How to Pick Wild Mushrooms With Your Kids
Foraging for fungi is an excellent opportunity to teach children about wild foods.
Is foraging for mushrooms a family-friendly activity?
Phil Carpenter, the head of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz, says it is. Carpenter, who grew up in a mushroom-picking family, has been hunting for fungi ever since he was a kid. And, it’s a passion he eventually shared with his own children.
“We hunted for morels every spring since I began to walk and it’s still going on,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter recently spoke with me over the phone, dishing out tips on how ZisBoomBah readers can ditch the plastic-wrapped mushrooms in their local super market and safely find and pick the tasty treats with their kids during an outdoor adventure.
Why pick mushrooms? Do they have nutritional value?
Yes, Carpenter says. “In general, mushrooms have a relatively high vitamin and mineral content and a certain amount of protein,” he said.
If a family wanted to forage for mushrooms, when is the best time to do so?
“It depends on the region in the U.S.” you are in, Carpenter said. Mushrooms grow in temperate temperature — that is, not too hot and not too cold. Mushrooms also need moist conditions. It’s a perfect time in California right now, he said. But on the East Coast, it’s too cold at the moment. “Their time period is spring and fall,” Carpenter said.
Where should families look?
“Mushrooms tend to grow in the woods,” he said. However, Carpenter warns that families venturing into wooded areas that happen to be parks should check with local authorities and make sure it’s okay to go mushroom picking there.
What materials should foraging families bring?
A knife to trim the mushrooms with, a brush to clean them and a basket to place the mushrooms in, he said. Families should also bring something to take notes on. The notes will help families or an expert they turn to identify the mushrooms and ensure they are safe to eat. “The biggest issue indeed is to know how to identify them,” Carpenter said. “Where were they growing? On the tree? On the ground? The habitat is critical to identifying them.”
Phil Carpenter, head of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz
Aren’t some mushrooms poisonous?
“Unless you know what the mushroom is, don’t eat it,” Carpenter said.
How does a family make sure they only pick and eat safe ones?
“Take notes on where they grew,” Carpenter said. Also, contact a local mushroom expert or organization — like the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz — whom can help you identify the fungi you picked, according to Carpenter. “We have a hotline,” he said.
Other options? Learn a couple of easy mushrooms to identify and only pick those. Or, take a class on mushroom identification, he said.
