A Foray Into Foraging

Rah Thomas | November 11, 2024

Posted in: eating vegan, Foraging, meat alternatives, Vegan recipes

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Foraging: the act of searching for food

Today, it seems that the most foraging many people do is in their own pantry. As a species, humans have been foraging the land for as long as we’ve existed, just like all other animals. We don’t belong to the kin of “sun eaters,” so we must gather our sustenance from other life forms. Some of us have made the choice to remove animals from our plates.

Mushrooms can fill that space on our plates as a meat substitute. While they aren’t known to have a high protein content, they’re treated as meat from a culinary standpoint. Mushrooms are more like animals than plants. Animals and fungi share a common ancestor that split from plants about 1 billion years ago, and after that, they divided again to form their own kingdoms that we know today.

In my most recent foray in the woods (OK, I was throwing Frisbees, knocking into trees) I found some “dinosaur eggs.” These beauties are commonly known as puffball mushrooms. There are many different species of puffballs. Some are so tiny that they don’t even make much of a snack, but giant ones can feed an army (or at least a gaggle of vegan children, who eat about as much as an army). Not all puffballs are edible, and they DO have deadly poisonous lookalikes—so always be certain you know what you’re harvesting before consuming. Puffballs are in the phylum Basidiomycota, but many different species are in different genera.

Autumn, especially October, is a great time to learn mushrooms. Many mushroom species love cool, wet weather, and this is the time of year to find them. Learning to identify them is easier when you have them right in front of you to study, rather than looking at pages of a book or a digital screen.

Here’s the method I used to cook my puffballs.

Rah’s Puffball Chick’n Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 giant puffball mushroom (Be certain that it is, in fact, an edible puffball!)
• 1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs or panko (This is where you can experiment with spices and seasonings. Add cayenne and chili powder for some heat, garlic powder and mixed herbs for an Italian taste, flaked seaweed and ginger powder for an Asian flare—let your imagination run wild.)
• Oil for frying
• Buns or sandwich bread
• Your favorite sandwich accoutrements

Method

1. Start by peeling your puff, if desired (as they get a “skin”), and making sure it’s as clean as possible. It’s usually not advised to “wash” mushrooms in water. Cut into half-inch-thick slices.
2. Dip the slices in the aquafaba.
3. Dredge them in the seasoned breadcrumbs or panko.
4. Cook the breaded slices in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.
5. Put on a bun or between slices of bread with your favorite sandwich toppings.
6. Enjoy!

You can also bake your puff slices instead of frying them in oil. They don’t get quite as crispy, but it’s a healthier and still very tasty option!

*****

Before you partake in foraging, know the ethics involved—don’t be a poacher. Learning from books or websites is great, but getting out there with a knowledgeable teacher is the best way to learn. Start slow; learn the plants or fungi well before jumping in to play chef.

Rah Thomas teaches foraging and herbalism classes in the south central Pennsylvania area. She is a certified reflexologist with certifications in herbalism and foraging.