west@sdcsla.UUCP (06/15/83)
Does anyone out there know of a source for morels or their spores? Or any
other good mushroom?
Thanks in advance, Larry West (at UC San Diego).
{nprdc!}sdcsla!westrael@inuxe.UUCP (06/16/83)
As far as morels go, I don't know of any source from which you could
find preserved morels (all the fresh ones are well gone by now). Also, I
don't believe there is much point in trying to obtain their spore since
it is not possible to home grow them ... yet. I say "yet, because I read
an article not very long ago in "Discover" magazine which said that people
at the University of Michigan think they might have found a way in which
to grow them; needless to say, they will probably make a fortune if they
figure out how to do this (I found a place that was selling fresh morels
for $8.-/lb. and they could hardly take a break from refilling their
tables).
Other mushrooms can be found in many ways. The easiest of all is to go
to a good supermarket. Atlas Supermarket in Indianapolis (they specialize
in gourmet food) carries the regular button mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus)
as well as dried Boletes, Shiitakes, Cloud Ears, Tree Ears and Oyster
mushrooms. They also carry canned Straw Mushrooms and Agaricus Bispourous.
You can also buy mushrooms by mail from several sources. One of them
is the Kinoko Company from Oakland, CA (I don't have their address with me,
but I will get it and post it in another article). The Kinoko Company
deals mainly with oriental mushrooms (Buttons, Shiitakes, Velvet Foot (or
Enokitake, or Winter Mushroom), Tree Ears, Oyster and Straw Mushrooms).
You can get dried mushrooms from them, and you can also get kits for
growing them (I was not very impressed with these).
My last suggestion is for you to go out and find some mushrooms. We are
now just starting Chanterelle season, and this is also the time of the year
when you may find some Boletes hanging around the deciduous forest. In a
month or so the Boletes will start coming up in conifer woods (and dissapear
from the deciduous ones); this will also be the time when Puffballs will
start popping everywhere, and who knows ... you may get lucky and run into
a Sulphur Shelf (or Chicken Mushroom, which happens to be my all time favorite)
or latter into a nice chunk of Hen of the Woods mushroom. Then when Fall
comes along a lot of these mushrooms will still be around and be joined
by others such as the Oyster Mushroom, the devilish Shaggy Mane, and
another one of my favorites: Pink Undies or Meadow Mushrooms (Agaricus
Campestris). Fall is the "World Series of Mushroom Hunting". And when it is
over and your freezer starts getting depleted through the winter, wait for
a nice thaw and go out looking for Oysters and Velvet Foot (I've found
these boogers in January !!!).
Well ... whatever you choose to do ... Enjoy !
a mushroom lover,
Dan Vanevic
inuxe!rael
P.S.: Make sure to check oriental cooking sections of supermarkets if you
go hunting them there.billw@sri-unix.UUCP (07/08/83)
#R:sdcsla:-36000:sri-unix:4600012:000:69 sri-unix!billw Jun 21 16:00:00 1983 Can someone recomend books on mushrooms and mushroom hunting? BillW