Jamie Simpson Bags 24-Pound Mushroom

For nearly 30 years, Jamie Simpson has hiked into the local forests in search of edible treasures. Over that time, he’s gathered countless chanterelles, hedgehogs, and lobsters. This mushroom season has been different, though. Fewer finds and a busier schedule has left him low on returns.

On Sunday, November 16, however, that tough run ended when Simpson hauled in an enormous cauliflower mushroom. This rare species of mushroom typically weighs about two pounds. The big boys top out at around 10 pounds. Jamie Simpson’s cauliflower mushroom weighed 24 pounds.

“It was in such pristine, perfect, clean condition,” says Simpson of the find. “It was wonderful.”

In retrospect, in spite of a low-yield season, the discovery seemed fated. Simpson was foraging for chanterelles in a popular spot on Road 19 near Castle Canyon. As he returned to the gravel road and began toward his car, he spotted the cauliflower mushroom just a few feet away. “Bam! There it was. It really stood out in the forest,” he recalls.

Simpson’s fellow foragers quickly noticed the find and rushed forward to take pictures. Veteran mushroom hunters called it the biggest cauliflower mushroom they’d ever seen. 

For Simpson, the joy of foraging is all in the hunt. He’s not in it for the payoff. “I enjoy it. It keeps me in the woods.”

Simpson gives away most of the specimens he finds, and the cauliflower mushroom was no different. The lucky recipient was his brother-in-law, who set about processing and vacuum-sealing the prize.