Man Finds 56-Pound Mushroom in Missouri
Thu Oct 27, 6:31 PM ET
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -


The mushroom Ty Whitmore found on a relative's farm near the northwest Missouri community of Maysville this week tipped the scales at 56 pounds — and that was only part of it.


Whitmore, 19, of Kansas City, was cutting firewood Monday when he saw the orange and yellow mushroom growing from the base of a maple tree. He cut it off with a saw and said the biggest half of it fell into a creek.

"I wanted to see if I had a world record," said Whitmore. "It was so heavy, and I was trying to carry it without damaging it, which was hard because I had to wade across creeks, and the brush in the woods was hitting it."

Whitmore got it to his pickup truck, half a mile away, and had it weighed at a Maysville grocery store. He did some checking on the Internet and determined the big fungus was a sulfur shelf mushroom. Its scientific name is Laetiporus sulphureus, and it's commonly referred to as the "chicken of the woods" for its good eating qualities.

"I hunt and fish, but this is the best thing I ever got, a real trophy," Whitmore said.

On the Internet, the Guinness World Records lists the largest edible fungi as a giant puffball weighing 48 pounds, 8 ounces.

Whitmore said he can tell his mushroom has lost some moisture weight, and he was undecided about whether to weigh it again and submit it to Guinness.

The mushroom, measured Tuesday by a Missouri Department of Conservation, was 30 inches wide and 16 inches high. Harold Burdsall, a retired U.S. Forest Service fungus expert in Madison, Wis., said after looking at e-mailed photos that it was the biggest sulfur shelf mushroom he had ever seen.

James W. Kimbrough, an expert on molds, mildews and mushrooms at the University of Florida, said reference books list the biggest sulfur shelf mushroom as being about 20 inches wide.

While experts say it's doubtful anyone has a reliable record book for individual mushroom species, Kimbrough said the one Whitmore discovered has "got to be among the largest ever found in North America."

Burdsall says sulfur shelf mushrooms taste great, with a firm texture and plenty of flavor.

"If there are two wild mushrooms on the table, I'd always take that one, even over morels," he said.

The mushroom probably took about two weeks to grow. Whitmore said the part that fell into the creek was a larger clump growing on top of the one he got. He said the water was too cold and deep for him to retrieve it.

"It might have weighed 120 pounds altogether," he said.

Now THAT'S a mushroom! Again, a mushroom that I have not heard of in culinary circles rears its head once again. Duncan, have you ever eaten this one?

Nope not me that I remember, sorry, maybe Meg can shed more light on this type.

can you imagaine 56 pounds let alone 120 pounds? I'd went and got help before trying to move it

At that size I can't imagine it being much good to eat, actually, except maybe a slow braising or chopping it into stuffing or something. Although, I would attempt to slice big steaks out of it and marinate it for a day and then grill it. Or a sooup would work too, I imagine.

Sulfur Shelf, laetiporus or polyporus sulphureus or simply chicken of the woods is a well know mushroom. When very fresh it resembles uncooked cut white chicken complete with moisture droplets. Even when cooked it resembles chicken.
Most people will just cut off the outer edges for eating and return later for more.
They get very tough and sour tasting when old. They look like a shelf mushroom in bright yellow and orange. Some people have allergic reactions to eating them.

They said that it tasted very good in the article so it must have still been tender.


Where did my chicken of the woods sandwich go?

I ate it....thought it was chicken

Go on...try it. It tastes like chicken...

It's also called Hen of the Woods, if I am not mistaken.

Pretty impressive for a mushroom. We go morel hunting, but never for these. Have to ask around. Sounds interesting enough. Kinda makes you wonder if there is something in the stream that contributed to its growth (why we don't eat the fish out of many lakes or streams here...) - kinda scary!

Lucky for us, we won't have another museum popping up around here. Looks like the bloke just ate the prize.

I was drinking a Newcastle with a c-worker from Chicago last night who told us this chilling story:

Apparently the restaurant his brother was the chef at was doing this huge catering event for 100's of people-very upscale event. They hired this "newbie" cook just prior who wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. On the day of the event the chef asked the newbie where the VERY EXPENSIVE FRESH, BLACK TRUFFLES were. The cook responded that he didn't know. The chef then said, "On the speed rack...the truffles on the speed rack..." to which the newbie replied "Oh,...those things? I threw those out. They were all black and moldy and smelled like shit!"

He was personally beaten out back shortly after the chef comprehended the response.....

Ouch! Betting his pay wouldn't even cover what the expense was. LOL We stick with the morels, shittake, mai-itake and some of the more well known varieties. It wasn't until just recently that we have been able to get them available fresh. Does wonders for the health!