Chicago Foodways: Exploring the Wild Mushroom, Aug 4th

CHC Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Exploring the Wild Mushroom:
Myths, Flavors and Facts

Presented by
Joe McFarland

Saturday, August 4th, 2007
10 AM
Kendall College
900 North Branch Street, Chicago
(West of Halsted Street, North of Chicago Avenue)
Free Parking

Cost: $3 per person, free to Kendall students and faculty with ID.

The increasing popularity of wild mushroom cookery in America is limited by a surprisingly one-dimensional understanding of wild mushrooms. Not all wild mushrooms taste alike, no more than all vegetables taste alike, or all meats taste alike. Yet a surprisingly large number of recipes simply call for "wild mushrooms," for an ingredient, as if all possible mushroom selections have interchangeable--and compatible--flavors and textures. Imagine a recipe that simply listed "meat" as an ingredient. Or a pie that simply contained "fruit." Plus, not all "wild" mushrooms are wild. Cultivated versions of shiitake, oyster and portabella are often sold as "wild mushrooms," despite the fact they were grown indoors in a controlled environment. In order to get truly wild mushrooms, one must learn to forage for edible fungi--or pay a hefty price from specialty markets. Since foraging for wild mushrooms can literally be a life-or-death experience, one must be absolutely confident in their identification skills. This meeting will cover some of the basic do's and don'ts of mushroom foraging, including Illinois laws regarding collection of edible fungi in state parks, safe collecting techniques and storage tips. A single workshop cannot cover all aspects of safe mycophagy. But this is a great place to start.

Joe McFarland works for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources writing for Outdoor Illinois magazine. Based in Carbondale, Joe has the distinction of collecting the first morel annually in Illinois for years.

This program is hosted by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable. To reserve, please PM Cathy2, then leave your name, telephone number and the number of people in your party or e-mail to:
[email protected]

HI,

IF you are interested in a good understanding of basic wild mushrooming, then Joe McFarland's talk shouldn't be missed. He is quite the enthusiast when it comes to mushrooming.

While it is pretty dry, there will be an effort to bring some wild specimens.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:While it is pretty dry, there will be an effort to bring some wild specimens.

A few wild and crazy specimens
can always liven up dry subject matter.
Maybe I'll wear a funny hat.

ScubaChef,

Looking forward to meeting you!

Regards,

I'll try to make it.

nr706 wrote:I'll try to make it.

Great! If anyone wakes tomorrow morning and impulsively wants to attend, then please do!

Regards,