scaly urchins

[ilanarama]

I posted this to mycology but figured I'll stick it here as well, for your amusement.

Over the Labor Day weekend we went backpacking in the Weminuche and to our delight found a healthy number of scaly urchins (Hydnum imbricatum). This is my very favorite mushroom, and it baffles me why books such as Peterson's say it's bitter, because it's so meaty and smoky and yummy. The boletes that we also picked seemed downright bland next to these.

The interesting thing is that for the first time we saw them form a (very large) fairy ring. I didn't get pictures of the whole ring, but you can see (below the cut) part of the arc.

Comments

[alembicresearch.livejournal.com]

In my favorite mushroom guide, _Mushrooms Demystified",
by David Arora, says:

Shingled Hedgehog:
"Edible, but of poor quality. Many collections have
a bitter taste and parboiling does not necessarily help,
plus it cause indigestion in some people. The European
version is apparently better because it is often sold
in markets there".

I'm not sure why just because it's bitter,
that it should be of poor quality.

We real beer lovers sometimes have been known
to drink beers of 120 IBU (International Bittering Unit);
American style Barleywines, which is like 10 times
the IBU's of your typical Budcoorsmiller.

BTW, I just love hiking with my digital camera.
I can just click away at whatever I feel like.
Especially flowers and plants and mushrooms that
I don't recognize.

Then I can come home and identify them at my leasure.

In fact, a lot of times when I hike, I carry my
plant or mushroom ID book, but I rarely pull them
out and try to ID something.

I think it was because I never liked standing there
on the trail with a book, trying to find out
what something is.

Now I can just click a couple of photos of a mushroom,
and continue on with my walk.

Then when I get back home, I can go through my 50+
shrooming books to figure out what the heck it is.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

But, but -- it's not bitter! I think that the problem is that there are some related species which are bitter. In a reply to my xpost a guy from northern CO said that he picked some that were terrible.

The ones we've picked (here and back on the Front Range) have always been delicious and not at all bitter.

The digital camera idea is good, but a lot of mushrooms are only distinguishable by their spore prints, so you'd need to pick one and take a print to really determine what it was.

[vuzh.livejournal.com]

you rule.

thanks to you i have a basket full of Hydnum imbricatum!

the real one this time, not the bitter variant.
i chewed on the cap and there's not a bitter note to be found!

now: where are the blasted chantarelles???

by the way, if you could forward to me any tips on preparation, i'd be much, much obliged.
i had a stroganoff in mind, and some other meat substitute types of meals.

[alembicresearch.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to give them a try.

Although I don't think I've ever seen them here
in CA.

Your point about spore prints is good.
I tend to only collect things for spore printing
when I feel that the mushroom might be a candidate
for eating.

Usually I'll collect one or two the first time I find
a new mushroom for spoore printing and ID back at
home. But won't consider eating it until I'm
thoroughly convinced that I've got the species right.

However, lately, in the last 10 years or so, I really
haven't come across anything "new" to consider eating.

I know all the major edible ones by sight.

Although I'm sure if I could get out and do more hiking,
that I'd find more.