Tried Mushroom Ice Cream?

f you’re a mycology maven, you’d probably like to know about the Mushroom Festival, going on Sunday at the Denison-Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic.

Co-hosted with the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society (myclogists are fans of fungi), the Mushroom Festival celebrates all thing mushroomy.

This is a great year for mushrooms, says Maggie Jones, executive director of the nature center.

And while mushrooms might be everywhere, it’s the professional mycologist – or the foolhardy amateur – who knows what’s safe and what’s not.

Those professional mycologists are going to be sharing their expertise on Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

They will identify mushrooms that people bring in, and will do a foray and bring in fresh mushrooms, Jones says.

“By the end of the day, we usually have hundreds of specimens,” she says.

The experts will take enthusiasts on hikes throughout the event, and point out different mushrooms, and restaurateurs from around the area will come and cook with mushrooms.

This year, Jones says, there’s even going to be mushroom ice cream.

Yuck?

No, she says, not yuck. The tasty dessert (her opinion) uses candy-cap mushrooms, which, according to Jones, have a “maple-butterscotchy” taste. Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream makers will use use candy-cap mushrooms much as a maker of vanilla ice cream would use a vanilla bean, Jones says.

Also participating in the event are The Riverwalk, the Captain Daniel Packer Inne, Flood Tide, Heritage Trail Vineyards of Jewett City, and The Pizza Grille.