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Wild mushroom foraging in West Berkshire: Flaming hedgehogs!




THE wood hedgehog is one of the easiest wild mushrooms to identify – and one of the most beloved by chefs.

It's also known as the sweet tooth mushroom or by its fancy French moniker – pied de mouton, or sheep's foot.

It's great in all manner of dishes but, if you're feeling indulgent, then follow the recipe below...because who doesn't like dousing ingredients in brandy and setting light to them?

Hedgehog mushroom (60760756)
Hedgehog mushroom (60760756)

Before we go any further: this is NOT a formal guide to identification.

Get yourself a good guide book or, better still, befriend an expert and, if in doubt, leave it out, is the golden rule.

Look for the hedgehog mushroom amongst leaf litter in mixed woodland.

In the wild (60760813)
In the wild (60760813)

It's a great mushroom for beginners as it's so distinctive and there are no poisonous lookalikes.

The cap is creamy white, with a velvety feel and often an indentation which earned its French nickname.

There is occasionally an orange hue to the cap – but the most obvious feature lies beneath.

Instead of gills or sponge, this mushroom boasts hundreds of tiny spines.

It's best to remove these with a brush or they can spoil the look of your finished dish.

Brush the spines (60760866)
Brush the spines (60760866)

If your hedgehog mushroom seem quite small and salmon pink or pale orange, you may have the closely related terracotta hedgehog but, don't worry, they're good to eat, too, although less substantial.

The texture of both is firm and withstands long cooking well; the flavour is mild and slightly sweet.

Younger specimens are best because they are less brittle but, be warned: hedgehog mushrooms, like the chanterelle, do no re-constitute well after drying, unless chewing shoe leather is your thing.

They are best preserved by slicing, frying and freezing or by boiling and bottling in an oil and vinegar mix – for details and safety tips, see the second instalment in our foraging series entitled 'Porcini: Kings of the Forest.'

As well as working well in all manner of dishes where mushrooms are called for, if you really want to showcase these, then try slicing them and frying with onion and garlic, some lemon thyme and pepper.

Then douse them in brandy or calvados and flambee.

Season, finish with double cream and garnish with smoked paprika and finely chopped parsley, chives or whatever comes to hand.

That's some serious mushrooms on toast right there.



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