Lobster Mushroom: Funky Fungi

When I came up with the name for this article, it brought to mind the image of a variety of mushrooms wearing 80’s attire and moving around uncontrollably in a disco club. I thought that seemed silly and considered changing it. However, for the lobster mushroom, the image actually isn’t too far off.

The lobster mushroom doesn’t naturally come about. It’s actually a few different species of mushrooms, usually either Russula brevipes or Lactarius piperatus, which “wear” an orange-colored coat when attacked by the parasitic fungus Hypomyces lactifluorum. This parasite further forces the host mushroom to move and twist into odd shapes- perhaps not as smoothly as a disco dancer, but it twists nonetheless.

These twists cause the gills of the host mushroom to almost disappear and the cap to become spotted or mottled. While the mushrooms may be changed and are technically being used by a parasite, we benefit. The texture becomes granular and brittle while the host mushrooms layered flavors are enhanced by Hypomyces lactifluorum. This creates a full-bodied taste that very commonly resembles seafood and, of course, lobsters.

For whatever reason, I haven’t yet gotten a chance to experiment with lobster mushrooms like I want to. However, I once had an omelet filled with sautéed lobster and chanterelle mushrooms, cheddar cheese, and green onions. Needless to say, the results were amazing. I’ve also been told lobster mushrooms taste great in stuffing, pasta dishes, stews, and cream sauces.

Lobster mushrooms can be found growing under hemlock trees from mid-summer to fall in Europe, Canada, and North America, especially throughout the Pacific Northwest. You can forage for them yourself or look for them at your local specialty grocery store. Unfortunately, many grocery stores do not carry lobster mushrooms, but if you run into that problem, fresh lobster mushrooms can be purchased online during their regular season and dried lobster mushrooms can be bought year-round.

Okay, maybe lobster mushrooms don’t have that much in common with disco dancers out of the 80’s, but both of them are wonderfully funky in their own ways. So if you’re looking to make a dish that has both the flavor and texture of seafood with or without meat, dance with the lobster.