How to use a mushroom knife

Mushroom knife: how to use it?

Mushroom knife features

The mushroom knife is a must-have for mushroom-picking enthusiasts, whether in the forest or in the meadows. Tearing off a mushroom with your hands degrades its mycelium - the set of filaments in the soil that make up the vegetative apparatus of mushrooms. If you want to pick new mushrooms the following year, you need to know how to preserve it by using the right equipment.

The mushroom knife consists of a handle, a short blade and a brush. The handle is generally made of varnished wood to protect it from moisture and dirt. The blade, ranging from 6 to 11 cm in length, is foldable so you can easily carry the knife in your pocket. It is serrated, allowing you to scrape away embedded soil and stones. What's more, the mushroom knife has a curved blade, like that of a Turkish saber, enabling it to follow the curves of porcini mushrooms, chanterelles, milkcaps and more. Finally, this knife has a brush at the end of the handle for on-the-spot cleaning of your harvest.

Using the mushroom knife

Lightweight and easy to carry, the mushroom knife is your companion when picking mushrooms in the forest. However, to protect the mycelium, a certain technique must be followed:

- Turn the mushroom on itself, a quarter or half turn, to separate it from its mycelium.

- Slip the curved blade of your knife under the stem to sever it.

- Cut through the earthy part of the stalk to remove any damaged parts and embedded dirt.

- Clean the mushroom cap with the brush before placing it in your basket.

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