Langdon Cook was minding his own business, picking burn morels in his cute lil' wicker basket, when he encountered a sight that spurred his curiosity--two people with massive crates filled to the brim with morel mushrooms--making his measly collection look puny in comparison.

Where did these people find such a bountiful harvest, and what can recreational pickers take away from their secrets??

That's exactly the question Langdon set out to answer when he wrote The Mushroom Hunters, and it turned into an even more revealing and wacky story than he could've imagined.

In this episode, we explore Langdon's journey on the "mushroom trail", the zany characters he encounters when researching the wild-foraged mushroom market, tips that you can bring into your own foraging, and recipes/applications of fresh or dried mushrooms that you find.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

4:15 - How The Mushroom Hunters came to fruition

8:30 - The Mushroom Trail

10:37 - Morels in the Midwest

12:45 - Meeting a picker in the PNW

13:57 - History of foraged mushrooms

18:08 - The buyer's side of things

21:05 - Commercial vs. Recreational pickers

24:20 - Demographics of the industry

29:28 - Burn morels & foraging tips

38:40 - Ecological Conditions to look for

47:39 - Grading Porcini and Matsutake

55:30 - Mushroom trade as a globalized business

58:00 - Culinary tips for dried mushrooms

1:02:30 - Recipes for fresh foraged mushrooms

Resources

Langdon's website

The Mushroom Hunters

Theme Music: Lacuna (ft. Sunsquabi) by Cloudchord

My info

Website: https://www.remarkablemushroomemporium.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkablemushroomemporium/

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