What are Wild Mushrooms?

When people ask what I do, they often seem unsure what to say when I tell them I sell wild mushrooms. "No, not the funny kind," I tell them. "Where are they grown?" is often the next question, followed by, "Do you have your own mushroom farm?"

So what are wild mushrooms? And does that "Ragout of Wild Mushrooms" you just ordered in your favorite restaurant really pass the "Truth in Advertising" test?

Wild mushrooms grow in the wild. They grow in the forests, on the mountainsides, in the meadows and deep in the brush. They are like manna from heaven, but instead of raining down from the sky, they pop up from the earth after a rain. They grow when and where their nature tells them to grow, and their marvelous flavors let you know that they are NOT the farm-raised, planned, safe little buttons you see in cans at your grocery store.

As to the "Truth in Advertising" of the "Wild Mushroom Ragout," this is one of my pet peeves.

I can't tell you how often I have spotted a "Wild Mushroom" dish on a menu, and asked my server what wild mushrooms were in the dish. More often than I would like to remember I have been told that they were "Oyster, shiitake and cremini." I've learned to smile, and order something else. I used to smile and tell them to please tell the chef that oyster, shiitake, and cremini are not wild mushrooms, but I learned that no one cared but me.

So here's the deal. "Wild" MEANS Wild. No one would sell farm raised beef as wild boar. Wild salmon is different from Farm raised salmon. Farm raised mushrooms are NOT wild mushrooms. If they are commercially grown, planted, harvested, raised, farmed etc they are NOT wild mushrooms.

Examples of mushrooms often portayed as wild which are farm raised:

Cremini
Oyster
Portobello
Shiitake

Examples of Wild Mushrooms:

Black Trumpets
Chanterelles
Chicken of the Woods
Hedgehogs
Lobster
Morels
Porcini
Yellow Foot

More on wild mushrooms and other fine foods to come.

Ed Baker
Earthy Delights
eb@earthy.com
Professional Funguy