Spent an awesome morning last Sunday in Moorooduc (Mornington Peninsula) frollicking through the forest forraging for fascinating fungi.
Mushroom Tours is run by Cameron Russell, a veritible fount of mycophagist knowledge. The tour kicks off from Moorooduc Estate (where it also ends), and is held each Autumn. Sorry to say, tours for this year are now finished – but get your bookings in for next year!
Check out this lil’ fella with ‘shrooming basket in hand. Unfortunately there were not a lot of mushrooms to be had this day – the tour is more designed as an educational jaunt as Cameron leads you down the path of what is edible and what is not.
For instance, this Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria) is certainly on the no-no list.
Whereas this agaricus on the other hand, is safe to eat. There are about 300 members to the agaricus family, and I won’t even attempt to try and define the type.
Not sure what this one is (…any mycologists care to assist?), but I just love the plump sporadic texture of the gills.
Some of you may recognise or may have even eaten these bright orange saffron milk caps/pine mushrooms (lactarius deliciosus) which often fetch upwards of $50 a kilo at the markets. They are not native to Australia, having hitched a ride on pine trees from the Northern hemisphere, but I am kind of glad they’re here all the same. Just give me a kilo of these, a frypan, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and I’d be a VERY happy girl.
The fungi world is a fascinating one, and I was suprised at how many different varieties we happened upon in the hour. These small delicate orange mushrooms were growing in a bed of moss – a microcosm of life in the palm of a hand.
This is my cute lil’ niece Ella holding a Giant Bolete (phlebopus marginatus), a mammoth of a mushroom which is reportedly edible when young, but can be quite tough and inedible by the time they reach this size. Cameron advised that he probably wouldn’t even try – so I would heed his advice.
After the mushroom tour we retired to Mooroduc Estate to sample some of the bounty.
Moorooduc Estate also has its own wood fired oven, and fresh loaves of sour dough bread were being pulled out just as we came back.
Crisp on the outside, deliciously spongy and soft on the inside.
We started with mushroom soup (in a latte glass), which was incredibly umami and extravagantly creamy…I hope to get the recipe! We also sipped the local Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay that had spent a bit of time in some French Oak.
Then it was the mushroom toast, using the bread that had recently come out of the wood fired oven. The locally picked shrooms had been sauteed in butter and parsley, and seasoned to absolute perfection. Ahh…the simple things in life are often the best.
New blog post: Mushroom Hunting Tours at Moorooduc http://bit.ly/3lEaf
I could go with some of that mushroom soup and mushroom toast right now!
Recipes: Mushroom Hunting Tours at Moorooduc | tummyrumbles.com http://bit.ly/w7cSO
Mushroom Hunting Tours at Moorooduc | tummyrumbles.com http://bit.ly/OoTMB
I did one of these, it was great, informative and interesting.
Especially at Moorooduc estate, combined with their beautiful wines, cellar door and bread, it was a great day out
Wow, you did great to remember all that Mel!! It was a fabulous day and I could so go some mushroom soup and toast right now. If you happen to get the recipe be sure to pass it on. Thanks for a great day
It doesn’t get much better than freshly picked mushrooms on fresh bread
Great photos
I wish we still had some mushrooms here, but the dried up a couple of weeks ago
Hey there Elle – mmm, I too could would love to have some of it right now as well!
Hi KarenmareeG – it was a good day out, huh? I kind of kick myself that I didn’t hang around for lunch at Moorooduc Estate, cause it just looked so lovely. I think I’ll most certainly need to go back.
Hey there Lindy – so glad you enjoyed it
I’ve asked Cameron for the recipe, so hopefully he pulls through. Ella absolutely loved it – despite the fact she doesn’t eat mushies. Hmm…I thought it could have been a turning point for her!
Hiya Sean – I concur! I wish I was local to somewhere I could hunt them. Unfortunately the only mushies to be found in the CBD are probably not the ones you wanna eat
You’re lucky to be close to a shrooming area.
the mushroom your are not sure of is a pine mushroom
and can i use the photo of the Giant Bolete (phlebopus marginatus) please
sorry wrong photo i thought the one your are not sure of was the pine mushroom. sorry agine i dont know what it is
Hey there toby – yup, feel free to use the photo. What are you using it for? Are you a shroomer yourself?
no i am writing an article for school
cameron is my dad i was on the tour
Aahh…so you’re “that” Toby. Of course you can use them!
Thanks so much for the wonderful day you gave us – we really enjoyed ‘shrooming!
I love mushrooms. This sounds like auch a wonderful tour to go on. And the massive mushroom is very impressive. Did you find any small fairy’s under it? lol
looks like a great trip you’ve got there! The last picture got me drooling!
Hi guys,
RULE #1: Don’t pick what you don’t know. It only takes one mushroom to spoil your whole basket (and poison your family)!!!
That mushroom you couldn’t identify is NOT a pine mushroom. Definately certain about that because I go mushroom picking quite regularly and know to stay away from those. Check out my website if you enjoy your wild mushrooms….
autumnharvest.com.au
Currently yellow chanterelles and porcini’s are in season.
Chris
Thanks for your much learned knowledge Chris! So are you a wild mushroom supplier?
Yes, I didn’t think the unknown was a pine mushroom, as the gills were just too plump. I did have a bit of a fossick through a few mushroom resources, but there were *many* that showed similar characteristics, and not having the original on hand to check things again, was loath to put a name to it.
I think your advice (RULE #1) is a very important rule, and Cameron very much pummeled that in to us during the trip. I think the term “..it could turn your liver to pate.” is one that stays with me