Homemade mushroom elixir

The mushroom elixir is so good you would want to pour a teaspoon for yourself. Tasting is believing. The taste remains with you for a long time after you have swallowed the liquid. The wine folks might have a word for that. Basically, this is a condiment you would want to have in your fridge. I use it like soy sauce. 

The Norwegians call it "soppsoya" ("Mushroom soy"). 

The classical Norwegian recipe comes from Else Wiborg.

Ingredients:
Edible mushrooms (including those which are not perfect enough for your dinner table)

1. Cut mushrooms into large bits.
2. Layer mushrooms and sea salt in a large bowl.150-200 g sea salt to 1 kg mushrooms
3. Cover with a plate and put a weight on top of the plate.
4. Leave in a cold place (I put mine in the fridge) for about a week.
5. At the end of the week, you should have quite a lot of dark liquid in the bowl (mushroom extract). If you use Agaricus or other edible dark-spored mushrooms, the liquid will be witch black! Sieve the liquid and measure how much you have. Throw away the mushrooms.

For one liter of mushroom extract, you need:
250-500 g sugar
5 anchovy filets
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
3 laurel leaves
2 dl red wine

6. Brown the sugar in a pot. Make sure it doesn't burn. CAREFULLY, add the mushroom extract. Add the spices, the anchovies and the red wine. Let the liquid simmer for about half an hour.
7. Cool the liquid. Sieve with a muslin cloth. Bring the liquid to boil again.
8. Pour into clean bottles.

ENJOY! 

I use my homemade mushroom elixir when marinating fish or meat. In party nuts. In homemade pancetta. You name it.

You can experiment and use other spices. I have seen recipes with juniper berries, star anise, cardamom, cummin, rose pepper, green pepper, thyme and nutmeg. I have also seen recipes which have included shallots and celeriac.

The first time I tried making mushroom elixir, I ended up with only about half a liter of mushroom extract so I froze it and made the elixir when I had enough batches of frozen mushroom extract. I have also made this with frozen mushrooms.

Three course mushroom meal

First course: porcini risotto, pickled Borgotaro porcini and pickled shitake.

Second course: Duck breast with asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and roasted Portobello mushrooms topped with garlic and pancetta.

Third course: Thumbprint shortbread cookies topped with winter chanterelle marmalade.

Chief cook: Pål Karlsen

Drink up your porcini

Inspired by various posts on Facebook, I decided to try this out: I used dried porcini and 50% vodka. Store in a cool place until the mushrooms sink to the bottom of the jar. Dispose of the Boletus edulis in a responsible way and invite your fungi friends over for a drink.

Party nuts. With homemade mushroom elixir..

 Lightly toast a selection of your favorite nuts.

In a bowl mix homemade mushroom elixir, brown sugar, smoked paprika, pepper, melted butter or a nice olive oil and any other chopped herbs you have at hand. Basically, a mixture tasting salty, sweet and spicy hot. Mix in the nuts. Dry on parchment paper.

Enjoy! 

Interview with Langdon Cook, author of The Mushroom Hunters

This time on America’s Test Kitchen, we interview Langdon Cook, the author of The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America, about the dangerous business of foraging for wild mushrooms.

This interview is an excerpt from Show 238: “The Most Dangerous Fungi: Inside the World of Mushroom Hunters.” 

Don't despair if the mushroom season is over. DIY indoors!

PORCINI COOKIES

170 g butter, room temperature

85 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

25 g dried porcini, crushed finely

200 g flour

1. Beat butter until fluffy.

2. Add sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until light.

3. Add mushrooms gently so they do not fly all over the place.

4. Finally, add the flour and mix.

5. Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for about an hour.

6. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch. Cut out in mushroom shapes. Place on lined baking sheet. Poke and puncture raw cookies with a fork.

7. Bake at 170 degrees for 15 minutes.

Nothing to wear to the Mycological Society's Xmas Party?

Here are some ideas:

Pisolithus arhizus. Dead man's foot.

Good looks are not among its assets.

Dead man's foot (not to be confused with Dead man's fingers).

Also known as Dyeball. Used by textile artists as a source of dye color.

Edibility is not the first question that pops to mind. 

Trollrøyksopp. Ekstrem sjelden i Norge.

Tidligere funnet på slagghauger ved Kongsberg gruve og Myntverket.

Amanita ovoidea. Bearded Amanita.

Amanita ovoidea. 

RARE. 

White, pale ivory floccose-appendiculate cap margin
(from fragments of the partial veil). 

Creamy to touch.

The stem is covered with tufts of soft hair - "floccose" - with the consistency of lightly whipped cream. 

  

10-20/30 cm wide cap.

Note the floccose-appendiculate cap margin.

Edible but said to be unpleasant.

Can be mistaken for the poisonous Amanita proxima. 

(However, both immature and mature specimens of the A. proxima have a brownish volva).

Found in Andalucia, Spain.

Lactarius sanguifluus. Bleeding Milk Cap.

Lactarius deliciosus, Saffron Milk Cap (left, with carrot-colored milk, edible) 

and Lactarius sanguifluus, Bleeding Milk Cap (right, with blood-red milk, edible).

Found in Andalucia, Spain. 

Lactarius sanguifluus

Also known as Bleeding Milk Cap. It is one of the most highly-valued mushrooms in the gastronomy sector. The Saffron Milk Cap, of the same genre, is often mistaken for this mushroom. It is characterised by the wine-coloured liquid that comes out of it when cut. This liquid has a rust (oxide) colour that quickly turns a greenish hue. The youngest mushrooms have a convex cap, but as they grow, it becomes more flat and eventually takes on a funnel shape. The gills are thin, dense and decurrent, extending downward along the stem. The stem is thick and tends to be spotted. It is found in pine groves, especially in the lowland and shady areas. They depend on mycorrhizas and can be gathered from August to December.

Pickled Milky Caps

Makes 1 pint

In some European countries, milky caps are considered to be the most desirable mushrooms for pickling in vinegar. These piquant treats will keep well for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. One 1/8-inch-thick slice fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 4 allspice berries 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 4 whole peppercorns 4 small dried hot red chilies 1 garlic clove, crushed 6 whole cloves 1 cup water 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 pound milky cap mushrooms, sliced

In a cheesecloth bag, place the ginger, caraway seeds, allspice, mustard seeds, peppercorns, chilies, garlic, and cloves. Tie securely. In a large pot, simmer the water, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and the cheesecloth bag for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth bag. Place the mushrooms in a hot sterilized pint jar and seal. --Esther Whited

Boletus satanas

The Devil”s bolete. Poisonous.
Found in Andalucia, Spain

Satansopp

More Malaysian fungi

 Previous posts with photos of fungi from Bukit Larut, Taiping, Malaysia

2012

2012 B

2012 C

2012 D

2012 E

2013

2013B

2013 C

2013 D

2013 Oct

Malaysian fungi

Unfortunately, I am not able to identify the above species.

Lepista gilva

Lepista gilva. Oker ridderhatt

Edible after blanching.

Tricholoma foray to Gullerud

 Tricholoma fulvum. Birch Knight. Bjørkemusserong. Edible.

(photo credit: Pål Karlsen)

Tricholoma atrosquamosum. Dark Scaled Knight. Svartspettet musserong. Edible.

Tricholoma guldeniae. Broket musserong. Inedible.

Tricholoma stiparophyllum. Knight. Reddikmusserong. Inedible.

Tricholoma equestre. Yellow Knight. Riddermusserong. Poisonous.

Tricholoma albobruneum. Kastanjemusserong. 

Poisonous.

Previous trip to Gullerud

Introduction to Tricholoma by Gro Gulden (in Norwegian)