Foraging for Fungi

Tired of your usual weeknight dinners? Try incorporating wild mushrooms into your next dish! You can smoke, steam, bake, fry, or even serve them raw. They cook beautifully into soups and casseroles - while adding a fresh taste when topped on a salad. The Aztecs called wild mushrooms the flesh of the gods. If they’re good enough for the Aztecs, they’re good enough for us!

Here in Aptos Hills, there are several thousand varieties of mushrooms that grow wild. From October to April, edible wild mushrooms are readily available for those that are ready to face the forest. Wild mushrooms thrive in moist, damp conditions. So, it’s best to start your exploration in the winter or spring.

It’s important to remember that only a percentage of these mushrooms are edible and can be used to improve your next dish. Our local hunters use the saying, “when in doubt, throw it out!” to communicate an abundance of caution to our visitors. Being a pro at identifying edible wild mushrooms can be understood as an art form, taking years of practice. This is why we encourage visitors to leave the fungi identification to the Fungus Federation in order to avoid any accidents.

We have several experienced mushroom hunters that have explored our 15 acres of land for years, some discovering unique and rare types of fungi. Hunters are careful to conceal the location of their secret finds, keeping the enjoyment of the hunt for others intact.

Click here to see mushrooms on the hills of our R2 Hillside Ranch