Halloween Mushroom Hunt, Tullamore ,

                                                                                 

 
       
            HALLOWEEN MUSHROOM HUNT

       CHARLEVILLE CASTLE, TULLAMORE
  10-4pm SAT' 27th & SUN' 28TH OCTOBER 2012
     LEAD BY MEMBERS OF THE IRISH MYCOLOGISTS SOCIETY
Don't be Spooked by the Magical world of Mushrooms, let yourself be enchanted in the grounds of the Magnificent 'Charleville Castle' with all of it's Medieval Pageantry on display.

Shaggy Ink caps

 The Mushroom Hunt at Charleville Castle will focus on an exhibition
table in the amazing castle where labelled examples of the current
Irish fungus flora will be on display for all to see. 

There will be also be cooking and tastings of  mushrooms around lunchtime with Louis Smith, Chef lecturer at G.M.I.T and co author of 'Forest Fungi in Ireland' , Louis has an amazing passion for all the edible mushrooms and loves to share his knowledge, indeed I've learnt loads from him down through the years.

 Howard Fox, from the National Botanic Gardens will be on hand to
guide anyone to a species name using the mushroom's detailed
characters. Howard is an engaging character and brings years of experience gained through  his studies and forays, there's little he doesn't know about mushrooms and their part in the habit.

Last of the Trio and by no means least is Maria Cullen, an expert in the field of Lichen and again both edibles and non-edible mushrooms, Maria's the one to look out for on the day, she'll be leading the way.

Porcelain fungus

Bring your own specimens if you want to know what they are! one or two of each species will suffice.

Sadly I won't be there myself, but shall be in spirit! 

Many thanks to Bonnie and Dudley at Charleville Castle for hosting this event and previous ones in the past so well.

Honey Fungus

Ceps,Porcini, bragging rights.

Boletus edulis, aka; Ceps, Porcini,Borowik, Steinpilz or in plain English 'pennybuns' are top of the list on forays and a good find always earns bragging rights amongst foragers much in the the way a fish does amongst fishermen and in fungi land there's also 'the one that got away!' deemed as too old or over munched by slugs and others in the woods, recounted with dismay.

A Cep in it's prime is a worthy prize or reward for the eager hunter, when you find one that is perfect in condition, no bites, no slugs lurking under the cap,it feels good, dense with a powerful mushroom aroma. this is the mushroom that is sought after most for commercial picking, dried it's flavour is intense yet refined yielding up extra 'umami' lifting the taste taste of soups,stews and sauces throughout winter. Check the ingredient listing on a packet of mushroom soup in the supermarket it usually gets a percentage mention.

Some years are better than others for mushrooms and mushrooms appear in different areas at different times, it means patrolling your spots and getting to know when they produce best, because 'it rained yesterday after a few warm days' doesn't necessarily mean your going to get a mushroom, they're a bit too moody for convention.

What to observe.

the cap. Brown

the tubes/gills. White, creamy, yellow turning olive green with age.

the stem/stipe. Thick,rotund, Light brown white with a reticulate{mesh like ridges} surface on the lower half.

the flesh. Firm and white.

the smell. Mushroom.

the habitat. Spruce ,pine, larch forest, Beech woods and with Oak.

after they've been growing in a dry spell and get a good soaking they explode!

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always nice to weigh them in  '44gms and perfect shape' 

'hung out to dry'