Mushrooms Identified - Hen of the Woods

Immature Hen of the Woods

Same mushrooms, about 6 days later

Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa) is a mushroom we are comfortable eating, and have a small bit of experience with. We got our first by bartering with Russ Cohen at a foraging walk, and then found a few old specimens later in that year. The taste and texture of this mushroom really impressed us, so we made it a point to search for them this year. Joining the CVMS and several online forums really helped with our research and gave us many ideas where to search for these culinary delights. Timing is important, along with habitat.

Hen of the Woods Stroganoff

Hens are also known as Sheep's Head, due to their fluffy appearance. They grows at the base of oaks and other deciduous trees from September to November, often reappearing each season for several years. They are parasitic to the tree, and will very slowly kill a tree by causing rot in the heartwood and sapwood. Hens generally are very common in the Eastern US, are present in the Midwest, and are not present in the West except for the Pacific Northwest. After we made an active search for them this year, we have found perhaps 35+ pounds of delicious mushrooms at several sites, always at the base of an oak. We have dried, frozen and cooked several recipes using the thinner fronds and the solid core. We search for hen of the woods by finding an established mixed forest, and Robert will use binoculars to search off trail at the base of large or dead oaks. Many times we stumble upon a tree with 3-7 clusters at its base by accident or directly on a trail. We determine its desirability based on appearance, age, and buggy-ness of the hen. Robert uses a knife to cut the main stem and trim any gross bits from the bottom, and we carry the intact hens out in a canvas grocery bag.

Spore Print

Hen of the Woods underside

Hen of the Woods is a polypore, meaning it has pores on its underside instead of gills. It appears as a large, clustered mass of greyish-brown, dry, spoon-shaped fronds. Each frond will vary in size depending on age, but can be a nub or up to 3" (7 cm) wide. The pores on the underside should be white, though they will yellow with age. The stems or stalks are tough and off center, or usually attached to the sides of the fronds. The spore print is white. Clusters of hens may weigh up to 100 pounds, but most are around 5 pounds each. The core stem will be solid, without fibers, and works well in recipes if ground like meat or marinated. There are no dangerous look-alikes.

Hen of the Woods Tapenade

Hen of the Woods is considered a choice edible, due to its excellent firm, meaty texture and mild mushroomy taste. We have made a tapenade, calzones, consommé, pasta sauces, steak toppings, and just eat this mushroom sautéed with butter on toast. The Japanese call this mushroom maitake, and use it to enhance the immune system in cases of cancer, to regulate blood pressure, glucose and insulin. 

Hen-of-the-Woods Recipe - Hen Tapenade Spread

Hen Tapenade on Crostini

Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa) is an autumn mushroom we love. We received our first Hen from Russ Cohen in a trade for some jellies made from foraged wild foods, after we took a walk with him last year. Since then, we have been dreaming about the hen season. Joining the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society has taught us a lot about how to look for this beautiful polypore, such as preferred habitat, correct timing, and how to determine a desirable specimen vs. a too old or too young specimen. When cleaning the mushroom and separating the parts for drying, freezing, and eating fresh, we usually end up with a lot of very solid stems from the cores of the mushrooms. These solid cores form the base of a spread that is highly flavorful and almost meaty. We like to make a grilled cheese sandwich with a heavy layer of tapenade, or eat it just spread on crackers.

Hen-of-the-Woods Tapenade                       makes about 3 cups of tapenade


1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 pound hen-of-the-woods mushroom cores, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 c. sliced shallots
4 large garlic cloves, chopped

4 T bread crumbs, as needed

1. In a large bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, and black pepper. Add the chopped mushroom cores and marinate at least 2 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 375°F. Remove the mushroom from the marinade and add the shallots and garlic. Spread the marinated mushroom onto an oiled sheetpan and roast for 30 minutes, until tender and browned. Cool.
3. Now remove the shallots and garlic from the marinade and place on another sheetpan. Roast for 20 minutes until tender.
4. In a food processor, pulse the shallots and garlic until chopped finely. Add the roasted mushroom and pulse until a chunky paste forms. Up to 4 T of bread crumbs may need to be added to absorb extra moisture to make the tapenade spreadable.

Mushrooms Identified - Black Trumpets

Black Trumpet Dauphinoise

Mycology discussion groups in the Northeastern US were buzzing with talk of a monumental year for black trumpet mushrooms (Craterellus fallax), and we saw several specimens at the CVMS forays brought in by other people. Robert and I were very excited to come across some while hiking, he took many pictures and we wondered what we should do with our finds. Then, we were out looking for hen-of-the-woods in a new location when we came across more than 6 pounds of this wonderful fungus. Recipe searches and cooking commenced, and we dried enough to fill 2 gallon jars. The simplest way to eat them was on a pizza with goat cheese and some caramelized onions, and we made a Dauphinoise, soups, and are thinking of making a fondue with brie and black trumpets.

Can you see the trumpets?

Searching for black trumpets takes a slow and patient style, unless you know of some places that they appeared in previous years. They grow in mixed deciduous forests, often associated with oaks and beech trees, and we found many clustered with mountain laurels. The season runs from July through November, but the dry summer conditions held them off until the rains came with tropical storm Irene in late August. The trumpets are rather difficult to spot on the forest floor among the leaf litter and branches since they are so darkly colored. They appear more like dark holes, until your eyes adjust, when you will usually find a large area of clusters of the fungus.

Black trumpets are vase shaped, about 1"-5" (3-14cm) high. The top, outer edges of the "vase" are usually curled over and can be wavy, smooth, or ragged and split, ranging from 1/2"-4" (1-10cm) wide. The inside surface is dry and minutely scaly, dark brown to black. The underside, or outside of the "vase"  is smooth and lighter colored due to the spores being present.We have also seen Craterellus cinereus, which has raised veins on the underside and is also edible, but not as desirable. The stem is hollow and tapering downward to the base. The flesh of the black trumpet is thin and brittle, and tastes very earthy and I think it can taste a bit iron-y. Paired with cream it is divine.


The spore print of the black trumpets we found was a light peach or buff. On the west coast, they find Craterellus cornucopiodes, which has a white spore print, but very similar appearance to Craterellus fallax.

Spore prints

Black Trumpet Mushroom Recipe - Black Trumpet Dauphinoise

We came across a surprising bounty of black trumpets (Craterellus fallax) in September. Surprising because we were searching for hen-of-the-woods, and because we are still novice mushroom hunters and this is our true first season of searching. According to the message boards on Yahoo, this has been a great year for trumpets in New England. Our next task was to find a way to cook with them beyond a cream-based puréed soup. I put some on top of a pizza with goat cheese with fantastic results, Robert ate the whole thing himself. This recipe is for a Dauphinoise, or scalloped potato casserole rich with black trumpets and cream layered with a mild Monterey Jack cheese.

Black Trumpet Dauphinoise            makes one 9" x 9" dish

6 oz. black trumpets, chopped
2 c. light cream
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8" slices
2 c. mild cheese like Monterey Jack

1. Heat the oven to 300° F.
2. Clean the black trumpets by removing the bottoms and looking inside for bugs or leaves. Chop them coarsely.
3. In a saucepan, add the black trumpets, light cream, salt and pepper. Bring up to a light boil, and remove from the heat.
4. Grease a 9" x 9" baking dish. Place 2 layers of the sliced potatoes on the bottom, sprinkle a 1/2 c. cheese on top, and spoon on some of the cream, enough to cover the potato layer.
5. Repeat this layering 4 times, ending with the cream covering the last top layer of cheese. Bake for 1 hour, then start checking for doneness by stabbing the center with a knife. You are looking for tender potatoes and a reduced cream sauce. Bake up to 30 minutes longer until done.

Can you spot the trumpets in this picture?

Mushrooms Identified - Honey Mushrooms

Honey Mushroom Sizes

Cooler weather in New England brings about a whole new group of mushrooms, including the honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea). They are named for their cap color, which resembles honey, and not for their taste. An uncle of mine who was interested in hunting, fishing and foraging used to gather these a long time ago, and I remember I wasn't terribly fond of them as they can become slimy if cooked incorrectly. Some people will experience unpleasant  lower gastrointestinal symptoms from ingesting honeys, and it is recommended that you eat small quantities at first, and cook honey mushrooms very well. None of us have experienced any problems with this mushroom, so Robert can gather them in large quantities. We have come across several trees ringed with honeys this autumn, and cooked some in Honey Mushroom Paprikas, froze some, and dehydrated even more for future use.

Honey Mushroom Paprikas with Dumplings

This is one of the few gilled mushrooms we are comfortable gathering, as there are several characteristics that will positively identify a honey mushroom. There are several poisonous look-alikes, so we often have our honey mushrooms examined by an expert if we are not 100% sure of the ID.They fruit in late August through November in our area, and grow clustered at the base of a tree and near stumps. Honey mushrooms will kill a tree, and often indicate that the tree is dying. They produce black, stringlike runners called rhizomorphs underground that help the honey mushroom's mycelium spread.

The cap's color is variable, mostly shades of golden yellow and brown. The surface of the cap is dry, but it can become slimy if wet. Fresh mushrooms have small, black hairs or scaly tufts near the center of the cap. The cap is the edible and desirable when young, firm and the flesh is white, and may be used as a substitute for shitakes in stir-fry dishes. The caps are 1"-4" (3-10 cm) wide, convex, becoming flat with a central knob.

The gills of the honey mushroom are attached to the stalk, often running just a bit down the stalk. They are white to yellowish, darkening with age and staining to rust color when bruised. The stalk is 2"-6" (5-15 cm) long, fibrous, and colored whitish near the gills and yellowish along the stalk. A ring is always present from the partial veil, and it is cottony white to yellowish.The spore print of a honey mushroom is white.

Honey Mushroom Sporeprint

Honey Mushroom Recipe - Honey Mushroom Paprikas

Autumn weather brings out the honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) here in the northeast. We have found them in the past, and it is one of the few gilled mushrooms we are comfortable eating. There are some reports of lower gastrointestinal upset with honeys, so Robert likes to give them a very quick boil before cooking with them. None of us have ever had an adverse reaction to a honey mushroom. We have found several clusters of them on different trees this past month. Robert dehydrated many, and spore printed some caps. After we got the white spore confirmation, he cooked up a pile to serve in a Hungarian paprikas, which is usually a tomato and paprika based sauce, and served either over egg noodles or small egg dumplings and a dollop of sour cream.

Honey Mushroom Paprikas                 makes about 4 servings

3 c. packed honey mushroom caps, sliced
2 T oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 T paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-11.5 oz can V8
cooked egg noodles or dumplings

1. Blanch the sliced honey mushroom caps in a pot of water for a minute and drain.
2. Sautée the diced onion in the oil until soft, and add the minced garlic. Sautée for 2 minutes longer.
3. Add the paprika and the blanched mushrooms to the onions and garlic and cooke over medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the can of V8, and cook for 10 minutes longer, until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the salt and pepper to taste, and serve over hot noodles or dumplings. Robert also likes this on bread.

Foraging for Letterboxes Event September 17, 2011

Our event on September 17 was a success, I was so happy to see so many old friends and new faces eating, boxing, exchanging, stamping, and even participating in our silly foraging games! I have read AtlasQuest's FAQ on attending an event, I wonder if a FAQ will be added for throwing an event. Robert and I planted 56 letterboxes at Day Pond State Park in Colchester, CT. Some were just out for the day, some are out for a month, many are available forever. We used the park's trail maps to plant several series in a way that makes them all hike-able in one continuous loop. Again, I want to extend thanks to my stamp contributors, Sea Maid, GollyGee, Mojo612, and Wild Turkey.

The day was cool and crisp, a preview of autumn. I had a few wood contributors to keep the stone fireplace roaring all day, and the kids had a blast roasting marshmallows. The off-site Wild Weeds Walk was attended by a small group and one very curious child. We examined sumacs, wild grapes, autumn olives, and looked at out-of-season wild strawberries, wild carrots, yarrow, black cherries and false solomon's seal plants. It can be fun to see what is available in a single field that we like to visit several times per year for different edibles. The kid who came with us was willing to try everything I offered, all being sour or bitter. I am pretty sure that he liked the autumn olives the best, since kids love that sour, puckery flavor. I hope everyone learned a bit!

We planted a fast and fun series around the pavilion, Crazy Silly Nuts that included a bonus game where you had to identify one of an assortment of nuts using the stamped images. It was only available for the day, and will be relocated in the future at a permanent spot. Then I had another bonus stamp available for hikers to try to stump Robert or I by bringing back a nut, berry or mushroom for us to identify. Most folks managed to stump us with a mushroom, and all efforts were rewarded! Another series featured Edibles Around the World, like lotus, figs, and Texas dewberry. Mushroom Hunting Tools is a quick, temporary add-on with Mushrooms, a fun series of 8 edible mushrooms we like to hunt. Wild Animal Foraging features common animals that are hunted for food. For an easier walk, we had Super Foods planted on the Yellow Trail near the pavilion, along with Thor and His Vittles. How to Identify Sassafras was set up a bit differently, by logging into the main box and looking for the microboxes behind suspicious rocks in the immediate area.

Mini Biscuit Sandwiches for Potluck

We offered wild food jellies and jams for sale, and had event patches made by Moritz Embroidery. I still have some left, if anyone is interested in buying one for $3.00. They did a great job, and I would recommend them in an instant. For the potluck, Robert cooked a venison stew over the grill, and we made some sweet shortbread-jam cookie bars. I also made two kinds of mini biscuit sandwiches: a pine pollen biscuit with cream cheese and grape jam, and a ramps greens biscuit with garlic mustard-seed mustard and a piece of cooked kielbasa, or for the vegetarians I made the ramps greens biscuits with cheddar and roasted garlic and ramps jam. For refreshment, we made a big thermos of Sumac-Ade from sumacs and agave syrup.Our many potluck contributions were greatly appreciated!

Overall, we were tired at the end of the day, but we were happy with the event. Maybe we'll do another event in a couple years? We look forward to the event in Maine at Thomas Point Beach every year, and we'll be out for the February party by Mojo612 this winter. Hope to see you all around!