If you follow a few basic rules when harvesting mushrooms, you can promote the growth and abundance of mushrooms in the forest. The right equipment also makes subsequent processing in the kitchen easier.
How should you harvest mushrooms correctly?
When harvesting mushrooms, you should only collect known, non-poisonous species and carefully twist them out of the ground. Fresh, clean mushrooms are ideal, avoid washing to preserve flavor. Use a basket, a sharp knife and an identification book to help you.
Go mushroom hunting properly equipped
When you go to the forest to pick mushrooms, you should take the following things with you for mushroom picking:
- a book on identifying mushroom species
- a clean, dry cotton cloth
- a sharp kitchen knife
- a basket for careful transport
Even if you have a book on identifying mushroom species (€24.00 on Amazon), there is no substitute for experience and expertise when collecting mushrooms. Therefore, only harvest those mushrooms in the forest and on the meadow whose non-toxicity you can determine with absolute certainty.
Carefully remove found mushrooms from the soil
There are different opinions about the correct harvesting of mushrooms. While some mushroom pickers use a sharp knife to cut off the mushroom stem near the ground, other pickers disagree with this practice. Ultimately, germs are supposed to penetrate the mushroom mycelium in this way and the stem base is necessary for identifying and distinguishing from poisonous varieties in some varieties. If you find edible mushrooms, carefully turn them out of the ground with your hand and cover the site with some soil. Sometimes a new fruiting body of the fungus can grow out of the ground in the same place in a short time.
Preserve the typical mushroom taste
Only harvest fresh and clean mushrooms and leave rotten and worm-eaten mushrooms in the forest without damage. These can serve as food for animals and their spores can ensure that the fungi multiply. Any mushrooms found are cleaned of dirt using a dry cloth or a sharp knife. They must not be washed with water before preparation as they often lose their typical taste.
Tips & Tricks
Excess mushrooms can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of a few days. For longer storage, you can dry porcini mushrooms and other edible mushrooms cut into slices and store them in airtight screw-top jars. Porcini mushroom flour made from dried and ground porcini mushrooms is also suitable for refining soups and sauces.
