(light music) - Okay, so I'm really excited about this.

I stumbled upon a beautiful fruiting patch of what is commonly called the hedgehog mushroom or the sweet tooth.

Sweet tooth conjures up images of kind of like fruitiness and desserts.

And that is one of the things that the hedgehog or sweet tooth mushroom can be used for.

But also, it's great in pastas.

And it's very similar to a chanterelle, which we were also lucky enough to stumble on some of those.

So the hedgehog or sweet tooth, oftentimes, foragers will find them both growing kind of in similar areas.

Mossy areas, hardwood.

So like elm, ash, bass wood.

And both mushrooms are actually mycorrhizal.

And that means they are growing in relationship with certain trees, or host trees, and they're sharing nutrients back and forth.

Both mushrooms, once you get to know them, they're very easy to identify.

And one of the telltale signs actually of both, and I'm actually gonna put the chant down 'cause we are talking about the lovely hedgehog mushroom.

If you smell it, it's got kind of that fruity smell.

Also, what's really fun and cool, mushrooms have so many different things going on underneath of their cap.

And what is underneath of their cap is part of how to ID a mushroom.

This one has what's called teeth, and I just think that's so cool.

And then for a chanterelle, they have what's called folds.

They grow in kind of dense patches, but then they will grow, like, as a single mushroom.

But they're very near their sibling mushrooms.

Both are excellent in pasta dishes, dessert dishes.

I actually make a really great cake.

And something to note as well, there are different growth stages of mushrooms.

They do grow fast, but they could look different a little bit at every stage of their life.

And so getting to know those mushrooms is so important.

Now, the hedgehog, it's pretty easy, right?

If it smells fruity and it's got the teeth.

And then also the stem is very, like, thick and it is white when you slice it open.

Chanterelles also, I mean, they look very different at different growth stages.

So just get to know your mushrooms.

Check multiple ID books.

You could do a spore print.

I mean, you can back that up by calling somebody you might know that knows about mushrooms.

So again, one of my favorites and a super, super fun find, he hedgehog mushroom, aka sweet tooth.