A brief forager’s dive into how you can lower your grocery bill with local mushrooms.
Yasmine Moderesi (she/her) // Crew Writer
Angelica Blanch (she/her) // Art Director
Whether you’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) for your entire life or are a new arrival, you might have fallen victim to the common misconception that mushrooms are dangerous, invasive pests that should never be touched— let alone consumed. The reality is that BC has the most diverse mushroom speciation in all of North America, with thousands of edible and medicinal fungi that can be harvested wild. Aside from excursions into the woods being a fun way to feed yourself, many people, like myself, love indulging in the rage delicacies that are the plunder of backcountry voyages.
While it’s true that some mushrooms are poisonous, foraging isn’t as intimidating as it sounds— I’ve been foraging since I was three years old, and I still haven’t given myself brain damage (it’s true. I even asked my psychiatrist). With the right knowledge, beginners can easily enthrall themselves in the fascinating world of fungi, go on scenic side quests, and lower their grocery bills all at once! However, caution is essential, as lookalikes (aka, the evil twins of edible mushrooms) can have side effects ranging from stomach issues, death, or, if you manage to make the right kind of mistake, a psychedelic trip into another dimension. For the curious soul, there are some beginner-friendly mushrooms that I personally think are a great introduction to foraging.
- Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus): this high-protein, chicken-flavoured fungus is a friend to both vegans and powerlifters. Growing on dead or dying trees, the rubbery fungus that stinks of sulphur and has bright hues of orange and yellow can easily be mistaken for poisonous by the casual observer, making it a secret treasure. There is one lookalike called Dyers Polypore, which is used to dye fabrics and hair different shades of red, but Dyers Polypore isn’t poisonous, and the two fungi are easily distinguishable by their textures and colour.
- Lion’s Mane Fungus (Hericium erinaceus): Speculated to have medicinal properties in Eastern medicine, Lion’s Mane is a delicious and versatile fungus often used as a meat substitute. It grows in unpredictable and yet distinct, spiky and white protrusions from the trunks of dead trees in the autumn and springtime. Considered a delicacy worldwide, this fungus is also perfect for novice foragers because it has no poisonous lookalikes.
- King Bolete (Boletus edulis): popularly known as the “Porcini” (piglet) in Italian cuisine, this delicacy has a meaty texture and savoury flavour. It can be found in abundance on the PNW on the forest floor in late summer and autumn and is easily identified from other common mushrooms by its lack of gills. Hypothetically, if a happy mountain goer like myself didn’t care about the regulations on foraging in Provincial Parks, Seymour Mountain would be the perfect location for a day of Bolete picking.
- Morel Mushrooms (Morchella esculenta): a highly prized and expensive delicacy, we’re lucky to have such a bounty of morels in BC. Rare because they can’t be grown in captivity (they rely on symbiotic relationships with trees to survive), foragers in BC have previously started territory battles over Morels! These are some of the easiest mushrooms to identify, with their honeycomb-like appearance. Although the False Morel is a common evil twin that will have you hunched over your toilet for a few days, False Morels can be easily distinguished from Morels by cutting the mushroom in half: Morels are hollow inside, while False Morels are not.
- Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius): while there are quite a few varieties of chanterelle, the golden chanterelle is by far the most popular. It is easily recognizable even if you’re not actively looking for mushrooms due to its bright yellow colour and its inside-out umbrella shape. As a mushroom that thrives in moist environments, Chanterelles grow in clusters in spring and autumn on the forest floor of the PNW.
Going forward, if you feel that foraging might be a fun way for you to get outside and lower your grocery bill all at once, do it— but also, don’t be so overly enthusiastic that you poison yourself. Believe it or not, there are seemingly infinite peer-reviewed and folk-tradition sources online to learn about feeding yourself, mycology, and natural medicinal remedies. To get started as a complete beginner, try online identification resources like iNaturalist, the “Picture Mushroom Identifier” app, or field guides like David Arora’s “All That the Rain Promises and More” and The National Audubon Society’s “Field Guide to Mushrooms.” Stay safe, have fun and watch out for that False Morel, please, really.
Sources
Lincoff, Gary H. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms. Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.
- Chicken of the Woods, p. 349
- Lion’s Mane, p. 340
- King Bolete, p. 485
- Morels, p. 302
- Colden Chanterelle, p. 316