Foraging, Cooking, and Taste Testing the Snow Bank Mushroom (Gyromitra montana)

Behold this spooky wrinkled brainy lump of a fungus! This is the #SnowBankMushroom or #Gyromitramontana. It is a impressively large mushroom, with a massively thick stem and a brownish cap full of folds and wrinkles. Found at elevation near melting snow West if the Rockies from Spring through summer. It is saprophytic, but also potentially mycorrhizal depending on it’s metabolic strategy/mode (similar to Morchella). There has been a healthy debate about the name of this mushroom as it has also been called #Gyromitrakorfii (Eastern species) and #Gyromitragigas (European species). Recent taxonomic work suggests that all of these species are closely related enough to constitute a species complex, with G. gigas being the oldest/most applicable name (according to Michael Kuo at least).
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Beyond it’s complicated nomenclature, this is actually a fantastic edible mushroom. Unlike other Gyromitra that contain significant amounts of Monomethylhydrazine (a carcinogenic component found in rocket fuel), G. gigas has low amounts (like a Morchella or Helvella) and can be pan fried into a fantastic edible. It has a dense satisfying texture (less spongy than a morel), but a similar ethereal, earthy, umami quality as other Ascomycetes. Really excited to have found this massive mushroom and had a chance to try cooking some up!
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#ascomycetes #falsemorel #gyromitra #ediblemushrooms #educational #alwayslearning #hikingadventure

[@energ8t]

Yeah, I wouldn't even bother with Gyromita Esculenta. No. Thank. You. But I'm cooking up my montana with a steak right now. Beautiful mushroom.

[@bobbypoo8782]

If only i can try it outtt!!!!!

[@barryrobison2073]

I used to eat these growing up in Michigan as a kid. I even ate them as recently as two years ago without any ill effects. It's only since I've seen all the negative press here on KZbin that I decided I better not press my luck. Go figure!

[@FascinatedByFungi]

Yea, I’ve eaten these mountain Gyromitra a few times but have stayed away from the more toxic species. I have mixed feelings about it, there is some pretty scary evidence of long term health consequences out of Switzerland

[@energ8t]

@@FascinatedByFungi What is the study on? Montana variety or the Esculenta? The Montana seem pretty tame to me if cooked properly. I just got two prime specimens here in the Cascades (looking for morel as well).

[@xaviercadaret4873]

I just found the gyromitra Montana and gyrometra esculenta variety yesterday, in the blue mountains NE Oregon. I harvested the Montana, sliced and put in a brine of salt and water. I'll fry some up tomorrow. No morels yet, though I heard someone found some up in yakama WA. Still a bit early here maybe in a week or so..

[@johnnyfish6051]

Guy eats a Gyromitra live and only gets one comment. Come on no debate? I eat them,they are good .Tast the same as a large white Morel. I havnt ate the esculenta variety but for thirty years have ate the larger stem variant such as this Montana or Carolina. Here in Kansas and Missouri those in the know call them Big Reds. Snow Bank Mushroom? dont that sound outdoorsy!

[@barryrobison2073]

Do you eat the "big reds" there in Missouri?

[@johnnyfish6051]

@@barryrobison2073 I eat a few if I can't find morels. Found a bunch this year. I will have a pick and cook on them next spring. I film a year in advance.

[@energ8t]

They're called snowbank morel because they literally grow off snowmelt (at least where I found mine in the Cascades). They were ice cold in the hand. But yeah, I'm cooking mine up as I write this. Going to pair it with a steak.

[@johnnyfish6051]

@Fudge Dredd found 30 lbs of big reds this year. I'm doing a pick and cook vid on them. It's will be out spring of 2024. BUT I'm releasing a video this week of my 2023 morel season highlights. I found around 140lbs. This highlights video will have some quick clips of that big red video. This week!

[@Darknimbus3]

In Missouri, you don’t have G. montana. What you do have a G. caroliniana (what is know as the “Big Red”), G. brunnea, and G. korfii (montana’s eastern counterpart). By the way, no esculenta. I think your climate is too consistently warm for them, and more importantly, you don’t have the right trees for them. Esculenta like certain conifers like spruce and what-not.

[@vallee7966]

He is now on dialysis for kidney failure

[@FascinatedByFungi]

Pleurotus ostreatus is a safe, edible, culinary mushroom. This “joke” is in very poor taste and incorrect. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_ostreatus