Harvest and use mushrooms correctly

Harvest and use mushrooms correctly

Properly equipped to go hunting for mushrooms

When heading out into the forest to collect mushrooms, bring the following items with you to collect mushrooms:

  • a book to identify the types of mushrooms
  • a clean, dry cotton cloth
  • a sharp kitchen knife
  • a basket for gentle transport

also read

  • Grow and use mushrooms in your own garden or cellar
  • Pick mushrooms correctly - this is how it's done
  • Grow brown caps yourself - harvest tasty mushrooms from your own garden

Even if you have a book on how to identify the types of mushrooms with you, it is no substitute for experience and expertise in mushroom picking. You should therefore only harvest those mushrooms in the forest and on the meadow that you can determine with absolute certainty that they are non-toxic.

Carefully remove any mushrooms found from the earth

There are different views on how to properly harvest mushrooms. While some mushroom pickers cut the mushroom stem close to the ground with a sharp knife, other pickers contradict this practice. After all, in this way germs should penetrate the fungal mycelium and the stem base is necessary for some varieties for the determination and differentiation of poisonous varieties. Carefully turn the found edible mushrooms out of the ground by hand and seal the place with some soil. Sometimes a new fruiting body of the fungus can grow out of the ground in the same place in a short time.

Preserve the typical mushroom taste

Only harvest fresh and clean mushrooms and leave rotten and worm-eaten mushrooms in the forest without damaging them. These can serve animals as fodder and, with their spores, ensure that the fungi multiply. Any mushrooms found are removed from dirt with a dry cloth or a sharp knife. They must not be washed off with water before preparation, as they often lose their typical taste in the process.

Tips & Tricks

Excess mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of a few days. For longer storage, you can dry ceps and other edible mushrooms cut into slices and store in airtight jars. Porcini mushroom flour made from dried and ground porcini mushrooms is also suitable for refining soups and sauces.