Chaga: How this foraged food has become sought after by foodies ... and rum lovers

Foraging is trendy right now.

I get the appeal. Exploring the woods and stumbling upon a chanterelle patch is the most fun. It makesme feel like an old-timey prospector who finally struck it rich. I also consider an afternoon stirring wildberry jam or making a nettle pesto time well spent.

As far as trends go, foraging for wild ingredients is way healthier for our bodies and minds than feedinga Tamagotchi, planking, or calling a song a "bop."

The risk of trendy foraging is that when a foodstuff becomes popular among bloggers andfoodies, there's a chance that item will become overharvested.That's happening with chaga right now.

Chaga (Inonotusobliquus) is a fungus that grows on the bark of birch trees in cold climates.

To me,they look like big, black bumpy ears.

Chaga can take 40 years to grow, so taking the whole piece doesn't makesense. It's important that people leave at least a third. It'll grow back faster and it's just moresustainable.- Shawn Dawson

For decades perhaps longer chaga has been a traditional medicine in Russia and other northernclimates and herbalists often recommend chaga for a whole variety of ailments, although some of the claims about it cannot be substantiated. (There's also controversy. During this pandemic, Health Canada has flagged products that are being sold as miracle cures against COVID-19, and "chaga mushrooms" is one of them.)

All that said, chaga is rich in antioxidants and can be flavourful if youtake the time to play with it.

Blog after blog will give you step-by-step instructions on how to make chaga teas, powders, and coffees.Influencers and celebrities sip it every morning. You can buy pricey tinctures online.

Newfoundland is ripe with it but not everyone is harvesting this fungus in a safe or sustainable way.

Hacking into a tree is unnecessary

On a recent trip to central NewfoundlandI noticed that people were hacking into birch trees, leaving no trace of the chaga, and cutting directly into the tree.

This winter before the pandemic descended upon us I met up with Shawn Dawson, forager and owner of the Barking Kettle, to learn how to harvest chagasafely.

No. 1:Identify correctly:Chaga tends to form domes and odd horns on birch trees.

It's not usually a symmetrical growth, it'sblack and crusty-looking but the real tell is its golden interior. It gleams likes fool's gold. The mostcommon lookalike is a burl. They areoutward growths that tend to be symmetrical. Burls can be causedby physical trauma to the tree, insects, or other fungal growths.

See for yourself: In pre-pandemic times, Andie Bulman went foraging for chaga, and then met up with Peter Wilkins of the Newfoundland Distillery for a rum tasting:

No. 2: Harvest at the right time, in the right place:"First, make sure the tree is alive" is Shawn's most important piece of advice for us.

Chaga is a parasite of the birch tree. The relationship is truly symbiotic. When the tree dies, so does thefungus. Obviouslywe don't want to eatdead, rotting chaga, so Shawn recommends looking forwinter budsto make sure the tree is alive.

Similarly, chaga tends to act like a big sponge and absorbs pollutants in the air. "Best to go deep in thewoods and leave the chaga on the side of the highway alone."Finally, Shawn harvests in the late fall and winter. The sap isn't running yet, so the chaga is morelikely to be dry.

No. 3: Harvest correctly:Chaga usually grows somewhat high up in trees. Shawn always climbs the tree carefully and doesn't wear spikes.

"Chaga can take 40 years to grow, so taking the whole piece doesn't makesense. It's important that people leave at least a third. It'll grow back faster and it's just moresustainable."He also points out that you never want to slice into the tree. Slice into the chaga instead.

No. 4: Dry it, freeze it, get creative with it:Chaga can get mouldy quickly, but it does freezewell. If you can't clean and dry it quickly, then freeze it untilyou're ready to tackle the chore.If you've gotthe time, ensure you begin by dusting the chaga with a mushroom brush. There's goingto be some forest debris on it that you might not want to ingest.

Cut the chaga into two-inch chunks. This part might be tricky, so do use a sharp knife.You can dry at room temperature, or speed up the process by dehydrating the chaga at 50 C in your oven overnight. Shawnturns his dehydrated chunks into powder using his coffeegrinder.I followed his instructions and made chaga tea, but I did wanta few moreideas.

Shawn often pairs itwith chocolate, as the full flavour of the chocolate rounds out the chaga. He also loves it with otherwoody, rounded flavours and mentioned that the Newfoundland Distillery had been making an award-winning chaga rum, while the Mill Street Brewery uses chaga in a stout. Play with it!

No. 5: Try chaga before harvesting:It would be a shame if you found the flavour repulsive and tossed your chaga harvest into the trash.If you want to try it,but aren't sure if you'll like the flavour, try some of the Barking Kettle's products(available at the St. John's Farmers Market) before taking a whole piece of chaga off a tree.

• More recent columns and featuresfrom Andie Bulman

No. 6: Take only what you need:If you do like the flavour and want the experience of chaga harvesting, make sure you only take what youneed. "A little chaga goes a long way," Shawn said."A piece the size of a grapefruit will see mostpeople through a winter."

Trends tend to come and go, but chaga is a finite resource that we need to protect. The best way to do thatis to harvest it sustainably.

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