A bumper year for field mushrooms

Word got out early in August, that we were in the midst of a bumper season for field mushrooms, Agaricus campestris. And by the time I got to the meadow on the side of the valley below us, it was evidently in full swing.

The white caps of the freshly emerged  mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.

I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of  mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.

The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.

One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.

I also made a pretty good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.

A bumper year for field mushrooms

Word got out early in August, that we were in the midst of a bumper season for field mushrooms, Agaricus campestris. And by the time I got to the meadow on the side of the valley below us, it was evidently in full swing.

The white caps of the freshly emerged  mushrooms were everywhere. Alongside the path at the bottom of the field they were conveniently plentiful.

I ventured out half-a-dozen times over the course of three weeks. I gathered as much as 2lbs (900g) of  mushrooms in one picking at their peak and probably 8lbs (3.5kg) over all. By the time the fourth week of August began, the season was drawing to a close.

The best time to collect them is in the morning. They are freshest then and less likely to be attacked by flies. Also, the cows in the field, having been sleeping during the night, have had less time to trample them.

One thing to bear in mind is that the wild field mushrooms are quick to deteriorate once picked. I try to use them up that day, which meant repeatedly breakfasting on Agaricus campestris-on-toast. You can have too much of a good thing.

I also made a very good mushroom and tarragon spread. Click here for the wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe.

Wild mushroom and tarragon pate recipe

Here's a great recipe I adapted from several others to use up a plethora of wild mushrooms, that is, field mushrooms or Agaricus campestris.

I've only tried it with this moderately falvoursome species but suppose other varieties could be successfully substituted.

It seems mushroom and tarragon compliment each other well as there are loads of soup recipes online too.

Mushroom and tarragon pate

Ingredients

50g butter or olive-oil-based spread
2 shallots
1 small leek
2 garlic cloves
200g wild mushrooms
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp crème fraîche
3 tbsp fresh tarragon (or 1.5 tbsp dried)

Method

Melt the butter or spread in a large frying pan. Finely chop the shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 5 minutes or until soft.

Finely chop the mushrooms, add them to the pan. Turn up the heat a little and add a little extra butter if they soak up all the oil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender.

Add the mustard and crème fraiche plus a little salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more.

Finely chop the fresh tarragon and stir in. Don’t cook any further as it will reduce the tarragon flavour.


Once cool, it can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It goes well with toast or breadsticks. Enjoy!