August is somehow already upon us and the past two weeks have been filled with sun and foraging fun! Many wild fruits are ripening along field edges and hedgerows including pin cherries, blackberries, currants, the last of the season’s blueberries and hackberries and elderberries. Sumac is prime for picking – perfect for sodas, syrups and seasoning. Wild grape clusters will soon turn sun-kissed and sweet.
The first time I attempted to make mushroom jerky was purely as an experiment. I had a surplus of maitake/hen of the woods and had read that their meaty stems were perfect for jerky. I eat meat jerky maybe once a year, usually while on a road trip. I certainly didn’t have high expectations for the fungi version. But oh, how I was wrong!
Summer has kicked off with a bang! Last month’s record-breaking heat coaxed out the first fungi of the season including Chicken of the Woods, Berkeley’s Polypore (pictured right), and Black Staining Polypore. This week’s steady rain forecast opens up the potential for a solid Black Trumpet and Chanterelle harvest.
Now is the perfect time to forage unripe black walnuts around New England! While most Americans think of these nearly tennis ball-sized nuts as a nuisance for the mess they make in the fall when they drop from the trees, many cultures have incorporated green walnuts into their cocktail concoctions over the centuries.
It’s soup season! With nighttime temperatures creeping downward, it’s the perfect time to tuck in and make some delicious mushroom soup. Earlier this week I was lucky enough to harvest a perfect 2 pound chicken of the woods.
June starts the foraging migration, when we move out of open fields and begin focusing on hedgerows, wood edges, salt marches and forest edibles. My public events this month offer a number of different foraging experiences.