MATSUTAKE TIME above 8500-feet!!! It’s Joy’s favorite ‘shroom, and she gets so excited when looking for “humps” in the duff at the base of Ponderosa Pines–White Matsu’s (Tricholoma magnivelare, aka Mutsutake) in Colorado are like truffles in that they often do NOT break the ground surface. Therefore, they’re a little harder to find.
Because it’s now bow-hunting elk, black-powder deer, and soon-to-be bear hunting season season up here, ‘shroomers need to be as conspicuous at possible. Here’s what Joy is wearing this Matsutake hunting season:
Note all the red; the bells hanging from her belt, two types of red trowels (long and short), and the whistle hanging from her hat. Yup, Joy is always safety conscious when it comes to dressing up for matsutakes.
The next picture shows Joy about to dig up a Matsu:
She’s scrapped the duff (all those pine needles) away and is ready to dig up and SMELL the mushroom. Colorado Matsu’s smell like “Red Hots Candy” to us; some less-educated noses claim they have a bouquet like “dirty tennis shoes!”
Here’s her beauty up close:
Note the off-white color of the gills, the ring on the stem. This is one CHOICE tasting mushroom. It is prized by the Japanese (e.g., matsu-take means pine-mushroom) and the Chinese (they call it Song rong) for it’s spicy-aromatic odor. Early season Japanese Matsutakes can cost up to $2000 per kilogram in Tokyo!
Here’s Joy holding another Matsutake:
Note the veil hasn’t torn yet, so there is no ring on the stem.
And here’s Joy goofing with two Matsutakes she found yesterday:
Now for something completely different:
We think “Vuggie” looks pretty sexy with her new personalized plates.
Happy Camping and ‘Shroomin’. T & Joy