“Stop the car!” exclaimed my daughter, Ashley, shortly after we left home. Hitting the brakes, I anxiously looked around. Both the woods on the left and fields and houses on the right looked the same as always.

“I saw sulphur shelves!” Ashley said.

Turning around, we crawled along until she spotted them again. Sulphur shelves are the neon signs of the mushroom world, warning-sign yellow underneath and electric orange on top. We had errands to run, but sulphur shelves were worth a delay. She ran into the woods, returning with a pile of flattish egg-sized lumps.

This has been a wonderful autumn for wild mushrooms. Last year few, if any, made an appearance, but this year’s cool temperatures and abundant rainfall have brought them out in full force.

Sulphur shelf clusters overlap and fuse, forming a “shelf” that can measure 18 or more inches across. They’re also called chicken mushrooms (they taste like mushroomy chicken, though large old ones are flavorless and inedibly tough); but I like the name evoking their vibrant colors glowing like a beacon in a shady forest. Less colorful but even more delicious mushrooms are making their appearance this fall: enormous clusters of hen-of-the-woods (also known as maitake), oysters, hedgehogs with prickly-appearing undersides, and icicles (also known as pompom, tooth, or lion’s-head). There are many others, but the above have no poisonous look-alikes, making them good choices for novices.

I’ve been mushroom foraging as long as I can remember, mostly for morels in spring.

My mom would gently shake me awake before dawn: “Get dressed,” she said. “We’re going hunting for sponge mushrooms before school.” There were trips to the Sangamon River banks, and to friends’ farms in the Illinois River valley. When meadow mushrooms profusely popped up on our lawn, we didn’t even have to hunt – not that we minded foraging; the experience was as rewarding as the mushrooms themselves. We didn’t have to search for giant puffballs, either.

Friends brought hen-of-the-woods occasionally, but for some reason my family didn’t hunt for mushrooms in fall; my folks had a “go-with-what-you-know” policy about wild mushrooms.

UIS professor emeritus and mycology expert Jim Veselenak says most people are cautious about wild mushrooms: “We see many more potential poisonings than actual ones. Most of the time, it’s immigrants, usually from Europe, who find something that looks like a mushroom they ate back home, but it’s not the same.”

Veselenak’s words reminded me of the mushrooms I saw displayed in tiny groceries in nearby Bohemian neighborhoods when living in Oak Park. I loved exploring those quirky stores, sadly now extinct: their sausages, some fat, some thin, some coiled and pierced with a wooden skewer; mysterious jars of pickled mushrooms and vegetables, preserves and breads. In fall, out front were baskets of mushrooms with yellow spongy undersides, bits of twigs and dried leaves still clinging to them. I bought the delicious sausages and other things, including dense and chewy rye breads, but never found the courage to try the mushrooms, which was probably just as well.

Once back in Springfield, the woods across from us provided few morels. But during family walks in the autumn woods, we saw many mushrooms of many different kinds. We bought a field guide, but still weren’t completely comfortable about which were safe. So when Veselenak offered a community education class on mushroom identification years ago, my husband and I eagerly signed up.

We learned a lot from Veselenak. We learned that while there are quite a few mushrooms that can make you sick, those that are actually fatal are rare. We learned to make spore prints and distinguish between gill attachments as well as other aids for identification. Most importantly, we learned that if we stuck to varieties that were easily identifiable and didn’t have dangerous lookalikes — such as the ones above — and if we cooked them thoroughly, we could eat our fungi finds without fear.

Veselenak no longer offers identification classes, but he welcomes calls and is always happy to help identify mushrooms. Contact him at 217-206-7346.

Is there any reason for caution about the wild mushrooms that appear on so many restaurant menus and in groceries? Almost surely not. Neither restaurants or groceries are foolish enough to risk poisoning customers; it’s a safe bet they only buy “wild” mushrooms from reputable suppliers.

Unfortunately, it’s far more common that mushrooms described as “wild” are cultivated, not wild. They may be less common than good old button mushrooms, but they’re no wilder. Yes, I’m a geeky stickler for semantics, but I’m annoyed when I’ve ordered something with wild mushrooms and see only cremini on my plate. Don’t get me wrong — I have no problem with cultivated mushrooms, button or otherwise. I routinely cook, eat and enjoy them, and I’m glad they’re affordable and available. Just don’t call cultivated shitake, cremini, portabello, oyster, etc. mushrooms “wild.” A more accurate adjective is “exotic,” although even that’s become a stretch for commonplace cremini and portabellos.

If you learn which wild mushrooms are safe and go foraging, you may find a delicious treasure. But even if you don’t, it’s a wonderful way to experience autumn’s beauty.

I haven’t been able to go foraging this fall, but I was lucky enough to buy a mediumsized hen-of-the-woods cluster and some huge oyster mushrooms from farmers at the Old Capitol Farmers Market last week (sporadically throughout the market season, another farmer sells cultivated oyster mushrooms). I grilled the oyster mushrooms, and from the hen-of-the-woods that weighed in at just under 3 pounds, had enough for several meals and several packages to freeze.

Tips for cleaning and cooking wild mushrooms

Wild mushrooms often require quite a bit of cleaning, especially those that grow close to the ground or on rotted trees. A few tools make the job easier and faster: a paring knife, some lint-free towels and paper towels and a soft bristled toothbrush. Special mushroom brushes are sold in culinary specialty shops and catalogues, but a toothbrush gets into crevices more easily. I also have a bowl of tepid water nearby, but others would disagree.

Debate exists over whether to wash wild mushrooms and/or soak them in salt water to help rid them of insects. Some believe that using any water at all decreases their flavor; others argue that it’s the best way to rid them of dirt and bugs. I avoid washing them under running water or soaking them if at all possible. But sometimes the mushrooms have enough dirt, twigs, decayed leaf bits, and/ or insects that it’s necessary if they’re going to be eaten at all. If mushrooms must be washed or soaked, do it quickly and let them dry on cloth towels, bottoms down, before cooking. Most often, I give an especially dirty specimen a quick dunk in the water bowl or wipe with a wet towel or second toothbrush (keep one dry).

Separate cluster mushrooms into pieces before cleaning. Use the paring knife to cut away inedible stems and bad spots and to scrape away dirt and debris. Sometimes a fingernail works best of all.

Never, ever eat wild mushrooms raw – always cook them thoroughly before eating! This rule is absolute for several reasons, including making sure any harmful microbials that may have gotten on the mushrooms from their surroundings are removed. While there are a number of ways to prepare wild mushrooms, such as grilling or frying; many folks, including me, feel the best way to enjoy wild mushrooms is to simply sauté them in unsalted butter, then season them simply with salt and pepper. That’s also the best way to freeze wild mushrooms. Make sure to use enough butter so that the mushrooms are completely covered so they don’t get freezer burn. The butter will take on the mushrooms’ flavor; any excess can be used in other ways.

Contact Julianne Glatz at realcuisine.jg@gmail.com.