How to Forage Mushrooms Without Dying: BUTTER BOLETES

Join us as we forage for mushrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area! Today's video is all about a variety of edible boletes! This video outlines how to find, identify, process and cook wild mushrooms. This is the third video in my new series aimed at introducing you to concepts and methods of mushroom foraging and mushroom identification. Note: Some mushrooms are deadly poisonous so please be 100% positive on your identification before ever attempting to forage for wild mushrooms!
For information on my guide service and mushroom identification courses:
www.catchncookcalifornia.com/

[@willac5]

Beautiful hamburger buns! Love it! 🙌 Y'all, I took one of Kevin's mushroom foraging classes and I feel super empowered to perform methodical, careful identification per the guidebook, learned essential tips on assessing locations and specific tree species, and learned how to be a responsible foraging ambassador. Highly recommended!!! Thanks Kevin!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you for the kind words and the support!

[@richardso3226]

What a great video again. Love the content, the vibe, the learning and everything. Everyone please share! I have been to his classes and this guy is the nicest dude ever.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks Richard!

[@masamunesword]

Bluing boletes are so neat. My favorites are the really bright bluing ones in the Gyroporus genus but they seem to be very rare or entirely absent on the west coast of the USA.

[@Ross_Antonich]

Love seeing you cook Kevin!

[@LonC1966]

Yay. I checked last night for a new upload and watched some older videos. Nice to see this today.

[@timmynormand8082]

Best information on shroon hunting that I have come across. Thanks bro much appreciated

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for the positive feedback!

[@Bluecloudandrew]

Your favorite professor's favorite professor back in action. Gonna order that book, looks chalk full of info. I'm just outside of Atlanta so interested to see what mushrooms grow out here. We get these white capped mushrooms during the summer and kinda want to find out more about them. Either way, slamming video. Thanks Kevin.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you! I bet you get morels out there under old elms. If you look for a local mycological society I am sure they do mushroom walks. That can be a great way to get out and start familiarizing yourself with the fungi in your area. Thanks for the continuous supprt!

[@Katarjana]

Love the outro message! : )

[@LostCoastLiving]

Wow! What a good harvest, kev! Katie and I have never had butter bolete we need to start to familiarize ourselves with them .

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

They are such a fun species to find! I just love how vibrant yellow they are!

[@dwaynewladyka577]

This was great. It's a fantastic find of these great mushrooms. A nice dish you made with them. Cheers, Kevin! 👍🏻👍🏻✌️

[@PSSKDerby]

Great video Kevin! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@charlescoult]

Really liked this one 👍

[@lizardkeeper100]

I love this series. I might go mushroom hunting someday but honestly I just really enjoy learning about mushroom species.

[@teresayao3218]

Has anyone mentioned this is also a really calming asmr video

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Not until now!

[@fe1tan458]

long wait is over new vid lets go!

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Lol it was a very long pause between vids! I am going to try to drop them more consistantly now.

[@emmmmmmma92]

wow absolutely love ur channel! its inspired me to begin exploring the bay :)

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks! Glad to hear it!

[@kaismith4301]

I love this series, I went mushroom picking once with my friend, and wild mushrooms are some of the best ones I’ve ever tried. I’m 15 and I want to start foraging soon, but I live in such a dry area 😭

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! If you are in SoCal I do see edible mushrooms down there but in the heart of the winter.

[@kaismith4301]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 haha thanks but I’m in Australia, like red dirt aus,

[@southpawscientific4122]

Great video...just moved from the Bay Area to Western Washington and just picked-up foraging. It's still a bit cold but am starting to find mushrooms popping-up at my place, I believe one was a Butter Bolete and confirmed the other one was a Panther Cap. Cheers

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Very cool! Happy foraging and be safe!

[@treatsnaturalpetmarketplac3999]

Great video as always dr. Kevin. Our paths will cross in a forest. Hopefully this year we'll be able to attend one of your foraging for mushrooms classes.

[@milesbettencourt5804]

I love the video. Great job.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thank you!

[@DeepDiveCA]

First amanita is classic coccora, one of my favorites for the table. Nice video as always Kev

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I found a death cap this year with a classic cocora patch on top. It was obvious enough to the trained eye, but not for many beginners. Cocoras will definately not be a part of this introductory series (nor will other amanitas) after seeing that. Id rather advise new foragers to stick to more easily recognized species. Thanks so much for watching and for the feedback!

[@timmynormand8082]

Do these boletes grow down here in the south ? I'm from Louisiana enjoying your awesome teaching experiences thanks bro

[@elkhunter76]

Wish I was close enough to take a foraging class. A bit of a jaunt from South Dakota

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

One of these days!

[@k4x4map46]

nice!!

[@ryansampson9445]

Nice! Black chanterelles are coming in hot right now

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Some of my favorites! We have them simmering with elk stew from elk roasts a friend shared... on the stove and scenting the whole house with incredible aroma right now!

[@galloamaya]

Hello I really enjoy you videos. I was wondering if you ever find fungus underneath Eucalyptus duff ? I noticed them in the background when you made breakfast. I am in SoCal lots s of eucalyptus !

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Chicken of the Woods will grow on eucalyptus but I have heard that there is a compound in the tree that makes the fungus likely to cause stomach upsets when growing on this species of tree. The specific acidity that eucalyptus imparts to the soil underneath these trees also keeps most plants and fungi from growing. I have never seen edible mushrooms under it unfortunately. I bet you have willows, alders and cottonwoods near creeks near you though and oyster mushrooms love them. Pines, firs and oaks in the SoCal mountains will also likely have edibles under them.

[@ogoe_joeoutdoors1088]

Was that first amanita a calyptroderma?Also, I was under the impression that red Boletes (toxic) were the ones that turned blue when cut, I didn't realize the butter Boletes did the same until now. I have been loving this series. I want to take the course with you, how soon will you be hosting the last course?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Yup! But it is a species that some confuse with deadly lookalikes so I do not recommend it especially for beginners. That chemical reaction is crazy right!? Actually, a number of mushrooms stain blue but are edible (the fat jack is another). You are correct that red pores and blue staining in combination is deadly though! What may be the last mushroom courses of the season will be on the Mendocino Coast on 2/3, 2/4, 2/10 and 2/11. There is also a possibility of doing a few courses closer to the Bay Area on weekdays before then if you can get together 4-7 people. My website is catchncookcalifornia.com

[@haroldtakahashi8875]

💛...with the rain we're getting, does that extend the mushroom season in an area or do i need to go up in altitude?...

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

It looks like we are getting some good abundance but we will see. Sometimes the extra rain will extend the season, sometimes it melts everything and actually shuts things down (which happened at the end of the season last year). So far it appears that the season will go a bit longer locally but the best diversity is still prediceted to be further north. I am teaching my last mushroom identification courses of the season in Mendocino County at the beginning of February.

[@haroldtakahashi8875]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 ...so, it's more latitude than altitude?...

[@LeeSmith-gh2pc]

Was wondering what the name of the book was that he used for identification of the mushrooms

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

All that the Rain Promises and More by David Arora

[@LeeSmith-gh2pc]

​@@catchncookcalifornia1574thank you so much

[@benjovi7007]

I would love to come out with you but I live in nz.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Thanks for watching from NZ! I believe there are some types of edible boletes and milk caps there. You might try to find a local mycological society in your area.

[@benjovi7007]

thank you . I will try to find one. I make shore to like and cement on all you're vids.your mushroom calms poke polling and Kina hunting vids are my fav.have a great day. @@catchncookcalifornia1574

[@chimpz4ever]

How would you describe the taste of these mushrooms? Do they taste like king oysters?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

Actually yes, pretty similar. I realized that I forgot to describe the flavor after posting this video. I will try to be better about that in furture videos!

[@yuiyuiyyuiy3200]

huge burger lol👍

[@dcfromthev]

You found these in January 2024 or was this filmed last year?

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

This was last fall

[@Appophust]

I guess Steven Harper should have watched this video. Oops.

[@catchncookcalifornia1574]

I did not know this story until your comment. Unfortunately, this type of thing happens now and then. Often, the mushroom that people eat (and are poisoned by) is something that looks very similar to a species that they are used to in their country or region of origin. This is why I stress meticulous trait-based identification with a time-tested book (not a mushroom app) and never rounding up during assesments of edibility. Even if you are 99% sure, when in doubt, throw it out. RIP Mr. Harper.

[@Appophust]

@@catchncookcalifornia1574 yeah. It's sad as heck. He didn't deserve to go out like that. But this is why I don't mess with wild mushrooms. I'm excellent at identifying plants, but fungi can quite often look like something tasty. And I wasn't trying to be crude with the Steven Harper thing. Just saying it happens.