It’s been a strange year so far. As seasoned hunters and regular readers will know, most species started abnormally early. True, the St Georges and morels were roughly on time, but the chicken of the woods and chanterelles were up at least a month before usual. Later on, there were bumper crops of the latter and then last week came the huge hedgehog haul. With these promising omens to boost my natural optimism, I have therefore been continually predicting a record-breaking harvest this autumn.
As the trees reach their colourful peak, Autumn is now here in earnest – so where are the mushrooms?
Unfortunately this has yet to materialise. There are certainly mushrooms out there, but they are not exactly popping up by the hundredweight and there are still very few porcini which are the main attraction for most serious mushroom addicts. This isn’t to say there’s nothing out there, however. On my first foray of the year we found two dozen edibles. Last weekend the Saturday tally was 15 (rising to 20 by the end of the break). Now this scores well alongside most competitors, but I’ve done better (31 is the record). More importantly, our finds were generally in small quantities (try splitting one fairy ring cap into16 slices).
They say adversity is the mother of invention, however, and the quantity shortage was no exception. Last week the fungal drought forced me to turn to yellow swamp russulas (which previously I had snobbishly ignored). I did this simply because they were the only species available in large numbers, but the result was a revelation. The guests loved them and they are now firmly on my picking list.
Yellow swamp russulas are ridiculously under-rated – they are plentiful and tasty in the run-up to the main season
Bouyed up by this, I tried another experiment at the weekend: meadow waxcaps. These proved to be another winner. In the Saturday tasting they were only beaten by hedgehogs and came equal second alongside shaggy parasols, beating chanterelles, shaggy ink caps and beefsteak.
The meadow waxcap is abundant and delicious, yet it is another mushroom that is curiously overlooked in most guides
Despite this unexpected gastronomic triumph, I was still sufficiently bothered by the comparative lack of early success to gamble with the Sunday itinerary. Instead of taking the safe option of a walk around local deciduous woodland where I was certain we would find a good range, but in limited quantities, I toyed with the idea of visiting a distant conifer wood. In good years this is awash with a few choice species, but I was decidedly ambivalent about our chances on this occasion. In the end I outlined my dilemma to the guests as honestly as I could and they chose the longer drive despite the risk of drawing a blank.
Yet again we were in luck. While not many mushrooms were out, one of our party, Laura, quickly bumped into a monster 3lb cepe (better still it appeared undamaged by insects).
This cheered everyone up no end, but for me the highlight was the host of newly-emerging winter chanterelles. To be honest, it took sharper eyes than mine to find these amid the leaf mould, but having admitted this, from now on I shall shamelessly claim credit for the discovery.
Winter chanterelles are a fantastic mushroom and taste all the better for being difficult to find (at least initially)
For me this is far more important than the cepe. Until now my finds of this glorious mushroom (I rate it higher than its better known cousin) were limited to literally one specimen on a near-cliff two miles from a road. I suspect, however, it is locally abundant, but I am simply not looking hard enough. Judge for yourself from these photos:
Winter chanterelles are perfectly camouflaged among the leaf mould – here it is progressively highlighted
Anyway, the end result was that everyone left happy – but as so often happens, a large proportion of the weekend’s success was down to a wonderful group. Yet again, I learnt a huge amount from my sharp-eyed, intelligent and often very knowledgeable guests.
It is impossible to say whether the smiles were due more to the weather or the six species of delicious mushrooms
There is, of course, a residing puzzle. Normally the season should have already peaked (it’s arbitrary, but in a normal year I think of 5 – 7 October as the season’s pinnacle). After that there is usually about a fortnight of bumper harvests which slowly recede in quantity and variety. Finally, the first two or three hard frosts kill this off and we are left with the blewits and velvet shanks until next Easter when it all begins again.
My hunch, however, is that everything is currently delayed by the unusually mild weather. Despite the overcast conditions, daytime temperatures are in the mid-teens and at night it rarely drops below seven or eight centigrade. As a result the soil is still too warm for autumn species like cepes to spring into action. Certainly this theory seems born out by ‘indicator species’ such as fly agaric and yellow swamp russulas, both of which are yet to emerge in real numbers. My hunch is that the best is yet to come – so keep your eyes peeled over the next fortnight.
Good hunting!
Daniel Butler
fungiforays.co.uk
01597 811168 / 0779 429 4221
Mushroom Hunting Newsletter Oct 2008
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