As are the seasons, we’re in transition.
We began our mushrooming careers in the late 1970's, using our tiny cabin near Brightwood on the slopes of Oregon's Mt. Hood as our base of operations. While Steven fished the beautiful Salmon River for the then-plentiful Summer Steelhead (now virtually unknown, thanks to the ODFW), I began researching the mushrooms I encountered while hiking the multitude of trails on the mountain. Steven got interested, too, and soon was taking time out from his fishing to join me in my forays, and we gradually expanded our network of "spots."
When we moved to the southern Oregon coast, our mushroom careers blossomed, and we continued mushrooming on trips to our cabin as well as other places we happened to visit in Canada and the USA. It's been a marvelous hobby and adventure, and we've enjoyed every minute.
Now in our "Golden Years," we concluded some time ago that we needed to consolidate and do a bit of downsizing. For several years, Steven has needed regular medical care at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), and we've essentially commuted at least three trips a month to the Portland area from Port Orford, an eleven-hour round trip. We came to the difficult decision to sell our beloved home and property on the southern Oregon coast, and to purchase a smaller - but still woodsy and rustic - home on the Sandy River, just about a mile from our Brightwood cabin. The cabin was regretfully sold, too, since it didn't make much sense to have a cabin a mile away from our new home. Both sales have now been finalized, and our move to Brightwood will be "official" in July. We’ve loved it here, but are transitioning to our new home - in an area with which we are so familiar that it hardly seems like moving at all. There, our mushrooming careers will be sustained by visiting spots we've found over the years and exploring, looking for new ones. And, of course, there will be trips back to Port Orford to visit friends and mushroom territories.
Revelations of our new life come swiftly as we explore and examine the landscape of our new surroundings. While the elevation is not far from the same, the weather, and consequently the flora and fauna, appear to be somewhat unique to each location. Still, the two areas will have a lot in common, and lessons learned one place will assuredly translate to the other.
Surely this is a very special "Welcome Wagon" gift
from the mushroom gods!
For example, when we arrived at Brightwood last week, we were greeted by a hardwood log hosting large, heavy Oyster mushrooms positioned just inside the turnoff to our new home from Highway 26. What a treat to be welcomed with a collection of showy Oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus).
Before our SUV was tucked inside the garage and before the car was unloaded with gear essential for our 3 day stay, I was kneeling beside the log, sharp knife in hand, carefully removing only the most perfect of the Oysters and allowing the remainder to become fodder for future fruitings. A few specimens were quickly cleaned for dinner; the remainder were rinsed, sliced into 1/4" strips, and lovingly laid in a dehydrator to process overnight. In the morning, these dehydrated strips were placed in a quart jar which bore a label indicating their origin and the date, destined to be a treat which will enhance future dining experiences.
Oysters aren't always given the respect that may be due them. There's no cult-like adoration of these saprotrophic mushrooms such as there is with morels or king boletes. Still, we treasure them.
- They are one of the first mushrooms that we collected with confidence. We're unaware of any poisonous lookalikes, although they are sometimes mistaken for Angel's Wings (Pleurotus porrigens) which grow on conifers.
- They are common and available when other mushrooms are dormant - we've collected them from the first sign of spring into the brisk days of fall.
- They dehydrate well, and their aroma tends to be enhanced by the drying process. Open a container of processed Oysters in future years, and the aroma will amaze you.
- We've encountered some specimens with caps as wide as 8-10 inches, where the youngest of them have caps rolled into a convex shape and older caps (such as seen above) flattened out and turned up. Their color can range from snowy white to fawn and grayish. They typically grow in clusters or shelves, and their abundance can quite easily overwhelm the collection basket!
- Rather than becoming the star of a preparation, Oysters tend to add body and a subtle flavor. We believe that they absorb the flavors that surround them in a soup or sauce rather than being the focus of the dish.
- We recommend that all wild mushrooms be thoroughly cooked before consuming, and Oysters are no exception. Likewise, as with all wild mushrooms, if Oysters are new to you, first try a small portion of them just to be sure that you don't have an adverse reaction.
- They're good for you! They are said to contain significant levels of calcium, folic acid, iron, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, zinc as well as vitamins B-1, B-2, and C. There's even literature that promotes Oysters as a means for lowering cholesterol and that notes their anti-tumor effect in cancer research.