Foraging for Fungi in Beautiful Big Sur

January is peak mushroom season in central coastal California.  Each year the Big Sur area hosts a four-day Foragers Festival to raise money for the Big Sur Health Center, a non-profit facility that provides much needed local medical services.  Multiple well-known restaurants and renowned chefs create magical meals featuring wild ingredients foraged in Big Sur paired with delicious local wines and beers.  There are also raffles, auctions, and a “Fungus Face-Off”, which pits local chefs against each other in a cooking competition featuring fungi. While I have been known to consume mushrooms on my pizza and occasionally partake of portobellos I must admit that my knowledge of mushrooms is rather scant.  Mushrooms are ubiquitous at my farm and I always wonder if they are edible or poisonous, so when I saw that the festival included foraging hikes led by fungi experts, I jumped at the chance.

The hikes were led by Todd Spanier, who truly is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge as well as a talented chef.  I liked that he could not only identify wild plants and fungi, but also explain how they could be used for culinary purposes.  He explained that he started learning about mushrooms from his Italian grandfather when he was only five years old.  Todd owns a company called “King of Mushrooms” which provides wild foraged foods to many local restaurants and businesses.  He is considered to be a pioneer of the sustainable and wild food movements in California.  If you would like to join Todd or other experts to learn about wild edibles, see Wild Food Walks.

I learned that the biggest threat to fungi is not over picking, but rather, destruction of their habitat.  I also learned that you can touch poisonous fungi and not worry about getting sick, that the only way to become ill is if you ingest the mushroom.  Stories were also related regarding people from Asia and Russia coming to California and picking and eating mushrooms that looked identical to those in their original countries but which were toxic and poisonous.  You can imagine the dire consequences.  Yikes!

It was a beautiful, sunny day as we entered the Big Sur forest following days of rain.  We passed gorgeous copses of redwoods, bay laurels, and canyon oaks.  Lauren, another of our guides, was very knowledgeable regarding edible items and pointed out horsemint, miner’s lettuce, and redwood sorrel.

As many of you may know, I have a word obsession.  I love learning new words, wordplay, etc.  So, of course, I was stoked when I started learning about all the amazing fungi out there!  Scientific nomenclature is interesting, but who can beat names like  “Witches Butter”, “Candy Caps”,  “Turkey Tails”, and “Slippery Jacks”?

Banana slugs were everywhere.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that some younger males were licking them!  I asked one kid why, and he said “licking a banana slug numbs your tongue and is a rite of passage.”  Ewwwww.  Boys are just weird.

 

Todd’s Takeaways:

•  “Do not believe what you see on the internet.”
• “Do not eat mushrooms raw, you can get sick.”  He stated that cooking mushrooms also enhances their nutritional value.
•  “Know the tree, know the mushroom.”  He said you can often tell what a mushroom is according to the tree it grows on or near.
• “Never eat a mushroom unless you are 100% sure of what it is”.  There are some look-alikes that can befuddle even seasoned fungi seekers.
• “Use guidebooks to help identify fungi”.

Todd ended his hike by telling us “it doesn’t matter where we’re from, mushrooms connect us to nature and to our ancestry.” I for one would love to learn more and will be perusing my local library and also attending more foraging hikes.  The best way to learn is from people who know their stuff, right?  Whether you are a foodie, a nature lover, interested in sustainability, or just find the idea of foraging for wild mushrooms fascinating, you will enjoy this amazing experience.  I can’t wait to try out more activities at the Big Sur Foragers Festival next year!  For more information on this unique event, see Festival.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  Wishing you peace, love, happiness, and beautiful vistas!