Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide

Description

Get ready to fall in love with wild mushrooms! Absolutely everything you need to know to make mushrooming a lifestyle choice. Packed with content and lore from more than 30 skilled foragers around the country, Forage to Table will help mushroom hunters successfully utilize their harvest, and includes practical information on transporting, cleaning

Kristen and Trent Blizzard are self-proclaimed "mushroom geeks" and are the creators behind the blog modern-forager.com. They've been trekking the Rocky Mountains and beyond mostly with mushrooms in mind for nearly a decade. At first a hobby, the hunt for fungi quickly became nothing short of an obsession for these two. They have built a lifestyle around foraging--everywhere they go provides a new opportunity to learn about local mycology, and they are both certified wild mushroom identification experts in Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They reside in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

"Wild Mushrooms is a wonderful book and at under 20 bucks an absolute steal. You must get it, no matter if you collect mushrooms on the West Coast or East, or somewhere in between. And even if you're not into cooking wild mushrooms--there is plenty more about this book to make it a must-have. If you are a pro at cooking mushrooms, you will still find new ideas to try plus get a load of those great photos. Or maybe you are the kind of forager that doesn't have a lot of confidence with your skills in the kitchen, or you simply don't feel like you know what to do with wild mushrooms once you've gotten them home--either way this book is still for you." --FUNGI magazine "This is a one-stop reference for anyone interested in foraging mushrooms--then figuring out to do with their haul. Covering everything from forest etiquette, to the various ways in which to preserve mushrooms, to 115 diverse and well-thought-out recipes for 15 different kinds of mushrooms, to tips for avoiding gastric upset and other undesired effects, this will you up your game, from novice enthusiast to connoisseur." --FoodPrint "Full of gorgeous photographs, [this] cookbook is a go-to guide for anyone who loves to hunt or cook with wild mushrooms. Along with tips on harvesting etiquette and kitchen tricks, it includes chapters on preservation and cooking techniques. (Did you know you can candy chanterelles or infuse mushrooms with alcohol?) Then it's on to recipes from 25 skilled foragers around the country. There are 115 in all, covering 15 different varieties of culinary fungi--everything from jams and soups to jerky and pasta dishes, using favorites such as chicken of the woods, oyster, morels and porcini mushrooms." --Pittsburgh Post Gazette "This book of marvels is generous of heart and imbued with the deep sensitivity of true foragers. The Blizzards have the rare gift of intimately knowing these wild mushrooms like old friends: their unique personalities, their eccentric culinary traits, and the special secrets to keeping them a part of your life and kitchen all year long. The superb recipes and preservation methods make this book the best wild mushroom forager's guide to date." --Connie Green, Wine Forest Wild Foods, author of The Wild Table "Trent and Kristen have done a great job compiling recipes from talented foragers, telling their stories, as well as distilling down mushroom hunting knowledge only years of experience can provide. Wild Mushrooms will happily form a symbiosis with your field guides, as well as your kitchen." --Alan Bergo, forager & chef "The Blizzards drew upon not only their own experiences but also the wisdom of 20 other expert foragers to put together a go-to guide for storing (drying, pickling, even making jams) and cooking all sorts of mushrooms. The recipes are divided up by the type of mushroom, highlighting everything from the easiest mushroom to find (Chicken of the Woods Coconut curry) to the more elusive (Creamed Morels on Toast) . . . Whether you get your mushrooms from the supermarket or the forest floor, a worthy addition to your library." --Star Tribune "Join the thrill of the hunt with foragers Kristen and Trent Blizzard in an intimate glimpse into a community of mushroomers who relish fungal feasts. Much more than a field guide or a cookbook, Wild Mushrooms offers comprehensive instructions on cleaning and preserving your haul, along with 115 savory, sweet, and medicinal recipes honed to perfection by more than two dozen chefs and home cooks who share the Blizzards' love of wild mushrooms. They weave nearly a decade of experiences foraging in the mountain states, Pacific Northwest, and Midwest through the book, and spent over a year collecting, testing recipes, and photographing the mouthwatering creations in this handsome collection. Destined to be a leading authority in its class, this volume adds immeasurable value to the handful of wild mushroom cookbooks on the market. It manages to preserve the best of these with the conviviality of a community cookbook, but adding a professional and comprehensive focus with enough wit and wonder to provide an invaluable resource for beginners as well as seasoned mushroom hunters. The globally inspired recipes range from practical to unusual, with basic techniques like grilling, pickling, and drying elevated by more fanciful creations, including Chanterelle Apricot Sorbet, Porcini and Gruyere Gougeres, Savory Matsutake Daikon Cake, and Candy Cap Mushroom Popsicles. Interspersed with pro tips and stunning, minimalist images of each species are biographies and anecdotes from passionate mushroomers the Blizzards have come to know in their years attending festivals and joining forays across the country. I highly recommend it and look forward to sampling each and every recipe." --Jennifer Burns Bright, PhD, food educator, travel writer, forager, and lover of all mushrooms wild and wonderful