When Oregonians talk about going out to the woods to hunt for wild hedgehogs, fear not! No cute critters are being harmed on these expeditions. The hedgehog, or sweet tooth mushroom (Hydnum repandum) can be found in our forests from about the time other mushrooms pop up in the fall, and continue growing through mild periods of the winter and into the spring. Their flavor is a little sweeter than a chanterelle, and they are also a good source of Vitamin D for the winter diet. With all the rain and warm temperatures we’ve been having, the hedgehogs were out and about, and Corey managed to bring home a decent haul in just a couple hours up in the woods behind our house.
They are pretty unmistakable to identify with their prickly “teeth” covering the bottom of the cap.
And while we’re on the topic of mushrooms, I just have to show off this snazzy mushroom hunting knife. With a fold out blade on one side, and a brush to clean off the pine needles on the other, it’s very handy.
We will be using these in one of our favorite dishes in the morning, hedgehog scramble.*
I love having so much food right in our backyard!
*No cute critters were harmed in the making of this breakfast 😉
I love hedgehog…hedgehog animal and mushrooms!! 🙂
Oh how I wish I had more knowledge of wild mushrooms! The only thing we KNOW and are comfortable with are Morels, and we just love them. Those look delicious and I'll bet your breakfast was amazing!
My daughter has a shared pet hedgehog with her best friend. Hedgehogs of all kinds are a lot of fun!
Morels are by far my favorite, so we are hoping to figure out where to find them around our neck of the woods this spring. I grew up eating them from our back field and my dad used to scramble them with eggs. I am hungry just thinking about it. But, our hedgehog scramble was delicious and had goat cheese!
That sounds fantastic!
Where did you get your neato shrooming knife? I have a group of 'mushroom broads' I hunt with. We're planning our first trip for morels over memorial day weekend.
Corey found the knife on Amazon, but I was looking online the other day and there were a few other places that carried them as well. It has been super handy. Good luck morel hunting! I am hoping we will find some this year too.