My Dad just came over and said, “Have you seen all the Popinkies?” I looked at him like, “Huh? What the heck is a Popinki?” I assumed it was something to do with food. Being Polish we’re always making foods like halushki and halupki, and popinki just seemed to fit right in there! 🙂
After he handed me a bag of them I realized that my yard too was full of these mushrooms. In fact, they are the mushrooms my kids were destroying with golf clubs yesterday after my son’s soccer game!
From what I’ve been reading, these mushrooms (also known as “Honey Mushrooms”) are very popular in NEPA and usually appear around tree stumps and roots after the first frost. That makes a lot of sense, since I live along the woods and the patches of Popinki seem to be most dense where we had tree stumps removed.
Since they seem to disappear as quickly as they appear it’s best to pick the Popinkies when you first see them. You don’t want to wait to long or the bugs and critters will get them before you! While I haven’t thoroughly looked into it yet, it seems as though you can dry, freeze, or can the mushrooms to be used later. A simple Google search will help you with the steps to all of these methods. No better way to save money than by accepting a FREE gift from good ol’ Mother Nature! 😉
As I said I am new to Popinki mushroom hunting and eating so make sure you consult a guide or other source to make sure what you are eating is in fact Popinki mushrooms. Does anyone have any yummy Popinki recipes or tips for preserving they would like to share?
I’ve always loved popinki mushrooms ever since I could remember. We always had them at Christmas Eve Dinner.
After they are cleaned, (when I clean them I throw away most of the stem, because the stems are usually tough, except if they seem very white & the mushroom is small, then I keep the stem on), I rinse well and cover them with water & bring to boil & cook about 5 minutes. Then I rinse & drain well. Meanwhile, sautee a few onions, depending on how many mushrooms you have. I use about 1/2 tblsp. of butter & 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil for sauteeing onions. I had almost a colander full of them & after they were boiled, maybe only about 3 cups left. They shrink a lot! So add the boiled mushrooms to sauteed onions w/ salt and pepper to taste. Seems like you have to use a lot of salt for the mushrooms’ taste to come out. Add a little at a time until you feel it is enough so you don’t over salt. Then just cover & cook about 10 more minutes. Check to make sure they are not drying up & if they are add about 1/4 cup water & continue cooking. I eat them this way as a side dish. You can add to spaghetti sauce. Also add to scrambled eggs!
Enjoy!
That sounds delicious Dee! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
My babci used to pick popinkies in the Pocono mountains not far from where she lived. I thought it was a made up word as the were the size of a pinkie finger from the tip to the first crease. She canned them ad used them all year. They were also week washed an used fresh. She would fry them with butter, salt, pepper and onion. Then she would place boiled pierogi in the pan to fry with them and serve up delicious savory dish!