Here is a Dish with the Four
Different Kinds of Mushrooms that we found on 9/14/13.

1) Lobster Mushrooms - A strong hearty tasting mushroom
2) Chanterelles - An easy on the pallet mushroom
3) Pig's Ear - A delicacy - a delicate fine sophisticated taste
4) Shrimp Mushrooms - pleasant middle of the road tasting mushroom

-- Scroll down for more info --

Lobster Mushrooms
Scientific Name: Hypomyces lactifluorum

Lobster Mushrooms are a very special kind of Mushroom. They actually are not a mushroom at all, but rather a parasitic ascomycete that grows on mushrooms, turning them a reddish orange color that resembles the outer shell of a cooked lobster.

Lobster mushrooms start out as a Russula brevipes and they are later colonized by the parasitic ascomycete.

Below you can see an uncolonized Russula brevipes

Russula brevipes is commonly known as the short-stemmed russula.
It is edible, but not tasty. Its quality is improved once it is parasitised by the ascomycete fungus Hypomyces lactifluorum, thereby transforming it into a lobster mushroom

Chanterelle

Chanterelles are probably the best known edible fungus

They are known worldwide. They are common in North America, Northern Europe, Mexico, Asia, and in Africa.

Chanterelles are one of the easiest to find mushrooms due to their bright yellow color. However, care must be exercised to avoid several undesirable or poisonous "look alikes".

Pig's Ears
Scientifric Name: Gomphus clavatus

Pig's ear are truly exceptional and odd mushrooms. They have two or more irregularly shaped caps that arise from a common stem.

Pig's ear mushrooms have a musty and earthy aroma and flavor.

Pig's ears are a gournet delicay. They have a very firm and meaty texture that does well in soups, sauces, and baked dishes.

Fresh young specimens of this mushroom are what you need find to enjoy the best taste. Young specimens hade a beautiful lilac purple cast on the exterior surface.

Shrimp mushroom
also called Crab brittlegill
Scientific name: Russula xerampelina

Shrimp mushrooms smell like shrimp or crab when they are fresh. They smell faintly like fish at first, and they becomes more and more "shrimpish" as they get older. The smell remains even after the species has been cooked

The tase is mild and delicate.