Best mushrooms & truffles according to redditors

Mmmmm morels.

Yeah he should probably sell them.

I used a piece of poplar from a recently cut down tree and inoculated it with these plugs: https://www.amazon.com/Oyster-Mushroom-Mycelium-Plug-Spawn/dp/B01I05DSFA
Just follow the instructions with the plug kit.
Here is a video of the technique I used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRUgnoRiqck
Also, apparently these logs continue to make mushrooms for a couple years

Focus on flavour. As a long term veggie/2-day old vegan who lives with a vegan I have learned that you can't just chuck cheese, cream, (or in your case meats), in to ramp up the meal satisfaction. Now that I can't run out for a Snickers anymore I'm going to have to re-double on this. I have been doing my prep so that I can stay vegan.

Learn to cook in ways that add that satisfaction back in. Have fun and experiment.

Umami is a great word and a life-saver. If you are not familiar with it it is that rich flavour from glutamates that makes your salivary glands really kick in. So include glutamates in your cooking - cooked mushrooms, dried porcini mushrooms, seaweed, spinach, rich tomato sauces, yeast flakes (with added B12), soy sauce, etc. MSG is just crystalline glutamates, it's the same stuff as you get in the foods above so there is no shame in sprinkling a little on for a boost, much as you might add salt for savour if soy sauce was the wrong thing to add for saltiness.

A bit of fat doesn't hurt, you need some for a balanced diet. Just as importantly it adds to mouth-feel, general satisfaction and slows down the moment when you get hungry again compared to carbs. Olive oil, vegetable oil, veggie suet (depending on your palm-oil production/deforestation views) are all good ways to cheer yourself up.

Proteins: yup you will really struggle to go short on proteins unless you go completely overboard on restricting your diet, so don't worry too much. But protein is deeply satisfying, so you will probably need some with each meal to keep you on vegan-track. It switches off hunger really quickly but more than that there is some primal satisfaction in it. You should have seen my long term vegan SO's face when we found an "all-you-can-eat Thai vegan buffet" restaurant one time. She just tore through the proteins grinning like a scary barracuda. You will also learn to loathe restaurants where their idea of a vegan option is to take the last shred of protein fun out of their already under-sized veggie option. tl:dr protein keeps you happy, eat a bit with most main meals.

Stock: Cheat religiously. Find veggie stock cubes or powders that you like. Veggie Oxo works for us, YMMV. The saviour stock cube if you can get it is porcini, we can get Star, but I think Knorr do one as well. Used judiciously it adds so much umami and mushroomy goodness. To improve on cheating always keep the water that you boil your veggies and potatoes in and use that as a base for a soup or stew with a stock cube as well.

Cheesiness: Yes, you will probably miss cheese. Yeast flakes add a lovely cheesiness to sauces, gravies, toppings. Add some English mustard powder to make it stronger and more cheddary. For parmesan replacement blitz 1 cup of yeast flakes, 1 cup walnuts and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a powder and sprinkle it on your pasta. The existence of this stuff is what convinced me I could switch from veggie to vegan ;)

Flavourings: Find sauces that you like. Favourite Thai chilli sauce, soy sauce, etc. You need them to make tofu the joy that it can be but rarely is. Get a vegan Worcester Sauce replacement, we have Hendos, not sure what you have <insert where you live here>.

I need to shut up soon so:

Vegan Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Needed for cold damp days, or when your soul feels cold and damp. Find out which veggie stock flavouring suits you. All measurements are flexible. Find out what works for you. It's more fun. Chop a load of onion, celery, garlic and carrot really fine. Soften them gently in oil in a big pan for longer than recipe books usually say till they are soft and sweet and rich. Do not burn. Add water and stock flavouring of choice to make up a big broth. If you can't add in at least one porcini stock cube then blend a load of dried porcini mushroom to powder and bung that in. Expensive but worth it. Slice some carrot into dollars and add. Now for the transformational bit. Chop a metric shit-ton of fresh parsley and dill. More than that, trust me. Add half of it in while the broth is cooking. Make some small dumplings (50:50 by weight not volume self-raising flour and veggie suet, a pinch of salt, a handful of chopped parsley, add a splash of water to make a firm dry dough) and boil them in the broth for about 10 mins. Once cooked (eat one!) spoon them out and add some black pepper and the rest of the parsley and dill. The surface of the broth should be a green slick of herbs. Serve in bowls so that everyone gets some carrot slices and a few dumplings.

Edit: tl:dr #2 Don't be hair-shirt about it. Be generous with food, flavour and texture.

And good luck. Your taste buds will change, your range of flavours will grow. This is a good thing. Be nice to yourself :)

Edit: formatting

It's probably this stuff. Pesto with a bit of truffle dust added, rather than truffles in a pool of pesto.

yah, I saw fresh one here last year for >$15 a lb. Not that expensive for a bomb ass mushroom but when you are used to getting them for free, its expensive as hell. if you cant find dried ones in town, you can find them online

So far my ideas include:

• Mushroom plugs - inoculate logs in your local forest with your favorite fungi. Feels like cheating though.
  
• Books? Maybe this one?
  
• Baskets? Is there a "best" mushroom collection vessel?
  
• A food dehydrator might come in handy. Is there a preferred brand/feature for mushroomers?
  
  

reminded me of this which I came across yesterday
The reviews tell all

You can find brined truffles on amazon, they aren't hard to find. They are available at many fancy grocery stores. Brined can't be made into perfect beautiful thin slices like the summer truffles above, but they aren't unobtainable.

I wouldn't grate raw portabello over dishes, sounds pretty nasty. I don't know what exactly you are trying to say here.

http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Black-Winter-Truffles-45/dp/B0002Q1X6C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1309577015&sr=8-4

You can do something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Creek-Mushroom-Farm-10LGNOTRAY/dp/B000BWSL6W

There are non-photosynthetic plants, like Monotropa uniflora or Epipogium aphyllum, that have no chlorophyll, but nothing edible, as far as I know. I think you're limited to fungi.

truffles instead of salt?

This is not cheap, but you only use like 1/4 tsp per serving...

http://www.amazon.com/Roland-Black-Truffle-Cream-2-8-Ounce/dp/B001EO7IBU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332372293&sr=8-1

I received some as a gift and it definitely works in eggs...

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Answer-Alcohol-Free-Rhodiola-1-Fluid/dp/B0014AROXQ/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1487194960&sr=8-2&keywords=rhodiola+rosea+tincture





https://www.amazon.com/Banyan-Botanicals-Pruriens-Kapikacchu-Extract/dp/B00CZCZ7CM/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1487195044&sr=8-1&keywords=mucuna+pruriens+tincture



https://www.amazon.com/Cordyceps-militaris-8oz-dried-Mushroom-Powder-Myceliated/dp/B007FHEUCK/ref=sr_1_9_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1487195065&sr=8-9&keywords=cordyceps+powder




I told ya, I don't go in depth with those things. I just find the cheapest because my financial status is kinda bad atm.

Either way, a recipe can be changed to your taste. Find what works for you. Experiment with dosages and different noots to find what works for you, because everyone's brain chemistry is different. What may work for me, may not work for you. That's the point with biohacking: experimenting. Isn't it ?

Here are the two vendors I've used for a while.

Dried Lion's Mane (Monkey Head)... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LCDDVBL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Dried Lion's Mane Mushrooms - 16... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3T4TTC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Here are some links for Porcini Mushroom Powder, Portobello Mushroom Powder, Shiitake Mushroom Powder, Reishi Mushroom Powder, and powders consisting of mixed assorted mushrooms like this five mushroom one, this fourteen mushroom one, and my favorite of the lot: this ten mushroom blend. I utilize mushroom powders in soups, sauces, gravies and dry rubs for steaks and meats. One of my favorite ways to use porcini mushroom powder is to make homemade or frozen French fries, dribble them with truffle-infused oil, sprinkle sea salt and porcini mushroom powder and grated sharp white cheddar on top. It's my own version of poutine!

Exactly! I did a double take when I walked by them at the store.

I got them at Costco. They’re amazing and if you like mushrooms you’ll love them!

I found them on Amazon but holy moly they are not cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Snak-Yard-Shiitake-Mushroom-Seasoned/dp/B07TTKMSFG