The sudden cold snap in Southern Ontario introduced deep minus overnight temperatures. I think that will mark the end of blewitts, shaggy parasols, orange milkies and other mushrooms.
Tricholomas will probably proliferate after the frost. Unfortunately none of them are on my list of edibles. Too many similar gray species and some are known to be causing severe gastric upset.
The mushroom that I look forward to pick is late fall oyster (Panellus serotinus). It is very good edible, greatly under valued and neglected. It will be very hard to find any sources with information about cooking this mushroom.
They grow exclusively on logs and trees. If they are on the live tree, it usually means that it is dying. It greatly prefers older logs with still some bark on them. The size can vary, but cap rarely grows more then 7-8 cm.
Color is mainly shades of dark green but can turn tan and yellowish if frozen or growing in the some hole.
The gills are dirty yellow-tan and quite dense.
Frequently caps create overlapping layers, similar to oyster mushroom, hence the name.
The stalk is completely absent. It is worth mentioning that freezing does not hurt the flash and they are perfectly usable after thawing.
They dry very well. Flash is quite firm and stays compact during cooking. This mushroom is excellent in soups, sauces and goulash type dishes.
