FORAGING THE FARMERS’ MARKETS

WORDS AND PHOTO BY JESS STARWOOD

With the recent mushroom craze—the ’shroom boom, if you will—fungi are making their way to the forefront of culinary curiosity. The supermarkets now offer a wider variety of cultivated species, from oysters to shiitake and lion’s mane to maitake.

But if you are craving a deeper dive into the culinary world of fungi to sample the exotic and truly unique flavors of wild mushrooms, without proper training and identification skills you are probably out of luck. It takes many seasons, if not years, to become proficient as a mushroom hunter and gain confidence in knowing what is good to eat. Also sadly, Los Angeles isn’t known for being particularly abundant in edible wild fungi.

But if you’re craving a true taste of the wild, something that still has the essence of a rich mossy forest, the only way to obtain wild mushrooms is to collect them yourself—or find a proficient foraging friend.

Just like so many things in LA, it’s all about who you know. Consider the foragers at LA FungHi to be your connection to the tasty spoils of the wild without ever having to leave the city. This unique vendor connects with foragers from all around the world to bring the best wild foraged goods to Los Angeles. Not only do they have the widest section of wild mushrooms, but other foraged fare such as fiddlehead ferns and ramps (a type of wild garlic) often can be found in their baskets in the springtime.

If you’re looking for fresh truffles, porcini, black trumpets, chanterelles or morels for a fancy weekend dinner, be sure to stop by their stand at the farmers’ markets in Brentwood, Studio City, Venice, Pacific Palisades or Calabasas. In addition to their foraged fungi, they also offer the full spectrum of fresh cultivated species, including cordyceps, orange cloud, maitake, oysters, wood ear and many more.

And they aren’t the only ones with mushrooms at the markets. Many more vendors are popping up who are cultivating these unique fungi. Try The Fungi Valley at the Atwater Village, Hidden Hills and Silver Lake markets (and more) and Hungry Gardens at Montrose Harvest and Burbank markets.

Having access to such culinary treasures enables anyone to play with ingredients that are normally reserved for five-star restaurants. Many wild mushrooms have unique flavor profiles that expand far past the typical description of “earthy.” For example, the candy cap mushroom has a strong aroma of maple syrup when dried, while matsutake is known for its complex scent of musty cinnamon. As the culinary world is opening up to more mushrooms on the menu, we are constantly learning about new ways to use them in the kitchen with new techniques and flavor combinations. Mushrooms for dessert? Absolutely. Just turn the page . . .