# does anyone buy hen of the woods and other mushrooms



## ajc1 (Jan 5, 2012)

I have found A lot this year I went canning crazy I put up over 150 pints and quarts of hens.


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## Woodbutcher-1 (Nov 21, 2004)

No, i do not purchase any mushrooms. I hunt them all year long,including in the winter month's.
The only Mushrooms we pay for are on top a Pizza that the wife orders.


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## jschlenke (Jul 8, 2013)

Some farmers markets allow home pickles, but I think cottage food laws might prohibit it. I got my license through the state last year which allowed me to legally have a table at the market. I made it to one this year and it was a blast. Didn't make much in the way of dollars but the networking and educational opportunities for the community were priceless.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

jschlenke said:


> Some farmers markets allow home pickles, but I think cottage food laws might prohibit it. I got my license through the state last year which allowed me to legally have a table at the market. I made it to one this year and it was a blast. Didn't make much in the way of dollars but the networking and educational opportunities for the community were priceless.


Which farmer's market did you set up at?


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## jschlenke (Jul 8, 2013)

West side market in Ann Arbor. It's over for this year, but it's a smaller non profit near the restaurant I work for so it was convenient and small enough to test the waters. I had such a good time I'd like to do more next year. I saw first hand how much mushroom fear and lack of knowledge there is, even in a town like Ann Arbor I feel a moral (morel?) compulsion to change some minds!


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

jschlenke said:


> West side market in Ann Arbor. It's over for this year, but it's a smaller non profit near the restaurant I work for so it was convenient and small enough to test the waters. I had such a good time I'd like to do more next year. I saw first hand how much mushroom fear and lack of knowledge there is, even in a town like Ann Arbor I feel a moral (morel?) compulsion to change some minds!


Unfortunately, the vast majority of people only know of the white button mushrooms or the portabellas they see in the grocery store. When they see others that are either domestically grown or wild, they get a wide eyed look and think they are all poisonous. I have watched people at Eastern Market approach vendors selling mushrooms and seriously ask if those mushrooms are poisonous. It must be something that is drummed into them at school. They also think all mushrooms are grown in horse manure.

How difficult was the mushroom certification test?


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## jschlenke (Jul 8, 2013)

It was tricky. Its nothing that you don't learn as a picker to keep yourself and your family safe- spore color, physical characteristics, habits and habitat etc. The hard part for me was keeping track of features that I rarely use in the field- like spore printing morels, hollow vs solid stems in coprinus etc. it took a two 3 hour study sessions before the "class" and I ended up with two wrong out of 55 questions. So not hard, just lots of detail that isn't necessarily at the front of my brain when foraging.


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## ajc1 (Jan 5, 2012)

I have found a lot this year. I canned and dried like crazy doubt have all them ate up by next season . I wonder if it would be worth to sell them in another state?


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## CWlake (Mar 28, 2016)

jschlenke, While your moral compulsion is admirable, think what the woods would be like if everyone was as knowledgeable with the other good shrooms as with morels? I'm not sure if I would enjoy the woods as much.


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## CWlake (Mar 28, 2016)

ajc1, did you know that Costco sells hens in the fresh vegi section. They are stacked and packed 4ft x 4ft. all the same size and color. I think they are grown in PA.


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## ajc1 (Jan 5, 2012)

CWlake said:


> ajc1, did you know that Costco sells hens in the fresh vegi section. They are stacked and packed 4ft x 4ft. all the same size and color. I think they are grown in PA.


how much are they selling for?


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## jschlenke (Jul 8, 2013)

CWlake said:


> jschlenke, While your moral compulsion is admirable, think what the woods would be like if everyone was as knowledgeable with the other good shrooms as with morels? I'm not sure if I would enjoy the woods as much.


Haha, can you imagine a group of soccer moms and suit and tie dads on a mid summer chanterelle hike? All tick covered and sweaty I don't fear sharing *some* knowledge- yes you can eat this, here's how to cook it. When asked where I got it, my reply is always the same. Smile big and say "the woods"


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

CWlake said:


> ajc1, did you know that Costco sells hens in the fresh vegi section. They are stacked and packed 4ft x 4ft. all the same size and color. I think they are grown in PA.


Maitake (hen of the woods) are being grown by several companies. I sometimes buy a package from the Asian store we go to. The ones I buy are from California and Korea. The domestic sometimes lack the flavor of wild.


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## CWlake (Mar 28, 2016)

ajc1 said:


> how much are they selling for?


the ones that I have seen are all between a softball and volleyball size. Maybe a lb. for $10.


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## rugbym10sflyu (Jan 19, 2011)

not sure about other states but gotta be licensed to sell any wild mushrooms in michigan

http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1660-350844--,00.html


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

rugbym10sflyu said:


> not sure about other states but gotta be licensed to sell any wild mushrooms in michigan
> 
> http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1660-350844--,00.html


It isn't a license. It is a certification as an Expert Mushroom Identifier.


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## hawgeye (Mar 3, 2011)

rugbym10sflyu said:


> not sure about other states but gotta be licensed to sell any wild mushrooms in michigan
> 
> http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1660-350844--,00.html


I seen a state cop buying some off the side of the road this summer, they must not enforce it if it is illegal.


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## rugbym10sflyu (Jan 19, 2011)

*certified*


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## zig (Aug 5, 2009)

I've bought the cultivated ones from an Asian market near my house several times over the years. I think they taste quite different, and not in a good way....


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## CWlake (Mar 28, 2016)

There must be 6 or 8 so called Asian markets within a mile of my workplace. I tried to sell them some fresh hens but the three places I stopped did not know what they were. I wanted to ask them where they were from.


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