To Eat or To Hunt, that is the question...

Many people have asked me which do I like most hunting mushrooms or eating them and I must confess this is indeed a conundrum for me and many other hunters. The joys of both are so fairly equal that it is hard to say. How do you measure this?

Is it based on time and resources? I certainly spend more time looking for fungi then I do eating it. Likewise, I spend more money on gas driving to potential spots, than I do on buying ingredients to go with them in my frying pan. But that does not seem a fair comparison.

Is it based on feelings? I mean I get a real rush when I stumble across a nice patch of morels or 1/2 acre of perfect chanterelles or that twenty pound hen of the woods (maitake). I have never gotten this same rush while eating them. Also, there is a flow to the hunt, a sort of oneness with the woods when you are out hunting. that connection although present is much less when eating them in your dining room. That's one reason I always enjoy eating mushrooms while camping because you get more of that when you cook them over an open fire burning from wood you also gathered. But is that a fair comparison?

So to be perfectly honest I cannot say which I like more. Stamets says that, "mushrooms help us reconnect to nature in profound ways." For me, hunting them and eating them makes me feel more alive.

I would really love to hear what you guys think. Please post a comment and let me know which you like best hunting them out or eating them up. Or feel free to share a story of how you connect with nature through mushrooms.