Link to the Show / Show NotesMany cultures, including our own, once considered hunting mushrooms aberrant behavior. They are, after all, a sometimes filthy and occasionally deadly fungus. William Delisle Hay, a 19th Century British mycologist, wrote that a mushroom hunter was often “regarded as a sort of idiot among the lower orders. No fad or hobby is esteemed so contemptible as that of the ‘fungus-hunter’ or ‘toadstool-eater.’” Undeterred by Victorian-era opinion is Chris Florence, owner of Sweet Valley Organics in Sweet. Florence is a commercial mushroom forager, mushroom advocate, farmer and vendor at Capital City Public Market. Recently he led a half dozen chefs and restaurant types on a search for morels and other edible mushrooms in the mountains north of Boise. “You want to go really slow,” Florence whispered, as if not to scare the mushrooms. “You’ll walk past 100 before you see them.” A fellow fungus-hunter whispered back. “Are they usually hiding under brush?” he asked as we trailed Florence through the pines. Florence simply nodded while keeping his eyes fixed to the ground. Suddenly, Florence stopped. “All right,” he said in a full-on outdoor voice that suggested that once the mushrooms are spotted, they’re no longer capable of running away. “I can see some [...]
Play in your Iphone
RSS Feed