Instructions: Funny, friendly or formal looking...wild fungi, whether found in the woods or commercially cultivated, have a personality all their own. Curly chanterelles, smooth shiitakes and conical, comical morels may be tucked away under pine leaves or right out in the open, staring at you from the top of a fallen log.

Many varieties of wild mushrooms are commercially cultivated and available year-round; others are dried and they, too, are available year-round. Any mushroom other than the white button is considered to be a wild mushroom.

Mushroom tips:
Dried mushrooms improve with age and have an intense flavor that many chefs prefer to fresh. They have a buttery richness and are simple to incorporate into your everyday cooking by reconstituting them in water and using them like fresh mushrooms.

To reconstitute dried mushrooms, rinse quickly, and then soak in hot water to cover for 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a coffee filter or cheesecloth, set in a fine mesh strainer. Reserve soaking liquid to use in soup, stock or as a vegetarian broth.

Grind dried mushrooms in a coffee grinder or spice mill, for an intensely-flavored powder to use in soup, stew, on sauteed chicken breasts or

In any application where you want a mushroom flavor. To clean the grinder or mill between grinding mushrooms and coffee or spices, grind some white rice, then wipe out to remove leftover flavors and odors.

Use ground dried mushrooms to replace some of the flour in pasta dough, or to dust on vegetables before grilling.

Purchase foraged (i.e. gathered in the forest) wild mushrooms from a responsible gatherer and always buy mushrooms that are fresh looking and firm, not soft or slimy. The base should be relatively clean, not decomposed, and the mushrooms should have a good color and pleasant odor. There should not be unusual breaks in the caps or gills.

As mushrooms are porous and have a high moisture content, they are best cleaned with a mushroom brush, soft toothbrush or towel (a pointed knife can dislodge any debris from the cracks). If necessary, cut in half to dislodge dirt, then wipe with a moist paper towel or rinse under a soft stream of running water, and immediately pat dry. Store in a bowl lined with paper towels, or in brown paper bags. Wild mushrooms should be cooked before using, except for enoki mushrooms.

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