Prairie Sportsman

(cheerful music) (bright guitar music) - I am sitting in a small patch of chanterelle mushrooms.

And so the super fun thing is when you see one, you're gonna see more.

And that's what's happened right here in this spot.

Differing sizes here.

But again, in the Minnesota River Valley worms, insects, they like to get into those mushrooms.

And so we're gonna check them also for that before we toss them in the basket.

But when you're IDing a mushroom, you wanna make sure that there are no lookalikes or if there are find out what those are.

And you wanna be as sure as you can before you decide that you're gonna consume something.

Now with chanterelles, well, there are different things you look at when IDing a mushroom.

You look at the stems, you look at the gills, you look at the caps but also smell.

And sometimes taste is an indicator of what kind of mushroom you have.

And then if in doubt, I always recommend spore printing as well.

But here is just a little, and we'll show you how they vary in size too.

But here's a little tiny chanterelle and they live in symbiotic relationships with the trees and they do like a mixed woods.

And I never get tired of that smell.

They smell like fresh apricots or even peaches and kind of fresh air.

And again, I leave the bottom in the ground.

I don't wanna disturb the mycelial network that's going on underneath the ground.

The stuff that we can't see.

And I know these are small because they do have a tendency to get larger.

But I also do not want the bugs and worms to invade and they tend to like to in this spot.

So we'll just show you how different they can be in different stages, how their appearance kind of changes.

And that's another thing when IDing a mushroom too.

When you get to know a mushroom, they're just like getting to know people really.

And over time their personalities really stand out.

Same thing for a mushroom or for a plant.

And you wanna catch a glimpse if you can of any new to you mushroom in its varying stages.

And here this is a really great, great example in this spot as we can see.

And their appearance changes just a little bit, but the telltale signs of ID really don't change.

The folds are there in all stages.

That wonderful smell is there.

And then we get into the larger ones.

These are beautiful 'cause they're elusive.

But when you see one, you're gonna see more.

Then they just pop out from everywhere.

And these ones are bug free it looks like.

I always give it a little check in the field.

And then any little scrappy parts I may cut off I just put right back where I found the mushroom.

And then always try to leave no trace.

And that's not just to keep patches a secret, you wanna leave it like you found it.

So a small little guy, right?

But the stem has already been munched on, enjoyed by, looks like some little tiny worms.

So sometimes I'm able to cut those sections out.

The hedgehog mushroom, very similar in taste and that wonderful smell to the chanterelle.

They get no bugs and I don't understand that.

But hey, they're great to harvest and easy to clean 'cause they're bug free.

And again, just a little quick clean in the field, check it out, do any trimming that's necessary.

But yeah, these are one of my favorites.

They're a versatile, mild tasting mushroom.

Great in pasta dishes, great in soups, great as just a side to whatever you're eating.

But my favorite way, because they are so fruity smelling and sweet people use them as, or make chanterelle ice cream out of them.

They make different desserts out of them.

I make a cake so I do like a mushroom glaze on top of a cake.

And it's excellent.

Obviously as they grow, their folds really start to show.

When they're young the caps are grounded around their stem.

And then as they grow, they vase out or like fold outward and create just beautiful vase like mushrooms.

And this is I think the closest one we have in the basket to that is that's starting to happen.

Aren't they pretty?

(light guitar music)