source for wild dried mushrooms

Wild dried mushrooms are expensive. Is there a less expensive source for the mushrooms? I saw a large container at Williams Sonoma for $16.

For a bit of a drive you can try River Valley Mushroom Farm in Burlington Wisconsin

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19282&hilit=River+Valley+Mushroom+Farm

River Valley Mushroom Ranch
39900 60th Street
Burlington Wisconsin
262-539-3555

http://shroomskitchen.com/index.html

"Wild" seems to be a relative term on many restaurant menus, and by it many operations seem to wish to convey that they're serving something other than standard button 'shrooms. If what you're looking for is just that (some fungus beyond button), then I'm not sure you'll find better prices for dried mushrooms than at Asian grocery stores around Broadway/Argyle and Chinatown.

Ah, my nemesis. Cultivated exotic mushrooms that are passed off as "wild".

Shiitake, portobellas, oyster, and cremini are NOT wild. Chef's know better, so who are they trying to kid, their customers? A bad recipe that happens in many guises.

Wild are expensive as you forage for them, not grow them yourself. It's difficult, time consuming and luck plays a factor.

I saw some dried chanterelles and porcini recently @ Andy's Deli on North Milwaukee that were reasonably priced.

Jazzfood wrote:Ah, my nemesis. Cultivated exotic mushrooms that are passed off as "wild".

Shiitake, portobellas, oyster, and cremini are NOT wild. Chef's know better, so who are they trying to kid, their customers? A bad recipe that happens in many guises.

Wild are expensive as you forage for them, not grow them yourself. It's difficult, time consuming and luck plays a factor.

I saw some dried chanterelles and porcini recently @ Andy's Deli on North Milwaukee that were reasonably priced.

Fully agree. I notice, though, that River Valley (though they do sell many non-wild varieties) does offer morels.

Around the holidays I have found dried mushrooms for a decent price, though not "cheap" at Polish grocery stores/delis.
Have no idea what the variety is, however. They are woody/barky tasting and make a tremendous filling for pierogi or for stock and soups.

Food Nut wrote:Around the holidays I have found dried mushrooms for a decent price, though not "cheap" at Polish grocery stores/delis.
Have no idea what the variety is, however. They are woody/barky tasting and make a tremendous filling for pierogi or for stock and soups.

Those are likely boletes aka porcini.

Regards,

The Andy's I mentioned above is a Polish Deli.

Andy's Deli
5442 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
773.631.7304

I am such a broken record, but have you looked at Spice House? I've gotten chanterelles, at least, for excellent prices; I remember them having a large selection. I don't recall whether or not any are wild.

The Spice House
1512 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 274-0378

Costco has a large tub of mixed wild mushrooms in-store. They also have a 3 pack of wild/organic 4oz packages online.

Also, Far West Funghi (they're in the Ferry Building in San Francisco) has a large selection of dried offerings online.

http://store.farwestfungi.com/dried-mushrooms.html

spinynorman99 wrote:Also, Far West Funghi (they're in the Ferry Building in San Francisco) has a large selection of dried offerings online.

http://store.farwestfungi.com/dried-mushrooms.html

Have you ordered from them before?

I've ordered online and purchased on-site. Very reliable. I was just out there and I'm going back in a few weeks. I love them (and shopping the Ferry Building).

I was in Europe about this time last year and we hit several city markets where we saw small mountains of chanterelles for about $6/kilo. I would eat them daily if I lived there.

spinynorman99 wrote:Costco has a large tub of mixed wild mushrooms in-store. They also have a 3 pack of wild/organic 4oz packages online.

Looking at the one we purchased a while back - unfortunately don't remember the price - and it lists dried morels, porcini, Brazilian caps(?), portabellas, shiitake, and oyster. The package notes a website which is the following:

http://www.gourmetstore.com/shop-online ... HROOMS.cgi

I find the quality of the dried mushrooms from the Polish delis varies wildly... some are very gritty (i.e., so gritty that extraordinary means must be taken to make them useable), some extra buggy, some not all that deeply flavourful... But sometimes they are quite good and the price is typically pretty good and if you use dried mushrooms as much as I do, they are an option one uses...

High grade porcini from Italy in the specialty shops around town are pretty consistent in their (high) quality but, indeed, very expensive... Of course, they are not cheap in Italy either but especially for the quality one can find, they are cheaper than here...

Fresh ones too...

Quite miraculously I discovered an enormous vacuum-packed bag of highest quality dried porcini in my kitchen when I got back from Italy recently... Comme se dixe a Zena, o mondo o l'é de chi se-o piggia... e ascì i funzi...

Antonius

Rick T. wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Costco has a large tub of mixed wild mushrooms in-store. They also have a 3 pack of wild/organic 4oz packages online.

Looking at the one we purchased a while back - unfortunately don't remember the price - and it lists dried morels, porcini, Brazilian caps(?), portabellas, shiitake, and oyster. The package notes a website which is the following:

http://www.gourmetstore.com/shop-online ... HROOMS.cgi

At my Costco, I saw a half-pound jar of Gourmet Mushroom Blend (by Manitou) for around $16. It contained Morels, Porcini, Brazilian caps, Ivory Portabellas, Shiitakes, and Oyster mushrooms.

One of the Eastern European sections of Marketplace on Oakton (one of the rows relatively near the deli on the deli side of the building) has a large selection of different small packages of dried mushrooms - I think some are boletes.

shorty wrote:

Rick T. wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Costco has a large tub of mixed wild mushrooms in-store. They also have a 3 pack of wild/organic 4oz packages online.

Looking at the one we purchased a while back - unfortunately don't remember the price - and it lists dried morels, porcini, Brazilian caps(?), portabellas, shiitake, and oyster. The package notes a website which is the following:

http://www.gourmetstore.com/shop-online ... HROOMS.cgi

At my Costco, I saw a half-pound jar of Gourmet Mushroom Blend (by Manitou) for around $16. It contained Morels, Porcini, Brazilian caps, Ivory Portabellas, Shiitakes, and Oyster mushrooms.

I think those may be the same as I referenced but the weight is .8 oz, not 8 oz. Appreciate the cost update.

Rick -- thanks for the correction.

Treasure Island is a very good source - in addition to the usual dried porcini, morels, shiitakes, and such, they routinely carry an expanded repertoire including chanterelles and lobster 'shrooms, plus a variety of Asian fungi. Definitely worth a try.

Hi,

At Smilga, I saw a rather large container of dried chanterelles for $12. For what they were, I thought it was a very good price.

Smilga
2819 83rd Street
Darien, IL
630-427-0929

M-Sat 8 am--10 pm
Sun 10 am--9 pm

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

At Smilga, I saw a rather large container of dried chanterelles for $12. For what they were, I thought it was a very good price.

Smilga
2819 83rd Street
Darien, IL
630-427-0929

M-Sat 8 am--10 pm
Sun 10 am--9 pm

Regards,

Is it a secret?

Tim wrote:Is it a secret?

If it were, I wouldn't have said.

Where you can obtain fresh ones in July and August: Lake County.

Regards,

there's a great mushroom vendor at Green City Market.

i picked up a mason jar full of dried Hen of the Woods mushrooms fairly recently, i think it was $14 but a rather large jar. they were fantastic. he forages them himself.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

...a rather large container...

Smilga
2819 83rd Street
Darien, IL
630-427-0929

M-Sat 8 am--10 pm
Sun 10 am--9 pm

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Tim wrote:Is it a secret?

If it were, I wouldn't have said.

Where you can obtain fresh ones in July and August: Lake County.
Regards,

I can't remember your mentioning the definition of rather large. Is that a secret?

Tim.

I now catch your drift: it was a container with no weight mentioned, by volume it seemed around 2-3 cups. For dried mushrooms who loose substantial amounts of weight, that is a lot of chanterelles.

On the negative side, I have some dried chanterelles from Russia. I wasn't too excited by them. These may be a mushroom better preserved cooked in butter and frozen.

Regards,

We just visited River Vally Ranch in Wisconsin. I know that they frequent many Chicagoland farmers markets. This place is pretty cool. Located just off Hwy 60-between Lake Geneva and Kenosha the trip from Chicago is well worth it. We purchased a Mushroom Medely bag-consisting of 1 pound baby bellas, 1/4 pounds each of oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Reg price is $10.49 but we got it from the clearance fridge for $7.50. Delicious-I have just been pan frying with butter. The selection of Wisconsin artisinal cheeses is ok-we picked up a silky blue cheese for$6(?) a pound. Crumbly yet smooth on a piece of bread. Lots of fresh potatos, onions and artichokes on offer. Plenty of jar salsas, garlic and cheese spreads as well as pasta sauces, pickled veggies. I guess the 5 cheese garlic spread is the most poplular jar sold but we did not get this. The best thing we bought was a portabella parmesan prepared dinner. OMG! Huge breaded portabella mushrooms smothered in a marinara sauce over perfectly cooked pasta which withstood repeated reheating. For $8.99 it gave us three meals for two adults. A perfect Lenten Friday meal. It is about 6 miles E of Lake Geneva. There looked like a cool butcher/sausage shop about 2 miles farther east but we did not stop-next visit.

Costco here in Montréal has recently begun selling mixed dried mushrooms in a one-lb bag for c.$20US. They're excellent quality, with no grit. If they're here, it's likely they're there too.

Geo