AUTUMN CHICKENS (Sulfur Shelf)

     The foraging adventure continued yesterday (20 OCT).  While on our way to a local apple farm we noticed a parking lot chock full of black walnuts.  We stopped, exited the Jeep Liberty, put on some blue rubber gloves and picked away.  For anyone who doesn't know, black walnut hulls leave a rather dark and semi-permanent stain on your skin.  Bottom line is that if you go after these delicacies, it is best to wear some kind of glove to keep your hands from being stained brown.  That ugly brown stain on your hands could last for up to two weeks giving friends and co-workers a rather negative opinion of your personal hygiene habits.  In the case of walnut stain, no amount of soap and water will clean your skin.  At any rate after gloving up, all of us (including Mack and Marie) were able to gather three rather large bags full of walnuts in about 15 minutes.  I would estimate about 50+ pounds.  Of course they will weigh significantly less after being de-hulled and dried.
     After filling three bags full of walnuts we continued on our way to the apple farm and made our purchase of well over 20 lbs of apples.  Applesauce will abound from our kitchen over the next week, and I'm sure there will be further posts on this subject.
    On the way home we stopped at a rather large county park I had noticed on the map and researched on the Internet earlier in the week.  It has a stream running straight through the park, and was said to have great scenic views.  When we arrived we were not disappointed.  Huge granite rock formations line the stream, and the tulip, oak, maple trees and lower shrubs are in full fall color with red, orange and yellow beauty.  The maples are beginning to lose most of their leaves, as well as some other trees, but overall the scene is very picturesque.

Chicken of the Woods or Sulfur Shelf Mushroom

   While walking we noticed a few little treats along the way.  We found a small patch of oyster mushroom, but more significantly we found a large orange fruiting mushroom growing in a shelf-like pattern on a downed rotting tree.  After Sara pointed it out to me we both came to the same conclusion, "I think this is the sulfur shelf.".  This processor of decaying wood is also known as "chicken of the woods" reportedly because the taste and texture is similar to white meat chicken after it is cooked properly.  We harvested it off of the downed tree which was well into what I would estimate its 4th or 5th year of decay.  Most of the trees around it were tulip trees and oak so we suspected that this was one of these hardwoods as well.  As with harvesting anything from the wild we left about a 1/3 of it growing and cut the rest off of the stump and put it in our "collection bag".  Of course being the extreme amateurs we are, we reserved positive identification for the follow up research.

Older Chicken of the Woods

  We walked a little further and noticed another large fungal growth of about the same size also growing in a shelf-like pattern on a downed tree.  This one was growing in more of a coniferous stand of trees.  The trees around this log in its 2nd or 3rd year of decay were what I think white pine.  This rotting log seemed to resemble its still alive brethren in regards to what the bark looked like.  The difference with the mushroom fruiting here was a significantly lighter color and only slight hints of orange.  It looked familiar, but I was not sure what it was.  I was sure that it was a polypore mushroom, which literature states this family of mushrooms are generally safe to consume.  After some debate we remained unsure, but harvested 2/3 of it and continued on our walk through the park still taking in the scenery.

Joe with Chicken of the Woods

  We left the park with no more finds and identified our shrooms.  It turns out that both of our finds are indeed Laetiporus sulphureus otherwise known as sulfur shelf or chicken mushrooms.  Evidently when sulfur shelf ages it loses its bright orange color and begins to fade to white.  We also found out that even though it grows on deciduous and conifer trees it may not be 100% edible.  There are some experts who say when it grows on honey locust, hemlock or conifers it has the potential to have toxic properties, primarily related to GI upset though reports are mixed.  Also up 1 in 10 people may have allergic response to this mushroom such as GI upset or even mild swelling of the lips.  There is also discussion that there are actually different species of sulphur shelf...one that grows on deciduous trees and one on conifers.  Whatever the case, we wound up rejecting our second find of the pale sulphur shelf as it is always better to err on the side of caution especially with mushrooms.  That second find is now in our compost.
   Sara and I each tried a sampling of sauteed sulphur shelf last night.  It is the most flavorful mushroom we have found so far.  As far its namesake "Chicken of the Woods"?  Well I would not say it tastes exactly like chicken.  I would say it tastes more similar to the "Tofurky" turkey substitute that appears on our table during the holidays.  Very good flavor with a similar consistency to white meat poultry, but not quite the same.  Nonetheless, a very very good mushroom, and since our sampling of it last night.....no GI upset so I think we have another winner in our mushroom hunting adventure.