Sautéeing Northern California’s Honey Mushrooms!
Are you looking for new kinds of wild edible mushrooms to try? It would take a long time to get through all of the delicious species of fungi that the woods of Northern California have to offer. If you are up for a challenge, Armillaria Mellea (also known as Honey Mushrooms) are relatively rare.
Northern Honey Mushrooms
The Honey Mushroom was named from Europe back in the 1700’s. While these mushrooms are mostly found in the Northeastern part of the United States, they also have a presence in Northern California. Although they might not be at the top of the list in terms of Northern California’s tastiest mushrooms, they are still worth trying out — especially if you happen across them in the woods.
Honey Mushrooms normally grow in dense clusters on hardwoods. Occasionally, they can be found growing on conifers. They are parasitic on trees, causing the wood to turn white and rot. This is why they can also be found on stumps and dead logs. While they are usually found in the fall after it rains, you can find them far later on in the season in warmer climates. Luckily for enthusiastic mushroom foragers, Northern California has a very long season!
Searching for Honey Mushrooms is a great excuse to spend some more time in the outdoors. Hiking on its own is fun and great exercise. Add in some mushroom knowledge and an awareness of your surroundings and you can soon realize that you can hike and forage simultaneously.
The convex caps of Honey Mushrooms are fairly bald and square when young. As the mushrooms mature, the caps start to flatten out. They are golden yellow, but eventually fade to a browner color in maturity. These mushrooms have a white spore print and have whitish or slightly pinkish flesh that does not change in color when it is sliced.
Cooking mushrooms is strongly recommended for anyone who has taken them from the wild. This is especially true for Honey Mushrooms. If this type of mushroom is not cooked well, they can cause an upset stomach. Sautéing them only takes about 10 minutes. Below, we’ll outline cooking instructions for delicious sautéed Honey Mushrooms!
Sautéed Honey Mushrooms
Ingredients:
• Honey Mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• Canola, lard, or grapeseed oil
• 1 Tablespoon of butter
Cooking Instructions
1.) Take the caps off the stems and then peel the stems. Heat a frying pan with some oil and add the caps.
2.) Sauté caps for 3 minutes before adding the peeled stems. Than, sauté for another 3 minutes.
3.) Once the caps and stems are thoroughly cooked, add butter and season with salt and pepper.
4.) Add to paper towels to get rid of excess oil and enjoy!
As always, make sure that the mushrooms you find are identified correctly. Consuming the wrong mushrooms can have terrible consequences and some edible mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from non-edible mushrooms. Anytime you bring home mushrooms for eating, they should also be thoroughly cleaned.
Want to find your own? We have mushroom class throughout Northern CA during the season, as well as seaweed in the summer and wild plant classes year round!