Learn: Wild Mushrooms, Flora & Fermentation
Welcome to Learn: field guides, recipes and ferment how-tos from Fungi, Flora & Ferment, a small shop rooted in Clare County, Michigan. They're for cooks, foragers and anyone curious about what grows in Great Lakes and Midwest woods.
Each guide gives the mushroom's common and scientific name, where and when to look, and the look-alikes to rule out before anything goes in the pan. Kelly Harrison writes them. She's certified by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to identify wild mushrooms for sale.
When you're ready to cook, our dried mushrooms ship within Michigan, with free pickup in Clare County.
Wild Mushroom Guides
Morels (Morchella)
How to spot a true morel in spring, how to tell it from a false morel, and how to clean and cook it.
Dryad's Saddle / Pheasant Back (Cerioporus squamosus)
The big scaly shelf you often find while hunting morels. Where it grows, when to look, and how to cook the young, tender ones.
Chanterelles (Cantharellus)
Ridges instead of true gills, a fruity apricot smell, the look-alikes to rule out, and how to cook them.
Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus)
Clusters on hardwood logs, gills that run down the stem, how to pick good ones, and skillet tips.
Black Trumpets (Craterellus)
Dark, hollow funnels hiding in leaf litter. How to find them, clean out the grit, dry them and cook them well.
Hedgehog Mushrooms (Hydnum)
Little spines under the cap instead of gills, a sweet, nutty flavor, and the look-alikes to know.
Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria)
Big clusters on wood, the scales and ring to check, why you always cook them, and how to tell them from deadly Galerina.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
Striped little brackets that are great for ID practice. How to check the pores underneath and tell turkey tail from its look-alikes.
Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus)
Bright orange and yellow shelves. How to ID them, where they grow, the look-alikes, and how to dry and cook them.
Hen of the Woods / Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
Look at the base of oaks in fall. How to ID it, how to harvest it so it comes back, and how to dry and cook it.
Puffball Mushrooms (Calvatia & Lycoperdon)
Why you always slice a puffball open, what a pure white inside tells you, and the look-alikes that don't pass.
Purple-Spored Puffball (Calvatia cyathiformis)
A meadow puffball with a cracked top that turns purple as it ages. When it's good to eat, and how to check by cutting it open.
Cooking Dried Mushrooms
How to Rehydrate Dried Wild Mushrooms
A simple soak for dried chicken of the woods (Laetiporus) and maitake (Grifola frondosa), and how to save the soaking liquid for soups and sauces.
Skillet Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus) with Butter & Lemon
Rehydrated chicken of the woods browned in butter with onion and garlic, finished with lemon.
Ferments
Beginner Vegetable Ferments 101
Start here. Which vegetables work, brine vs. dry salting, how to keep everything under the liquid, and how to tell a good jar from a bad one.
Classic Sauerkraut (Brassica oleracea): Quart Jar
Cabbage and 2% salt by weight. Massage, pack, let it ferment in a cool spot for 5 to 21 days, then refrigerate.
Crisp Cabbage Ferment (Sauerkraut-Style)
A sauerkraut-style jar made for crunch. Weigh your salt and keep it cool.
Beginner Napa Kimchi (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis): Home Jar
Salt and rinse the napa cabbage, mix the chili paste, pack the jar, ferment, then refrigerate.
Flora Craft
White Pine Needle (Pinus strobus) Tincture Basics
How to recognize Eastern white pine by its bundles of five soft needles, and how a simple pine needle tincture is made.
Where and How to Forage
Where to Forage in Michigan: Public Land, Parks & Conservancies
State forests, state parks, national forests, national parks, county parks and land conservancies. What you can pick where, and how mushrooms differ from ramps, ferns and ginseng.
Foraging Ethics
Take only what you'll use, leave the mycelium in place, and ask before you pick on private land.
Where to Start
New to foraging? Read Foraging Ethics and Where to Forage first, then pick a species guide.
Cooking dried mushrooms? Start with the rehydration guide, then try the skillet recipe.
First ferment? Start with Ferments 101, a kitchen scale and a quart jar.
Shop
Our dried wild mushrooms ship within Michigan, with free pickup in Clare County. Tees, totes and stickers ship to the lower 48. Browse the shop.
Want the flavor without the hunt?
We sell dried wild chicken of the woods, maitake and oyster, picked by an MDARD-certified forager in Clare County, plus bed-grown wine cap. Mushroom orders of $50 or more ship free in Michigan.
