"Oregon has evolved into a culinary hotspot, but in many ways we’re still considered hunter/gatherers.
We can see the forests for the trees here, but we can also see the Chanterelles, Porcinis, and truffles, too. All throughout Oregon, nearly all year-round, something wild is happening. From October to spring, the Oregon truffle (yes, it’s so good, they named it after us) can be found hiding around our Douglas Firs. In April, spring rains and warmer weather wake the morels. Before we know it, it’s summer, and time for salmonberries, blackberries and the elusive huckleberry. Then it’s fall, and time to start all over again."
All the rain is creating a great environment for quietly growing fungi. The farmer's market we went to yesterday offered an amazing variety. I was told that dogs are trained to sniff out truffles here. They are far superior to the pigs used by European gatherers and are easier to transport in the back seat of your car. Also, dogs don't eat them. I guess pigs have a taste for truffles.
3 comments:
Note to neophytes:
There are adventurous mushroom hunters and old mushroom hunters...but no old, adventurous mushroom hunters.
Mushroom soup anyone? I've got a great receipe.
Right. Caution certainly should go hand in hand with mushroom hunting. I've never been interested in doing it. Too risky. Mushroom soup? Only if you identify the provenance of of the mysterious fungi.
Our mom was a gatherer of wild edibles. She loved her fiddle heads!
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, by Euell Gibbons comes to mind!
Amend previous entry...
"there are old mushroom gatherers and bold mushroom gatherers, but no old, bold mushroom gatherers".
Just popped into my mind!
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