My cousin Carl is a mushroom expert, and last week he described a mushroom called "chicken feathers" that grows in a symbiotic relationship at the base of an Oak tree. He said it is an excellent source of protein and very tasty.
The very next day, after hearing his description, I was on a nature walk with some other people when we came across the mushroom pictured here. It looked so much like Carl's description, even at the base of an Oak tree, that we decided to pick it and bring it home for Carl to identify positively.
The mushroom was as big around as a basketball, and shaped more like a football, except with the feathery surface texture. It weighed about five pounds. Carl sliced off about one fourth of it, brushed off the forest debris, and sliced it into a hot sautee pan with a little oil and garlic. It was one of the most delightful feasts I've ever had, and that quarter was enough for about six people. It would make a nice topping for spaghetti noodles too.
6 comments:
What happened to the other 3/4 of the mushroom?
The other 3/4 of the mushroom got cleaned and cut up into bite sized pieces and were put into the freezer in freezer bags. Carl instructed us to pour them from the freezer bag, while they're still frozen, right into the hot sautee pan. It is critical that they maintain their moisture content. He has a ten pound mushroom that comes up each year at the base of an Oak tree in his yard, and he freezes enough to last through the winter.
That looks like what in the book Mushrooming Without Fear, is called Grifola frondosa the "Hen of the Woods". Or, in Japanese: Maitake, meaning "dancing mushroom". They say that finding one is cause for dancing due to its flavor and health benefits.
That's right! Carl said it was called Maitake.
Last saturday I was out fishing near Roslyn and saw more varieties of mushroom than I have ever seen in one area. I wish I would have brought my mushroom book to identify them. Considering that I didn't catch a single fish, mushrooming would have been far more productive.
Tom.
You said that on fourth of the Miatake was sufficient to feed six people; it would have been enough to feed seven people if your second cousin, Ann Freeman, had been there!
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