Wednesday, May 16, 2012

St George's mushroom. Vårfagerhatt.

A member of the Oslo Mycological Society found St George's mushrooms (Calocybe gambosa) last weekend. St George's mushroom is one of the few edible fungi found in the spring. 

The Oslo Mycological Society's first mushroom forays this spring will focus specifically on the St George's mushroom. Unlike the New York Mycological society, the Mycological Society in Oslo does not organize morel forays - nor morel breakfasts!



St George's mushroom, Calocybe gambosa,
Vårfagerhatt (previously known as "vårmusserong" in Norwegian) 
 in the London area.


The St George's mushroom also grows in Italy, Northern Spain and Southern France. It is considered a delicacy, fried in butter. Otherwise, pair it with spring asparagus and make a wonderful, seasonal risotto. Risotto with wild garlic leaves (or "ramsløk" in Norwegian) sounds good too.

The mushroom can be identified by its white, narrow gills, its mealy odour and taste and its white spore print. According to one local expert, the mushroom appears in the same spot every season. So once you have picked them, you know where to go back to the next year.



The video shows an abundance of calocybe gambosa in its natural habitat 
(meadows, pastures, on the edges of deciduous woods).
The Italian mushroom hunter whispers as he picks, 
like he is engaging in a sacred, secret activity.
Or maybe he does not want to wake the mushrooms?


Mushroom forays in the Oslo-region

Sopptur i regi av Neslekremla


Oslo og omland sopp-og nyttevekst forening, Neslekremlahar et omfattende turprogram der turene har utgangspunkt enten i Osloområdet, Asker eller Bærum. Turene er gratis og åpne for alle.


Om våren er det både urteturer og soppturer, om høsten konsentrerer vi oss om å finne sopp. 


Soppturene ledes av to personer, der minst en av disse er soppsakkyndig. 


Ønsker du å få sms om når og hvor det er tur og kontroll. Send SOPPTUR til 1963. Du vil da først få en velkomstmelding, og deretter en turvarsler hver fredag som informerer om helgens turer. Tjenesten koster kr. 3,- per melding. 


Sunday, May 13, 2012

Chanterelle hunting dog

Cera is a three month old puppy with Italian Lagotto Romagnolo ancestry. 
Lagotto Romagnolo have an unusually good sense of smell
and are often used to hunt truffles.

Cera is going to be trained to hunt for chanterelles.


This blog hopes to follow Cera's progress 
from chanterelle puppy-in-training to chanterelle hunting dog.

Stay tuned!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Sopp mot flått/Tick-eating mushroom!

Har du blitt bitt av flått mens du har plukket sopp?

Nå kan soppen tar flåtten - før du tar soppen!


According to the Norwegian news, Austrian authorities have found a tick-eating mushroom. So now, you do not have to risk being bitten by ticks while picking mushrooms 
- because the mushrooms will get the critters first.