Edible shelf fungus (chicken of the woods 'mushroom')

[@aragusea]

Thanks to FOREO Sweden for sponsoring this video! The first 100 people get 21% off on their popular UFO 2 at-home facial device: foreo.se/8tg9

[@melissastanton2789]

I got 21% off on ufo 2 - thank you! :) I had my eye on it for a while. This video made me think that I can go into the woods and grab a mushroom or two. If I get back to you, I made it 😂

[@simmy1823]

I can't seem to get the 21% off to work. Were there already over 100 purchases within the first hour of the video??

[@dang495]

10:13 "Both Morel-y and legally"

[@shoetits]

How come you have a Penn State tee on? Did you attend?

[@johniron7269]

Depending in the tree the fungus ist growing on i can also carry over its toxins so If you konw that a specific tree eg. Taxus baccata is poisones you might want to avoid harvesting the fungus from that specific tree. Take Care Love your vids.... a German Forrester

[@strawberry.probably]

Heyo, I'm an amateur mycologist and it's really important to mention that chicken of the woods is only safe to eat when it's growing on deciduous trees. There have been reports of people eating laetiporus from yew trees and getting ill from the toxins in the tree itself. There's some debate among mycologists about how significant of a risk this is, but it's serious enough to be worth mentioning. Tree identification is also a big part of mushroom identification!

[@plzletmebefrank]

I understand why yews specifically would be an issue, but why would evergreen trees in general be one?

[@GerinoMorn]

@@plzletmebefrank Their sap also contains some "unhealthy" stuff, hence birch sap you drink, pine resin you use for e.g. tanning :D

[@DSesignD]

I've heard warnings about white pine as well. Personally I'll stick to oak to be safe.

[@AndrewBarsky]

Exactly. This guy is not giving the full picture. A properly cooked “real” chicken from the grocery store is cheaper without the risk.

[@pietajunior3437]

There's so many people who eat Laetiporus from coniferous trees that I honestly have a hard time believing that it's so black and white.

[@derwurmneuentyps5143]

Some important *WARNINGS*! (1) It is *critical* that you can identify the type of wood that it grew on. If it sprouts on the wood of a poisonous tree (yew,laburnum, locust tree)the fruiting body might have accumulated some of the toxins! They also grow on oaks and accumulate polyphenols, making them bitter and indigestible. (2) This fungus contains a substantial amount of *oxalic acid* (like beets or rhubarb) and should be boiled in water for at least 10 min before continuing with any recipe, discard the cooking water. (3) There are indeed poisonous polypores such as Hapalopilus nidulans. Although it lacks the vibrant colour, its *deadly poisonous* and the inexperienced might still confuse them. Cooking it beforehand is also a good idea because this one will dissolve a purple dye into the water, hence it’s trivial name ‘purple dye polypore’. I wasn’t able to find a solid reference but I’ve been told that confusions with the sulphur polypore have happened.

[@derwurmneuentyps5143]

Don’t get me wrong, foraging for wild mushrooms is a great hobby and I would always encourage people to try it, but I’ve seen people make horrible misidentifications on tours I gave and note (1) is of particular importance with this and any species that grows on wood

[@pratikpramanik7782]

This should be pinned

[@seronymus]

Pin this before someone dies

[@IndeeshMukhopadhyay]

Good warnings. Also, sometimes you can find CotW in more urban environments - DO NOT EAT IT UNLESS IT IS IN A FOREST. Especially in highly trafficked areas, CotW can accumulate toxins from the environment due to human activity like cat exhaust

[@cinccinousedtailslap]

im not a person who goes foraging, but this is really helpful. this should be pinned

[@scruffopone3989]

One of my favourite content creators on the internet, Atomic Shrimp, made a whole lot of foraging videos and got me really into mushroom foraging. I'm so happy that Adam, who is also one of the all time greats, also fell down the fungus foraging rabbit hole!

[@Moewenfels]

YEEES! I believe Mr. shrimp mentions Adam often too!

[@joshuacole4066]

​@@Moewenfelshe has, yes! Would be amazing to see Adam colab with Atomic Shrimp!

[@zephyrwayfarer]

​@@Moewenfelsoh really? I actually haven't watched him in ages if so that's cool.

[@brandon9172]

So weird to see people call it a rabbit hole.. Rural folk grow up doing this!

[@miffedmeff7302]

I found out about Atomic Shrimp through his early beginnings as an entertaining scam-baiting channel. Subscribed and now treated to a variety of excellent content, including foraging and his budget meal planning videos!

[@Caseyuptobat]

Thank you for including the copperhead. People sometimes forget that there are other dangers to foraging beyond misidentified fungi.

[@loriki8766]

TBF, I live in an urban area with a small raised garden. I have to wear gloves in the spring because the copperheads like to overwinter in my garden. I start planting while they're still moving slow, they vacate the garden and shimmy to a nearby natural area. Been doing this over 20 years, never been bit. Any time you are outside, you need to pay attention to your surroundings and respect the other creatures. I also work around bees daily during the summer as they bumble around the blooms on my garden - never been stung. See a bee - move slowly and don't threaten them - they don't want a fight.

[@RetMadOrganist]

Where do copperheads live

[@sumansaha295]

🥶

[@Marsh_Manta]

@@RetMadOrganistroughly anywhere from Kansas to Virginia and below. Draw a box

[@seamusmooney1308]

@@Marsh_Mantathey’re in the mid west too

[@edim108]

Foraging done responsibly is a great family activity. Here in Eastern Europe picking mushrooms is a long tradition and there are entire guides and TV programs informing new foragers what to look out for. General rule is if you're not sure what it is then leave it be. It's better to miss out on some edible mushrooms than to bring something potentially deadly. You'd rather have a couple mushrooms for risoto but be certain they're all perfectly safe. Foraging is a learned skill. Now is probably the best time to pick it up bc we have a wealth of knowledge available at our fingertips in the internet. I've been out mushroom picking on my own recently and went back home with half a pound of chanterelles and made delicious vegan soup.

[@TLguitar]

My late grandparents were born in Latvia and while I was probably too little when my grandfather got sick (at least to remember if I've ever joined them), my older brother remembers going with him foraging for mushrooms at winters here in Israel. I don't know how many families around had this activity back then so it's probably something my grandfather had brought over from his childhood.

[@farmerboy916]

The issue is that the americas have infinitely more poisonous mushrooms and many that will straight up put you on an irreversable death timer that look like eurasian edible fungi. People who move to the US and forage die from them every year.

[@GraveFable25]

Chanterelles and boletales are really all you need to know how to recognise. They are super tasty, common and easy to recognise.

[@GerinoMorn]

@@GraveFable25 I dream about chanterelles. Crepe filled with them and cheese, wrapped in ham and baked, delicious!

[@AndrewBarsky]

In my home country, we just grew what we wanted in our back garden. We knew what was planted and that it was safe. The gamble isn’t worth the payoff

[@BarackLesnar]

This is so interesting because i refer to domestic fowl as "fungus of the barn"

[@ultrasvenne4671]

Very underrated comment

[@ikatulo_yt]

Hell yeah

[@tomaszkrawczyk9344]

Fowl play, sir

[@Ricksdetrix]

Chicken of the woods is the only thing I'd feel comfortable foraging. Well, that and blackberries. I went on a overrun trail not too long ago and found an absolute bounty of elderberries, and right as I was about to pop one in my mouth I though "maybe I shouldn't eat berries i'm only 80% sure about" and I think that sums up foraging pretty well. You have to be like 99% sure

[@T3sl4]

Elderberries also don't taste the most amazing when fresh, oddly enough. The first ones I saw, first I wasn't sure what it was (almost walnut-like leaves? opposite growth pattern? umbel flowers?). Later, I got more confident with the identification, and gathered a few clusters of ripe ones. They make a nice syrup, or addition to jam :)

[@Ricksdetrix]

@@T3sl4 I never had raw elderberries before, probably would've been a bit of a suprise lol

[@TJStellmach]

Raw elderberries are mildly toxic, anyway. They won't kill you unless you're otherwise in poor health, but you do want to cook them.

[@jeremyhillaryboob4248]

Here in new england I love going into the forest and looking for wintergreen, it's terrible for eating but has an amazing flavor, just like gum! Blueberries are another favorite, along with cranberries.

[@outerspace83]

Some parts of the elder tree/shrub are actually mildly toxic, including, most relevantly if you're going to eat the fresh berries, the seeds.

[@patrickdurham8393]

I'm lucky I grew up with a family who were dirt poor and foraged to survive back in the day. Finally bought my own property and I've already found lion's mane, hen-of-the-woods, chicken of the woods and many other things I can eat on my property. I've also got nettle, blackberries, walnuts and persimmons.

[@chezmoi42]

You really hit the jackpot! Nettles are one of the most complete plant foods.

[@misterx3188]

1:05 - Maybe Cortinarius spp or Inocybe spp. 1:30 - Ganoderma spp. 2:44 - Fomitiporia spp. (possibly F. robusta) 2:55 - Possibly old Trichaptum abietinum or something similar 3:02 - Fistulina hepatica 3:20 - Laetiporus sulphureus The taste of Laetiporus sulphureus depends on the tree on which it grows. It's said to be bitter when growing on oak or beech trees. When it grows on poisonous trees like yew, it might be poisonous, too.

[@asup759]

If I may make some well meaning corrections: I really doubt chicken of the woods on yew would be toxic- the taxol should either get broken down by the digestive enzymes or not absorbed into the hyphae. Another one is that the abbreviation of spp. means multiple species, but I think most of the things you were identifying are just one. And then the Ganoderma is G. curtisii, and the Trichaptum would more likely be T. biforme in eastern NA

[@irmese06]

11:17 - Agkistrodon contortrix . Yipes!

[@misterx3188]

😲@@irmese06

[@misterx3188]

@@asup759 Hey there, thanks for the comments. I think the jury is still out on whether Laetiporus Sulphreus accumulates toxins from yew trees, so I would say better err on the side of caution. G. Curtisii and T. biforme...absolutely possible, good point. Regarding the spp. I have it seen being used when you know/suspect the genus, but can't say what species it is, so Cortinarius spp. means "a mushroom of the genus Cortinarius." As far as I remember, it doesn't mean that it's multiple species. Wikipedia says: "[Use of spp.] commonly occurs when authors are confident that some individuals belong to a particular genus but are not sure to which exact species they belong."

[@corvus_monedula]

5:10 looks like honey fungus (armillaria mellea) imho, what do you think?

[@Ingu.z]

I have a great tip that doesn't require a guide: make a plan to **not** eat it, but take photos and bring a handful home to ID comparing pictures you see online and your own photos on the same screen. It can be super helpful, and over time you will learn to recognize different mushroom species. I grew up foraging for mushrooms and was amazed the other day that humans have a natural ability to differentiate between different plants or mushrooms even at a quick glance from afar (like how some car guys can spot a car's brand and model with estimated age range even from a bad angle), even if the difference to the untrained eye is a difference in visual texture and ever so slightly different color hue.

[@Zillano]

GOATED COMMENT

[@AndrewBarsky]

Much better then a ten second Google search “yeah this KINDA looks like what I found, should be safe!”

[@Ingu.z]

@@Zillano Hope it helps :o

[@Ingu.z]

@@AndrewBarsky Plus, you get to pick any type of mushroom since you want to ID the poison ones as well

[@themanwithsauce]

Regarding this being your "first foraging" experience - I can attest to how fun and rewarding it is to be with people who know what they're doing, and to be able to hunt down and find something yourself. It's a ton of fun, you learn a lot, and in this case, you get a tasty meal as a reward! I'm still very much a beginner but every time I'm on a hike and I see chicken of the woods, it puts a smile on my face.

[@erzsebetkovacs2527]

Don't know about other EU countries or the USA, but in my country (Hungary), there are experts assigned to every farmer's market, who will check your foraged mushrooms for you. In fact, you need to have them checked if you want to sell (that's why the experts are there, that's the law).

[@MjaySenoj]

In USA there aren’t enough people going out into the woods to have dedicated mushroom experts by law lol

[@Zerasad]

Are these mushrooms also native to Hungary? I'm wondering if there is any point in looking for them

[@aiaioioi]

​@@Zerasadprobably, i've seen these in russia and ukraine too

[@bgggsht]

​​@@ZerasadThey grow in Poland and UK as well

[@Officialmryuck]

​@@MjaySenojyea we go into cow pastures to get the mushrooms we want

[@theityouwhenitmeanyouarewh5303]

when i was a kid i would go out foraging with my grandpa looking for morels. one day we found a massive chicken of the woods and he fried them like a steak. some of the finest mushrooms i've ever tasted

[@aohige]

"taste of chicken with texture of crab" sounds wonderful.

[@christaylor9095]

Thank you for the adendum on "learned helplessness." Nothing wrong with hiring an expert, in fact, it may be the appropriate move in a lot of cases, but doing stuff for yourself is so gratifying and being able to help a friend (or stranger) with knowledge you've accrued is incredible.

[@greenie2600]

I got into foraging during COVID social distancing in 2020. The first chicken-of-the-woods that I brought home and cooked was a proud and memorable moment. It's an incredibly rewarding hobby, even though you spend 98% of your time spitting out spiderwebs and finding nothing. That just makes it all the more thrilling when you *do* find something cool.

[@noxida1]

I've foraged a little and love getting rosehips for rosehip jam and brambles and berries. I've grabbed Chicken of the Woods a couple of times when I've been out if I see it. The only thing I've been told to watch out for is the tree it's growing on. The fungi can absorb poisonous nutrients from certain trees, specifically yew trees which make Chicken of the Woods inedible as far as I'm aware.

[@nipernaadium]

How do you prepare rosehip jam? Do you remove all seeds and hairs? I tried to do it, but it took so much time I just boiled and mashed through a sieve...

[@noxida1]

@@nipernaadium Its been a while but if I remember, it's just the seeds that are hairy so I just cut them in half, scooped out the seeds with a spoon and then gave the actual meat a rinse with water to wash any errant hairs away.

[@HerraTohtori]

9:00 Mushrooms store energy in the form of trehalose, which is a sugar molecule that consists of two glucose molecules. This is also sometimes called mycose or tremalose, and also known as "mushroom sugar". In order for humans to properly digest this sugar, we need an enzyme to disassociate the glucose molecules. This enzyme is called trehalose. Some people don't have this enzyme, or produce very little of it. For those people, large amounts of mushrooms of *any* kind can cause digestive symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea. You may recognize that this mechanism - along with the symptoms - is basically exactly the same as with lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is caused by deficiency in the enzyme lactase which breaks up lactose, or milk sugar, into glucose and galactose molecules. However, while lactose intolerance affects most of the world's adult population (except for those of European descent where most people retain the ability to digest milk into adulthood), trehalase deficiency is fairly rare in most human populations. It could be a cause for some of these stomach issues that some people get even from perfectly edible mushrooms. Others may be caused by allergic reactions to something in the mushroom, and sometimes those reactions can be avoided by properly cooking or blanching the mushroom several times. Above all, as other commenters have said - you should only ever forage and eat mushrooms that you have identified with 100% certainty. Ideally, you should go foraging with an experienced mushroom picker, instead of only trusting on books or other sources. Personally, I feel happy just eating Boletus edulis (porcini mushroom) and Albatrellus ovinus (sheep polypore). There are several mushrooms I would feel safe eating, like certain other bolete mushrooms and some mushrooms in the Russula family, but I just don't feel like they're worth the trouble. Same applies to mushrooms in the Lactarius family, which generally need to be blanced several times to extract the bitterness (and possible toxins) out of them, they're just too much trouble for me to bother foraging and preparing them. I'll happily eat a mushroom salad made out of these mushrooms, but wouldn't want to deal with the hassle myself. Same applies to champion mushrooms and something like shiitake mushrooms - they're good eating but I'll rather buy them from store rather than risk mistaking something like a destroying angel as a champion mushroom.

[@14ericksona]

“There is no Shortcut to Mushrooms” I appreciate the LoTR reference, and the cautionary advice. Thanks Adam

[@zinnz7750]

I was looking for induction cooker info, and you were so clear and thorough i was very impressed, so i then clicked on your dry cure beef video, and now I'm a fan of your work. Not everyone go the extra mile but both your videos were smart and full of interesting facts and had more depth than most creators on youtube bar a few, I'm talking about people like Veritasium and smarter every day. Thank you for your dedication.

[@orangejuice732]

One throw away line from a shrooms video and now I’m gonna have A Day In The Life stuck in my head for a week. Thanks Adam

[@DrumsOFONEDESIGN]

But did he count them all?

[@PhilosophiPie]

Chicken of the woods are oftentimes less digestible when harvested from oak trees. While "eating" the tree it grows on, the fungus takes in tannic acid from the oak which is hard to digest. But you can boil the fungi for 30 min. or so to alleviate that problem (consistency will stay the same but the colour will fade a bit). You can then press it dry with a towel and fry it. This only applies to oaks, no other tree is problematic...at least to my knowledge.

[@MrRanderas]

theres a couple of poisonous trees in europe this grows on so you should be more carefull if forraging for them here.

[@AndrewBarsky]

Man, at that point just stick to regular chicken and lettuce.

[@weightedtraininggear]

​@@AndrewBarskywhy do you have multiple comments going on about just getting real chicken? People just like fungi man

[@firecwby1999]

@weightedtraininggear Maybe he’s just not a fun-guy

[@hopehope8974]

I've not heard about Chickens O .T .W. being less digestable on Oak. Thats where I pick almost all of mine. Yew trees are astoundingly toxic. People have become ill just from handling fresh cut yew wood.

[@belicose9]

My buddies and I found a 12.5 pound Chicken of the Woods this summer while foraging. Still not the biggest I’ve seen but shrooms of that size are always exciting to find.

[@thegrandcricket]

I found your whole video informative and interesting to watch! As a snake enthusiast, I got especially excited to see the footage of the copperhead slithering away, minding his own business and just being a snake. I'm a tad jealous to be honest, I've never observed one that wasn't behind the glass of a zoo's reptile exhibit.

[@rfldss89]

beefsteak fungus is delicious imo! if you fry thin slices in butter and dress it like you would a steak, you can actually make it taste like meat. Weirdly enough, the slight sourness kind of emulates the taste of the heme naturally present in red meat.

[@beniaminorocchi]

We usually cut them in strips, and fry them like a cotoletta (flour, egg and breadcrumbs)

[@beniaminorocchi]

PS it is in my top 5 favourite mushrooms, absolutely delicious. You can even eat them raw, if they're really young

[@chezmoi42]

@@beniaminorocchi Yes, I like them prepared as the OP suggests, but they are even nicer served like a carpaccio with a vinaigrette, or marinated in soy sauce.

[@jonathan.gasser]

Talking about "you don't have to be a specialist", I recently tried to make my own baguettes. I can't believe how easy it is. I eyeball water, flour, salt and dry yeast in a bowl, mix it with a wooden spoon, then after some hours I chuck it in the oven in a thin log shape. No fancy techniques whatsoever, it just works, and the bread I get is great.

[@Beryllahawk]

I honestly wish we would all get taught more stuff like this. You CAN learn some basic foraging for your local area and it doesn't have to be a big deal. Of course what is and is not edible in your area can vary an INSANE amount, I am positive I'll never see that shelf fungus where I am (southern Mississippi is by definition not temperate forest, we're sub-tropical by climate band afaik). But I also know that there are things like wild muscadine grapes, dewberries and blackberries and other such fruit. Pecans, naturally, IF you know what to look for, but those generally do better when given some cultivation and care (from what my mother-in-law always told me, that mostly means keeping the ground around the tree clear of shrubs, no idea why). In contrast, back when I lived in west Texas, the desert, I learned a LOT about what kinds of cactus you could and could not mess with. Yuccas are edible! In small amounts. (Also a valid source of water if you're in that kind of a bad spot.) And if I had been older when I lived in the Catskill Mountains I'm sure I would have learned about many different kinds of edible wild food there too. (Crabapples do not count, imo.) But that's just the thing. Local knowledge like that is SO vital, and there's such good reason for us to keep that knowledge alive and well and available to everyone.

[@SecretLars]

A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. Thus, bracket fungus that you see ARE MUSHROOMS. Polypore is literally just the grouping of mushrooms/fungi that create fruiting bodies that release spores through pores rather than gills. Prime example the porcini (Boletus edulis) is a mushroom, it doesn't grow on trees, it is a poly pore. In short, mushrooms are mushrooms are mushrooms, fungi are mushrooms, yeast, mould etc.

[@brianmccarrier1605]

@5:17 Interestingly, despite being poisonous Jack-o-lantern mushrooms are reportedly quite tasty. There have been cases where people have eaten them, thrown up everything but their boots and then done it another year, because they think "This is so tasty, it can't be the same as mushroom that poisoned me before!" Oh... and they glow green in the dark.

[@Kaffeinated11]

Such an honest, real, ethical, man of integrity!

[@JudyCZ]

Mushroom foraging is super common in my country, us Eastern Europeans are used to doing this on the weekends, it's a very common activity and the news reports in the summer often inform whether "they're growing". Always nice to see a video on this topic from a country where it isn't common. ❤

[@Dr.Zoidberg087]

i noticed it most in poland. I didn't get the time myself, but i saw plenty of people out there get em

[@nohlanfisherman5185]

Most Americans are very used to industrialized places, which could explain why we aren't in nature that much, and the only times Americans are immersed in nature are when they are camping but even then it may be a very short period of their lives. I feel if we just immersed ourselves in nature more than I feel, we would experience so much more happiness

[@Dr.Zoidberg087]

@nohlanfisherman5185 lol, this is a ridiculous statement. 🤣 😂.

[@nohlanfisherman5185]

@@Dr.Zoidberg087 I live in Colorado and most of the people live basically in the middle of nowhere and don't go into the mountains that much; trust me: it's far from ridiculous

[@mitchellfultzable]

Most people I know either mushroom hunt, or have at least tried it once. I live in Michigan and Morel hunting is very common.

[@cdancer899]

Semi-experienced mushroom forager here! I've had some friends confuse Berkeley's Polypore for Chicken of the Woods, so any beginners starting out, please be wary of that. Berkeley's Polypore is a lot more tough, but it can look a lot like Chicken of the Woods to some from the top, and the bottom is white pores, which the bottom of some variants of Chicken of the Woods look like. The difference is that it's a tan color on the top instead of that traffic-cone orange that Chicken of the Woods is supposed to be. I don't think Berkeley's Polypore is poisonous to eat, but it's not digestible and can probably give you some stomach upset. Like I mentioned, there's also a variant of Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus cincinnatus, that has a white pore surface instead of the bright yellow underside that Adam is showing here. That is also safe to eat and is yummy, but it confuses a lot of people, who are expecting that sulfuric yellow underside. Also, some other commenters mentioned not to eat Chicken of the Woods that is growing on conifers or eucalyptus trees--I would not eat those, though I'm unsure if that's real or a myth if it's really unsafe to eat. Lastly--GET A FORAGING BOOK (and get a reputable one!). Double-check a million times in the field that everything all checks out and note what it's growing on/under, take pictures, etc, before you take it home to eat. Don't rely on memory. There's no old and bold foragers, don't eat anything that you're not 100% sure about. Chicken of the Woods is a safe and easy mushroom to identify for beginners, it's bright, easy to identify, and there's no poisonous look-alikes that will kill you, as long as you remember what Adam said--it must have pores, not gills! And put it in a paper bag while you're hiking, then immediately put it into the fridge! You can get food-borne illnesses if you leave mushrooms out in the heat for too long without refrigerating it, just like store-bought mushrooms. ALSO, check for worms in any mushroom you forage, they can be hiding in there. It's fine to eat them if you don't look hard enough.. but it can be kinda nasty to find some worms in your food when you're eating.

[@yourboi1842]

some of the brown polypores like Berkeley's and similar genus can look similar visually at a glance without proper identification. The brown sometimes looks orangish and it has the white flesh and underside.

[@wowalamoiz9489]

You can make practically any mushroom edible by boiling it for one hour in sodium percarbonate. The triple whammy of heat, strong oxidiser, and moderately strong base modifies any toxins in the mushroom. I can attest to this method, as my record is eating half a death cap and i am alive to make this comment nearly a month later.

[@cdancer899]

@@wowalamoiz9489 Glad you are not dead (genuinely, this is not sarcasm) but I wouldn't attest to this method personally. Eating wild mushrooms is not worth risking your life, ultimately something like a death cap probably doesn't taste too different from a store bought mushroom and not worth the risk IMO.

[@yourboi1842]

@@wowalamoiz9489 bro why tho? I’ve parboiled some amanitas and C. molybdites to eat em but it’s so gross. I can’t imagine your method being any more palatable.

[@FrancisR420]

Eucalyptus is fine, The idea that it's dangerous is based on the idea that the ones from yew trees are dangerous which is Also debatable But I wouldn't try it, they're a lot more poisonous than eucalyptus.

[@qlevy7132]

I've been foraging since kindergarten. Grandpa was the best teacher when it comes to identifying stuff but as time progressed, i kept on bringing more and more different mushrooms and his knowledge didnt keep up. Although he knew about the Chicken of the Woods, he didnt really cook it so, I gave it a try. He was picky about eating them but after one bite he took couple more :) Tough to find interesting recipes with this mushroom tho.

[@chezmoi42]

Easy, just treat it as you would chicken! It will vegetarianize any chicken recipe. (And like chicken, of course, it needs to be cooked.)

[@NedInYaHead]

Then invent some! Have an experiment and write it down, maybe put it online for someone else if it's good. These recipes didn't come from nowhere!

[@NHT2]

I prefer these types of Regusea videos with a voice over and a script.

[@RdCrestdBreegull]

from David Arora regarding Laetiporus edibility: “ Three things definitely matter: 1. Species. 2. Cooking. 3. Individual Sensitivity. 1. Species. We used to call them all Laetiporus sulphureus but recent research has shown five genetic clades within the genus Laetiporus in North America, and genes are the major determinant of toxicity of a mushroom. Two of the clades appear to produce a much higher incidence of GI poisonings. One of those clades grows on western conifers and on northeastern conifers. The second clade grows on hardwoods in the West and along the Gulf Coast. The other three clades grow on hardwoods in eastern North America and are not as likely to cause problems. In other words, all of our western chicken of the woods belong to the two problematic clades. 2. Cooking. Long and thorough cooking will reduce the chances of GI upset but not eliminate the possibility entirely (see #3). Ken Litchfield in SF did some experiments with small groups of people and found that the “puke factor” was eliminated by boiling the mushrooms first for 15 minutes, and that as he reduced the boil time nausea was more likely to occur. 3. Individual Sensitivity. There are many cases where groups of people dined on chicken of the woods and some but not all of them got sick. So obviously individual sensitivity plays a role, and it can work both ways. Some people can get away with cooking them very little, for instance, a five minute sauté (a woman from Alaska recommended that recently on this forum), but I wouldn’t do that for dinner guests. In the Litchfield experiment cited above, no one was made ill by the ones boiled for 15 minutes, but it was a small group of people so not necessarily representative of the general population. I do know cases of people who boiled them for a long time and still got sick, so for those few people it is flat-out poisonous. But prolonged cooking definitely makes it palatable for more people. ”

[@DrtERotinBasstrd]

I found my first bunch of Chicken of the Woods yesterday while harvesting Turkey Tail for tea. Hoarded between 15 and 20 lbs. Fresh and like you said, water was pouring out as I cut it. 55 degrees out, no bugs.

[@asup759]

Happy to see you're getting some great information from folks, and sharing it! On the topic at the end, people should feel free to pick mushrooms for identification, curiosity, and potential eating. It doesn't make sense to me to grab every last thing in the forest in the hopes of finding something edible, but take things back with you and get some help online (Facebook groups and reddit can be helpful)

[@PeterEmery]

All mushrooms are edible. Some only once...

[@kingstonAWESOME]

0:16 those are actually c o c k s

[@sgtskitz]

Was fortunate to have someone share this with me Labor Day weekend on Mackinac Island. What a tasty treat.

[@Sam-cl1ow]

Thanks for talking about mushroom foraging! There is a lot of fear mongering and so-called "mycophobia" surrounding wild fungus. There are very few mushrooms that can outright kill you, and they do not look like mushrooms people typically forage anyways. My word of advice if you're scared of dying from mushrooms is to avoid any little brown mushroom and white, gilled mushrooms. I would also recommend hunting chanterelles (I believe those are chanterelle pins at 10:07 in the video), they fruit during the summer and fall and are the most delicious mushroom ever! They have such a unique, fruity taste. It's a bargain to hunt them because they cost something like $50/lb but grow everywhere, at least in wet years in temperate forests in North America. Unlike morels, they are incredibly easy to spot because they're bright orange. The only (non-lethally) poisonous lookalike, the jack-o-lantern, has some very distinguishable features. Learn Your Land has a very good video about identifying chanterelles.

[@nipernaadium]

Here in Estonia we have both white and green amanita that are deadly. Quite a few cases of mix-up with portabelloes or russulas. Also light brown deadly panther amanita can be mixed up with parasol mushroom (a choice edible). I still recommend mushroom picking as a hobby, but it is best to learn directly from another person. Our natural museum organizes trips for people who do not know anybody from whom to learn. Our beginner mushroom is chanterelle. Also our local bolete are almost all edible, with couple of really distinct looking exceptions that are easy to learn.

[@TheOnlyCarupa]

I accidently was fed a deathcap mushroom before, but it was in its middling stage and had not become fully toxic, no death but hospitalization was needed.

[@Florkl]

Ooh! Danger noodle! For anyone this may put off of going in the woods, Copperheads are more afraid of you than you are of them, and will retreat or hide if given the chance (like that one did). Don’t bother them and they won’t bite you. If I’m grabbing stuff off the ground in copperhead habitat, I’ll poke about with a stick to give any sneks a chance to retreat (though they probably already felt my footsteps. Rattlesnakes and water moccasins (aka cotton mouths) are less likely to retreat, but also tend to make their presence very clear, and the same rule applies: don’t bother them and they won’t bite you. Venom requires valuable resources for a snake to produce, and the snake would rather spend that venom catching food than injecting it in you, unless it feels it has no other choice.

[@mrhalfstep]

I found a huge specimen of this growing on an giant oak stump in the parking lot of a physical rehab center that my wife was visiting three times a week. One day it wasn't there and a couple days later "BANG" there it was. When we got home I started researching it and when I found out what it was I went back and removed it. I cut it into strips (mine was much thicker than the one in this video) about 5/8" to 3/4" square and breaded and deep fried them like chicken tenders. They shared the texture and taste of tenders. I was pretty amazed. I froze a bunch without even blanching and they were quite firm when I thawed them later. Not real flavorful themselves, but carry the flavors of seasoning really well. Good fungus. I go back to the center a few times every year in late summer/ early spring to see if I can catch another growth of them.

[@NitroReviewsMN]

I did a" chicken dry rub spice" brine and soak with my chicken of the woods and then beer battered it and deep fried it.. it turned out amazing! highly recommend!

[@oscarwind4266]

I learned about fungus and learned multiple new words. 10/10 video

[@jotaros_dolphins2213]

Definitely get a mushroom atlas when foraging for mushrooms for the first time. In Poland these can be bought anywhere where books or magazines are sold, though I imagine this will change depending on where you live. Still a great tool to have.

[@rhijlkema]

Adam, in europe we have chicken of the woods too. We learn always that chicken of the woods needs to be plump and super young otherwise it can upsett your stomach if your sensetive. Ur picked mushroom seems too old i hope everything was good with all of you who ate it. I picked the same stadium and luckily didnt experience anything like that. Mushrooms are no joke nor to be afraid of. Always do ur research

[@blackraen]

The best thing to do when it comes to foraging is to always have your goal in mind. Guided or not, only go out looking for one thing. Learn how to identify that thing, learn what all of the bad-bad-no-touchy look-alikes look like, get as good and comfortable foraging for that one thing. When you have focus, you can spend more time and energy making sure you've got the right one. Then, when you're comfortable with that, start working on another. Don't go out looking for janything edible, that's how people get in trouble. Getting good and confident identification is a process. Be focused. And if anyone says "Oh hey, look that's X" and you weren't out looking for X... stop, it's not the right time unless you're already very confident in your ability to identify that specific thing.

[@chezmoi42]

Well said. i always like to say to the folks who feel overwhelmed with the huge number of varieties they see, that it is like meeting people. Just concentrate on getting to know a few per season, and familiarizing yourself with their families, and before you know it you'll have a large circle of friends, and know which enemies to avoid.

[@literallytraeger8222]

Adam, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos about food topics that are about the ingredients themselves (This, the tomatillo, acorn, and cake vs yeast donut video). I also love the recipe videos, but just want to applaud you on providing this incredible niche type content

[@gaodargon]

Awesome video! But to add for any foraging enthusiast, don't cut the whole thing! Leave about a 3th of the colony to make sure the ecosystem is not damaged and it can continue to grow.

[@CMDRSweeper]

Doesn't matter, the fungi you see is just the fruit, like the berry on a tree, you take it all or not doesn't matter as there are a lot of the colony still living in strains inside the wood or on the floor that you don't see. So don't feel bad about taking it all, provided it has nutrition to live off, it will keep growing, but most fungi can only fruit a couple of times on the same location before they have exhausted their "food"

[@chezmoi42]

@@CMDRSweeper Yes, only the slugs and other critters will be deprived if you take them all.

[@DomzyDX]

​@@CMDRSweeperyeah but you aren't fully right. Leaving a little bit gives it a chance to drop spores. Young chicken hasn't dropped it's spores yet aka the stuff you can harvest.

[@syncrossus]

Happy to see a content creator treating their audience like responsible adults capable of making their own choices.

[@SpartaSpartan117]

Instructions unclear. I foraged for mushrooms and now I'm having weird hallucinations after eating it and I feel great and at some point I think I literally became time which is an illusion...

[@megaCK1000]

2:13 now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall

[@hristoskase6606]

I read the news today, oh boy...

[@refenestration]

Id love to tuuurrrnnnn yoouuuu oonnnnnn......

[@desu38]

9:51 It's not just mushrooms, actually. The same is absolutely true for plants. For example, poison hemlock is a dead ringer for wild carrot.

[@ItsMrBozToYou]

I think wild alliums are notable for look-alikes too. To my knowledge, the non-poisonous ones smell like onion/garlic/allium smell when you break a leaf, and poisonous ones do not (read about this more in depth before trying.)

[@barneylaurance1865]

@@ItsMrBozToYou But smelling of right may not be a reliable indicator if you could have got your hands smelling garlic from other specimens on the same day. I think you still need to make a positive ID based on how the plant looks and knowing the features of any dangerous look-alikes.

[@ItsMrBozToYou]

@@barneylaurance1865 you do. I'm just sharing one tidbit I know.

[@higherquality]

I generally associate Chicken-Of-The-Woods with Atomic Shrimp, so I imagine my surprise when I heard Adam of all people talking

[@President_Starscream]

Wild copperheads may be adorable but DO NOT BOOP THE SNOOT!

[@JohnSmith-dr5zn]

Adam, I'd just like to congratulate you in making a video that was both worthy of praise and invited feedback/corrections/further info from experts

[@sweetshoez]

I’ve bought these at a store a couple times, battered and fried these like chicken. So delicious

[@mechwarrior83]

I love you walking the walk and not just hiding behind disclaimers and warnings. I for one promise not to sue you if I poison myself foraging.

[@id10t98]

I'm old. But when I was a kid I was fortunate to be in a family that had property to hunt and fish on. My grandparents that owned it would take us grandkids out to gather wild blueberries, strawberries and mushrooms. We also hunted large and small game as we always put out salt licks and bought pickup truckloads of apples, carrots and other things to spread around the property for the wild animals to eat. My grandma made a mushroom gravy and stuffing that was mind blowing good.

[@seronymus]

Do you have any general old man advice?

[@blackkennedy3966]

@@seronymusdon’t get married!

[@seronymus]

@@blackkennedy3966 I think Samuel Johnson said: Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.

[@EpreTroll]

I found a massive batch of fresh ones near my house after seeing your video. What a timing. I'm seriously amazed at how much it tastes like chicken. I'm gonna make a risotto with it tonight and tomorrow a curry! Thanks for your video!!!

[@yourboi1842]

Adam I love you and I learned cooking from your channel. I learned foraging around the same time I learned cooking. The only thing I fear is that people will start actually picking the mushrooms near me… 😂 Keep it up Adam

[@phollie801]

I just want to say: thank you. Consistently. New addition here, love your style and content choice. Bravo

[@T3sl4]

There's sadly very little CoTW around me, as it happens; but bountiful pheasantback, another polypore found on decaying wood, and not easily confuse with others. It's a fairly ordinary mushroom, the distinctive quality being its odor, a kind of fresh, fruity, almost cucumber or watermelon-rind sort of aroma; if that's not your kind of thing, it mostly cooks out. A reminder to always gather responsibly! If you don't see much of something, consider leaving it be; if you see a lot, grab a little in the expectation that others may do the same. (If it's your own private land, you might take more.) Only do it on public land where gathering is permitted, or private land that you've obtained permission for. Wearing bright colors probably also a good idea, especially as hunting season approaches.

[@tomhalla426]

About 20 years ago, some Lao immigrants in California mistook Amanita mushrooms for an edible species that looks very similar from the old country. Several people were sickened to the point of needing dialysis or liver transplants.

[@lonk2902]

Beefsteak fungus was one of the things I got when I went foraging for the first time, it's pretty delicious.

[@chezmoi42]

I just gave some to my neighbors who began sharing eggs with me. Nice exchange.

[@TheGaganPodcast]

Respect the bravery making this video. Love the info and understand the disclaimer 👊

[@fakjbf3129]

I recently found out that my backyard grows fly agaric mushrooms, so that’s fun.

[@torgo_]

Adam, on the topic of fungus, I had a health episode a year ago; it was an allergic reaction to shiitake mushrooms, where I ended up in hospital. Which was strange, because I had eaten them many times before. It turns out they contain a chemical called Lentinan. I've never felt so ill in my life, my glands swelled up like tennis balls (on neck and hips) and I looked like a 3rd degree burn victim from fully body/face rashes. It turns out only 2% of people are allergic to this chemical, but there's little research about it. Some studies say that the mushrooms need to be heated above 150ºC to denature the chemical, so boiling or making a soup/stew will not suffice (though I haven't found much evidence about it). It could make an interesting topic for a future video, and a good public service announcement for home cooks.

[@chezmoi42]

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Yes, a lot of people don't know that shiitakes do need to be cooked. You can easily do that by roasting them in a 400° oven, but you can try out various methods by using a meat thermometer to test for interior temp. Apparently microwaving does not adversely affect their antioxidant qualities.

[@darylfish5686]

It's also important to consider the legality of foraging before you go out picking mushrooms, especially in any significant volume and in the eastern US. As far as I know, non-commercial foraging is allowed in national forests with some restrictions, but legality in other natural or conservation areas varies based on jurisdiction. If a conservation officer catches you with bags full of mushrooms in the wrong place, you will likely face some trouble. Worth looking up the rules where you live

[@stephenthakid]

I always enjoy watching your videos, I always learn something new and greatly appreciate the writing. The delivery and vocabulary especially.

[@LennySutton-lv4hr]

Almost maitake season. Hoping you do a hen of the woods follow up. One of my favorite wild mushrooms for sure.

[@kane2742]

There are some nearby woods where I've often been taking walks on days when the weather's decent. I'll have to watch out for chicken of the woods on my walks. I've had them a couple of times from the local farmer's market and liked them.

[@williams428]

My Gm at my restaurant is a hunter and he foraged this and brought them into for me to try. It was scary as hell trusting him on something he foraged himself…. But they were damn good. Very meaty, kinda chicken like in taste and texture. Grills great or sauté in butter, thyme and garlic. Didn’t expect Adam to make a video about this, that’s for sure 😂

[@aboveandleon4267]

There is something so amazing about watching John Wick teach me about mushrooms. Love the video!

[@anooslord666]

Ah yes the co- of the woods

[@Henrex2000]

Conk of the woods

[@chiaragibbs1693]

Watching this video eating home grown salad veges, chips made from home grown potatoes and foraged Tawekas (NZ native mushroom similar to oyster mushrooms). Ive always been taught the sentiment, if you are 150% sure that what you are eating is what you think it is and that it is safe, dont eat it. Done me in really good stead so far. I always would recommend looking for local foraging guides as there's so many natives that can be similar to overseas ones but toxic

[@bittermixin]

atomic shrimp will love this video

[@--Paws--]

I love how you gave a warning and even a comparison of similar looking fungi. Mycology and foraging is fun especially if you don't have to eat the subject, and it's once again a great advice to do research.

[@Aleph_Solortus]

0:07 we're rich, mushroom!

[@vovoyo6728]

Is that drg

[@robertwoods3871]

Rock and stone!

[@user-hi3cw6vc9j]

MUSHROOM *ping* *ping* *ping* MUSHROOM *ping* *ping* *ping* MUSHROOM

[@flyfilo2437]

*ping ping ping* MUSHROOM!

[@StarCitizenJorunn]

I love this kind of content Adam! I like the podcasts too but these informative deep dives into food things are what you really do the best and so unlike anyone else out there.

[@_Gecko]

Babe wake up, new Ragusea vid just dropped

[@darrellcoy]

Really like your point at the end of this video. Great outlook, and pretty bold.

[@misterx3188]

6:07 - This is NOT TRUE !! Hapalopilus nidulans can look similar and "checks all your boxes" and is potentially deadly.

[@MayaMacay-xt8hl]

How do we distinguish between the two?

[@misterx3188]

@@MayaMacay-xt8hl It is usually browner in color, especially the flesh, has wider pores, is usually much smaller and has a purple reaction with potassium hydroxide. Even more similar is PYCNOPORELLUS FULGENS, although it's not known to be toxic.

[@MayaMacay-xt8hl]

@@misterx3188 thank you :)

[@opdjasin]

Didn't expect eastern copperhead snake at the end. One of my fav North American snakes.

[@wchayes8646]

I forage so many wild mushroom varieties. My top 3 are Morels , Hen of the woods and lions mane. Chantrells and this mushroom round out my top five. All tasty as hell and good for you. I use many more dried in my homemade herbal tea. ❤❤❤❤ Great content !!# 3:15

[@jdschuncke]

shelf fungi are mushrooms: the fruiting body of a fungus. Not all shelf mushrooms are polypores

[@richardbigg7320]

Parboiling chicken of the woods, with at least one water change, will help with with digestive upset. I've had digestive issues with just cooking, but after parboiling some (from the same individual growth) had no problems at all.

[@draccqueen1770]

My dad one time at the park he does karate near, found a chicken of the woods mushroom on a tree. He wasn't entirely sure, he took some pictures and got the opinion of various people in a foraging group he's in, and confirmed and brought it home. I was nervous to eat it, he made scampi with it and it was absolutely delicious. I dream about that mushroom sometimes. This video came out at a good time, we just finished eating a lions mane mushroom we nabbed yesterday. A little old and chewy, but delicious as always.

[@salemthekit6143]

I'm surprised your father could regenerate that frequently after dying during karate.

[@draccqueen1770]

@@salemthekit6143 The ONE time I type from my phone...

[@TheCampoz]

That Beatles reference just got unnoticed by everyone? seriously?

[@basedfinger]

i was looking for this comment

[@Piokkoko]

chanterelle are amazing to start with, I dont believe i ever saw a shroom similar enough to risk confusion. And they taste amazing with eggs

[@ihanba]

I agree that it is a good and easy mushroom to start with (I'm talking about the golden chanterelle, Cantharellus cibarius). But some people do confuse it with the false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca). However, I think it's not very difficult to learn to distinguish them two, as the false chanterelle is typically more orange in colour, and it has thin and crowded gills rather than the sparser ridges that true chanterelles have (other differences exist, too). Every individual mushroom is unique, and the appearance changes as the mushroom grows, so there is a fair bit of variation in both species, but the more you forage, the more familiar you get with the range of appearances each species can have. Also, the false chanterelle is considered perfecly edible (although not very tasty or worth picking) here in Finland, but apparently the English speaking world considers it inedible or even poisonous. But at least it's very unlikely to be a deadly mistake even if you do confuse them two.

[@Piokkoko]

@@ihanba False chanterelle can give you stomach aches, nausea and things as such as far as im aware, so its not a very dangerous mistake but one you should look out for, thats a good point

[@teacul]

This is the first time I’ve heard of someone differentiating conks or bracket fungi from mushrooms. It makes sense but the way I’ve always heard it is that mushrooms are basically the “fruiting” body of various fungi. Regardless of their form, conks still fit this generalized definition of mushrooms

[@tophatduck5326]

Wow, thanks for another great video. Never fails to amaze me how entertaining yet educational your videos can get ^ ^)b

[@emilynelson5985]

Always leave some behind for next years growth! Love the content.

[@Prevbdbdudufhdh]

Shrooms microdosing helped me overcome my life long addiction to cigarettes and alcohol, I just relocated and they're so hard to come by here, I really need to buy some

[@bryanjacob8399]

I'm a huge supporter of legalizing psilocybin mushrooms and increasing research on them

[@mohammedmohan758]

/trippy_arnold_/ Got psychs

[@bryanjacob8399]

​@@mohammedmohan758 Where to search? Is it IG?

[@mohammedmohan758]

​@@bryanjacob8399 Yes

[@mohammedmohan758]

​@@bryanjacob8399 He got trips ( DMT magic shrooms, bars, LSD)

[@sebastianguerra6358]

I love when an Adam video connects with a previous one.

[@lemagreengreen]

I have always wanted to know why this stuff isn't cultivated... it's an ideal meat substitute, probably about the best you can get.

[@Arthion]

Probably not really possible for a lot of fungi. A lot of popular fungi that aren't commercially grown is simply because it's not possible to recreate the conditions to grow them commercially or too difficult to scale up and produce in enough quantity. Although this one it does say it can be and is done at small scale.

[@MikePouch]

Saw this video a week ago, and today was on a short forest walk with the family - found a ton of fresh ones! So excited!