November 2025
Mycoscope
Of Forests and Spices | | We grew oyster mushrooms in a pumpkin... and it was a success!
The results will be available soon on our social media channels. In the meantime, discover our growing kits so you can try it yourself. | | For the past twenty years in Montreal's Hochelaga neighborhood, Philippe and Ethné de Vienne have been selling spices they have collected from around the world. We collaborated with the well-known team at Épices de cru to create a tasty condiment: the Magic Blend. | | Mushrooms and spices are selected to enhance your dishes, whether they are roasted vegetables, sauces, soups, or grilled meats. We offer four simple recipes to convince you. The Magic Blend will be available starting November 13 online, at our store on St-Denis Street, and at the Épices de cru store at Jean-Talon Market in Montreal. | Lace up your boots for next year and get ready for adventure! Join our expert guides on an extraordinary wild mushroom foraging experience. Just a short drive—less than 120 km from Montreal—you’ll step into a world of discovery and enjoy a full immersion in the beauty of our forests. Already on the calendar for next July: | | -
Saturday, July 11, 2026 in the Eastern Townships -
Sunday, July 19, 2026, also in the Laurentians Each outing includes a guided walk, practical identification session with the mushrooms you collect, and a tasting experience. Reserve your spot now for one of these unforgettable days of learning and fun! | Enjoy exploring the great outdoors? Fascinated by mushrooms? Ready to master the art of wild foraging? Join us on the path to becoming a true Mushroom Hunter/Gatherer—an adventurer of the forest! This class is in French with bilangual support. | | Our intensive course on January 24–25, 2026, plus one foraging excursion during the 2026 season, is the perfect opportunity to: -
Identify our species: Master identification, from the finest edibles to the most toxic. -
Understand the science: Dive into ecology and sustainable harvesting techniques. -
Go professional: Learn regulations, handling, preservation, and strategies for marketing wild mushrooms. Whether your goal is to lead mycotourism groups, sell wild mushrooms commercially, or simply deepen your passion, this course is your next step forward. | On Sunday morning, March 1, 2026, a Mycoboutique expert will share their passion and expertise. You’ll learn proven techniques to cultivate several popular varieties such as oyster mushrooms, shiitake, and lion’s mane. Whether indoors (buckets, grow bags) or outdoors (logs, garden beds), you’ll discover how to maximize your harvests. The workshop ends with a hands-on activity—and you’ll leave with mushroom mycelium to kickstart your own cultivation! | | Rare Truffles In early October, a truffle hunter brought us some truffles harvested at the foot of trembling aspens: black in color, pea-sized, with a pleasant aroma, they were not our familiar Appalachian truffles (T. canaliculatum). Rather, they were North American red truffles, which are rarely found in this area. Related to the European species (T. rufum), they were more specifically truffles with a subtle gasoline-like aroma (T. separans). | | Their tiny size does not make them ideal for gourmet cuisine. However, their intense fragrance deliciously flavored the dish we prepared. Thank you to Alexandra Marzitelli for continuing a family tradition of foraging! | To store your truffles The season for the best truffles is beginning. Winter truffles, first the white ones (T. magnatum pico), then the black ones (T. melanosporum), are expensive and only stay fresh in the refrigerator for just over two weeks. Some people simply store them tightly sealed with rice or eggs, which will absorb their aroma. Vacuum packing is recommended, as it doubles their shelf life. | | Freezing at -18°C, preferably vacuum-packed, extends the shelf life to over a year, or even two years. Deep-freezing preserves mushrooms better and for longer, but is not accessible to everyone. If the mushroom weighs more than 50g, it is recommended to cut it up for gradual consumption. | Frozen truffles are sliced and used as is, or thawed in the refrigerator and consumed immediately. To learn more about these exceptional products, Field Guide to North American Truffles is a recommended book. If you want to treat yourself and your guests, we are taking orders. | | Things Are Brewing With Mushrooms! | The restaurant chain and microbrewery Les 3 Brasseurs is launching a unique beer with boreal flavors derived from our wild mushrooms. Chaga adds a woody, tannic note, while candy cap mushrooms, rich in sotolon, add aromas reminiscent of maple syrup and dried fruit. A beer that encapsulates the forest, to be enjoyed at any one of the Les 3 Brasseurs locations in Montreal. | | The Backhouse Brainwave : Innovative Mycotoilets | Fungi excel at recycling organic matter, and this talent is put to use in a variety of ways. For example, Prof. Dahmen's team at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is combining fungi and microbes to improve the decomposition of solid waste from dry toilets, which are essential facilities in cottages, campgrounds, and construction sites. | | These toilets emit foul odors and require laborious cleaning. As part of a project aimed at minimizing these inconveniences, several species are being tested, including oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor), and snowy inky cap mushrooms (Coprinopsis nivea). Since September 26, the University Botanical Garden has been home to the pilot experiment in a box covered with rot-resistant cedar and a green roof, equipped with a mini-fan. The hope is to reduce maintenance to four empties per year and eliminate 90% of unpleasant odors. This result was unexpected. | Species conservation is a vital concern today. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles a Red List of 50,000 threatened animal and plant species, struggles to identify vulnerable fungal species: of the 3,000 species listed, nearly 400 are believed to be at risk. In Canada, the Wild Species 2020 report touches on the fungal kingdom: of the 9,628 species listed, 203 are believed to be critically endangered, mainly lichens, including the Arctic teloschist presented here. | | Habitat loss, due to urbanization or logging, is the most commonly cited risk, to which we must now add climate change, with its multifaceted impacts. In fact, our lack of knowledge about fungi makes counting them a matter of chance. It is thought that there are between two and ten million species of mycota, both micro and macro, of which only a small fraction has been identified. It is difficult to assess the vulnerability of a species whose existence is unknown. Foraging is sometimes questioned, even though foragers are effective agents of spore dispersal. Nevertheless, there are practices that promote preservation, which are discussed in our conferences and training sessions. | | | | |
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