre.ie or phone 071 9854338.