Every year I try to introduce something new on my table.

Brick top mushroom is quite common in later part of fall and I encounter sometimes prolific growths on regular basis. For several reasons I never bothered to pick and try to eat this particular mushroom. First, there is a warning in every field guide I have concerning  poisonous Sulfur tuft (Hypoloma fasciculare) that is apparently very similar to Brick top. Second, it is a smallish mushroom without any actual substance and that makes it hard to collect enough for a meal.

Over the years I never encountered anything similar to Sulfur tuft, so I guess it is rear in this part of Ontario. The only similar mushroom left is Hypoloma capnoides, but that one is supposed to have much lighter cap.  Both Hypoloma capnoides and sublateritium have smoky, grayish gills (although very young Brick top will have quite yellow gills). Since Hypoloma capnoides is also edible there is no danger in mixing these two species.

So this year while picking Late fall oysters I decided to get a handful of Brick tops and give it a try. The best way to try new mushroom is to saute in butter on medium heat until almost all water is evaporated. Salt is added at the very end.

I was quite pleasantly surprised with the taste. The nearest thing I can compare it with is Horse mushroom (Agaricus arvensis). Very mild and pleasant on the palate.

The next time on the trails I picked some greater quantity and dried them. The end result was looking very good. I will check how it reconstitutes and what is the taste in couple of months.

The good thing is that even after being frozen mushroom is still usable.