A Different Kind of Hunt

August is a great time of the year to find some delicious wild edibles in the woods of Minnesota.  Mushrooms in particular are typically found in abundance as long as you know where and when to look. 

One of the easiest mushrooms to identify for the beginner is called a Hydnum Repandum or "Hedgehog" mushroom, for obvious reasons.

The underside of this type of mushroom has teeth which are a very distinguishing characteristic that helps you positively identify it against its other non-edible/poisonous cousins.  The teeth are reminiscent of a hedgehog's back quills and they seem out-of-place on the otherwise soft mushroom surface. 

I had never harvested this type of mushroom before, so when my dad invited me to go pick some Hedgehogs, I was excited for a new adventure.  He had already found some at a site very close to his home, so it was an almost guaranteed harvest.  This made it the perfect foraging option for my daughter to tag along on as well, so three generations headed out on the mushroom hunt. 

We quickly found some fun, but undesirable, mushrooms along with a stray Lobster here or there. 

Coral

Lobster

Within minutes we had found a Hedgehog and knelt down to find more.  As with other mushrooms I have hunted, the same holds true for Hedgehogs; where there is one, there's likely a few.  

Their toothy underside made them exciting and easy to find, especially for my daughter.  Before long we had our baskets filled with plenty of mushrooms for our upcoming dinner.  

We did a little more exploring, checked some trail cameras and headed in to clean up.  

This was a great entry-level experience for my daughter and she is hooked on this "different type of hunt" now too!  They were a delicious addition to our family dinner and everyone enjoyed our "woods to table" contribution.

How do you #earnyourwild?

Written by ReelCamo Girl ProStaff Tara Hokuf