It was not part of a business plan, but a 15-kg edible wild mushroom that grew in the forests on the outskirts of Durham, North Carolina six years ago, was the first sale of the American Frank Hyman. The delicacy was bought by chefs in the center of town for $ 351 in less than three hours.
The lion's mane, an abnormally large mushroom, is favored by the winter weather. It is completely covered by a layer of white hairs - hence the name. This one was so high in an oak that to catch it, Hyman had to climb a 2.5 meter ladder. Clinging to the tree, with a bread knife in one hand and the smell of fresh mushroom on his face, he pulled it out of its natural habitat.
Hyman says he took the mushroom home in five shopping bags, all full. The lion's mane has the color and texture of crabmeat, so it's usually fried as a hamburger and used in recipes "faux crab cakes". But he could not imagine how to eat it all. We then stored one of the bags in the fridge and decided to go out to sell the rest to restaurants while it was still fresh. He returned two hours later, sporting half a dozen checks in his hands.
For first-class edible mushrooms, chefs even pay the kilo the same amount they would pay for filet mignon: something between $ 12 a single Laetiporus mushroom of 2.2 kg can be worth $ 100.
Before that first day with the lion's mane, Hyman never thought he could earn a cent by looking for mushrooms. Seven years ago, he signed up for his first mushroom-hunting treadmill out of sheer willingness to be outdoors and get some food. His idea was at best to meet some nature lovers and return home with a basket of edible and sophisticated small fungi.
But the original idea turned out to be an addiction. Looking for mushrooms looked like a treasure hunt for adults. To Hyman's surprise, these hunts now bring real treasures - on the order of $ 200 per hour. To save time (which increases yield), he has learned to keep an inventory of dates and locations so he can revisit productive trees and add new ones as he finds them.
Heavy rains last October spawned an explosion of maitake, laetiporus and lion mane mushrooms that grow on trees that Hyman had previously encountered. Looking sporadically for mushrooms between Columbus Day (9 October) and Thanksgiving (23 November) last year, he found about 55 kg of these three species. In the end, he earned more than $ 2,500 in about 12 hours of searching and selling.
With these values, it would naturally be tempting to make it a full-time job. Hyman says he knows some people who do this, but he prefers not to take his hobby that far. As an old member of the "gig economy" - a marketplace based on freelance work - he already has a collection of income sources: political campaigning, magazine sales, stone wall building. Looking for mushrooms gives you another opportunity to avoid your biggest fear: a formal job.
For a self-employed and semi-retired worker, mushroom hunting can yield valuable dishes, outdoor fun and perhaps even some quick cash. You do not have to be a fungus mycologist to learn to differentiate edible mushrooms from poisonous ones - you just need to be a careful person and never eat or share anything you are not 100% sure about.
The best way for a beginner to start would be to google somebody who already practices this type of activity in their region or some mushroom rich region for which they plan to travel. Another suggestion is to find sites of professionals of the area or reports on them. So just contact the specialist and attend your classes or express interest in hiring him for a consultancy.
Another key step is to dive into books. A regional guide on mushrooms is the best place to start, in addition to the book "100 Edible Mushrooms" by Michael Kuo (still without Portuguese version). These two and Ellen Zachos' "Backyard Foraging" also make a good trio - Zachos talks about some of the most common mushrooms, as well as edible plants commonly found in gardens.
Finally, it is important to choose the right accessories: a computer to keep an inventory of the dates and locations of your findings, a pocket knife to cut the mushrooms, a brush to remove waste without damaging them, plastic bags for plants and paper bags For mushrooms (so they do not rot) and a basket or bag to carry.
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