The Good Life – May-June 2023

Foraging, identifying
and harvesting
safe wild fungi is both
fun and delicious!
I slammed on the brakes, startling my daughter
Maia in the passenger seat. Before she was able
to question me on the sudden stop. I pointed,
through the rain splattered windshield, to a tree
along the boulevard. Smack dab in the middle
of the trunk of a green ash, seven feet above
the ground, a chicken of the woods mushroom
glowed like a lantern. Maia just shook her head
as I jumped out of the car, intent on getting
permission from a bewildered homeowner to
harvest the delicious fungi.
Safe Mushrooming
Before ever leaving the house to stalk wild fungi,
a word on safety is imperative. Unlike toxic
wild fruits, which usually require ingesting a
substantial amount of fruit to become sick, toxic
fungi can cause death in even small amounts.
Unless the forager is 100 percent sure of the
identification of a mushroom, do not eat them.
Toxic fungi don’t allow for second chances.
Edible Species
There are a variety of edible species in
Minnesota and North Dakota, but I’ve
found there are three species that are
easy to identify and delicious on the
table.
Morel
I grew up hunting morel mushrooms
in the spring around my home farm
in southcentral Minnesota. Similar
to deer hunting, nearly everyone
participated in the hunt and honey
holes were closely guarded secrets.
Morels have a distinctive honeycomb
appearance, with a deeply pitted and
ridged cap. The interior of both the cap
and stem are hollow. Morels have no
gills and range in color from pale brown
or black to nearly blonde.
morel mushroom
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