Forage & Feast! Mushroom Hunting & Notes from the Russian Diaspora with Dan Bensonoff

The Forest Garden

Fall is nearly upon us podcast listeners! Cooler temperatures and rainy days will soon bring a bounty to the forest floor. In other words, it's mushroom hunting season. Tune in today for our conversation with Dan Bensonoff, director of the Permaculture Initiative at UMASS Amherst. Dan has been collecting mushrooms for the majority of his life, having been blessed with a cultural background that is especially mycophilic. When I first met Dan, he expressed to me a frustration with american mushroom foraging texts. He told me that many of them listed the mushrooms that he grew up collecting, preparing, and cooking as either poisonous or inedible - and that these texts were missing out on an entire cultural history of flavor and experience. So that is what we are going to be talking about on todays episode! Tune in to learn about a wide variety of mushrooms including but not limited to the Lactarius, Russula, and Sullius genera. Dan not only has experience foraging for these mushrooms, he's also a bit of a wizard in the kitchen - so stay tuned for mushroom preparation and processing techniques, as well as unique recipes and storage methods. And be sure to check what Dan's up to with the permaculture initiative on instagram at @umasspermaculture. IMPORTANT NOTE! Never consume a wild mushroom unless you are 100% sure it is the correct edible species and not a look alike! Look alikes are plentiful among many species of mushroom, spore prints and foraging with folks who are more experienced is recommended for beginners.