Are they any Mycologists out there
 

I came across a nice black truffle mushroom this past saturday. Honestly, I took it from a red squirrel who was holding it. It was about half the size of a tennis ball.

I hunt mushrooms and was very happy to find it. I chopped up part of it and had it on my omelette. I really didn't know how rare they were until I mentioned it to a friend of mine who is a gourmet cook.

He was astounded and said it is unheard of finding that mushroom in the US let alone NH. I gave him part of it. He said I just ate a $400.00 omelette.

Has anyone else out there come across these delicacies before?:liplick:

I just ate...
 

... what I thought was a truffle, it tasted goo arh doo dah ar da ar uauaua__________________

When in doubt, throw it out. There are a lot of "look a likes" that are poisonous!
This is one of my favorite sites.

http://www.chesterfieldoutdoors.com/...mushrooms.html

No doubt
 

I have several field guides for mushroom foraging. There are no poisonous truffles. There is no mistaking a black truffle. (see attached photo)

I have been searching the net and find that there are very very rare finds of truffles in the US.

You are taking a chance with your life if you cannot positively identify the fungi you consume!

http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/funfacts/truffind.htm

black truffle
 

There is a picture of my squirrel friend in that article. This is pretty exiting stuff. This is truely a rare find. I know it sounds hard to beleive. I better keep the location a secret. I will try to locate more of these this weekend.

No worries on health. I am most certain these are black truffles. Eaten it twice since saturday. tastes just like the expensive truffle butter my wife bought once. The only thing that remotely resembles a truffle would be a puff ball which to me and most is easy to distinguish since it grows above ground.

Mycologist Found!
 

:emb: I can see it now—hunting for $400 truffles with a pack of squirrels on leashes. :laugh:

But finally :look: a good use for the Red Squirrel! :rolleye2:

All summer, Red Squirrels dry their mushrooms out on sundecks, railings, and high out on tree limbs: at $400 each, I'll be looking more closely at what's been put out there! :eek2:

BTW: Member Keith is a Mycologist. (And knows some stuff about fixing Wolfeboro-area computers). He may tell you not to truffle with mushrooms. :o

:eek2: Come to think of it, I haven't seen Keith—the Mycologist—for a very long time. ;)

Mycologists
 

You know what they say about Mycologists:

"There are bold mycologists and there are old mycologists but there are no old, bold mycologists.";)

If it's worth that much...
 

I hope it was the best omelette you've ever had! :laugh:

Acres your are too funny - squirrels on leashes. :laugh:

don't they grow underground?
 

I thought truffles grew underground. That's why the French use trained dogs and pigs to hunt them - they can use their incredible sense of smell to find them and dig them up. I just remember reading this hilarious Peter Mayle book years ago that had a chapter about him tagging along with a Frenchman on a truffle hunt.....

truffles
 

While we have truffle like mushrooms around here related to boletes, I have not seen any true truffles before. If you have any, or a piece of one, I will be seeing a professional mycologist on sunday and would be happy to get a positive ID on it.

I am located in Mirror Lake, am I correct to assume you are in the 20 mile bay area? I am very interested in seeing what you have found- no I do not intend to hunt for them, but it would be an excellent find if it really is a black truffle.

You can call me any time at 651-7509, I hope you have even a tiny piece of it left!
My finds today were a 5lb maitake and a few matsutake :)

truffle
 

Keith I chopped up what was left of it and made truffle butter. I will try to dig one up this weekend and give you a call.

Nice find on the hen of the woods. I have only found one small one that had already passed. I find many oysters, black trumpets (my favorite), chantrelles, chickens, buttons, bear tooth, lobsters, hedgehogs, a few boletes, inky caps, leishi, chaga and a few others. I always stick to ones with no close look alikes.

Found On My Lot, Is This "Finger-Food"?
 

Indian Pipe
 

Hi, that is not a fungus. It's a plant called Indian Pipe or Ghost Plant. It has no chlorophyll and is a parasitic plant, actually.....parasitic on fungus. I wouldn't eat it.

It looks pink!

Pop up
 

This popped up this summer in our yard. :eek: I was at least one foot across, maybe more. I had the kids stand near it for perspective. I looked it up online and I think it was edible but I didn't know anyone that would be interested. It is amazing how quickly these grow!