How to Make Your Own Turkey Tail Mushroom Powder

Foraging for edible mushrooms can be an extremely rewarding hobby. Not only does it allow you to source fresh, organic produce, but certain species like turkey tail provide unique health benefits not found anywhere else. While these mushrooms have long been used in traditional Asian medicine, modern research is now confirming many of their legendary healing abilities.

Turning freshly harvested turkey tails into a medicinal powder allows you to easily add these mushrooms into your daily routine. With just a few inexpensive supplies and some patience, making DIY turkey tail powder is straightforward enough for even novice foragers and cooks.

An Overview of Turkey Tail Mushrooms

Turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor) are a common polypore species that grows prolifically on dead wood throughout North America, Europe, Asia and beyond They are named for their striking coloration – bands of brown, gray, blue, red, white and orange that loosely resemble the fanned feathers of a wild turkey.

These mushrooms grow in densely layered clusters on logs, stumps and fallen branches, especially hardwoods. They are saprotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by breaking down decaying wood. Their fruiting bodies are sessile and tough with a velvety cap up to 8 centimeters across. The underside consists of tiny, densely packed pores rather than gills.

While inedible raw, turkey tail is consumed in East Asia, where it’s known as yun zhi or kawaratake However, modern interest in these mushrooms centers around their medicinal compounds like polysaccharides and triterpenoids

Health Benefits of Turkey Tail Mushrooms

The key medicinal ingredients in turkey tail mushrooms are polysaccharide-K (PSK) and polysaccharide peptide (PSP). These complex sugars exhibit immunomodulating, antioxidant and anti-tumor effects:

• PSK and PSP increase the activity of natural killer cells and macrophages, allowing the immune system to better respond to infections and damaged cells. This makes turkey tail a biological response modifier.

• Turkey tail supports the regeneration of lymphocytes and bone marrow following chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

• Through its prebiotic effects, turkey tail helps rebalance gut flora after antibiotic use.

• Early research suggests the mushrooms may hinder angiogenesis, preventing cancerous growth and metastasis.

• Contains antioxidant phenols that combat free radical damage.

• May help manage blood sugar levels and prevent obesity.

• Demonstrates anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

With all of these evidence-backed benefits, it’s no wonder foragers are eager to harvest turkey tail mushrooms. Consuming them regularly as a powder makes it easy and convenient.

How to Identify Turkey Tail Mushrooms

Since you’ll be ingesting your homemade turkey tail powder, it’s crucial to correctly identify these mushrooms in the wild. Use these tips to properly forage turkey tail:

• Grows in clusters or tiers on dead hardwood trees and logs. Rarely found on conifers.

• Has a brown, gray, orange or reddish cap up to 8 cm wide. Color varies.

• Cap is velvety and zone lines may be present based on growth stages.

• Underside has very fine pores rather than gills. Pore surface is white when fresh.

• Pores bruise brownish when injured. Flesh bruises as well.

• Texture ranges from rubbery when fresh to brittle when dried.

• Odor can be mildly fragrant to medicinal smelling. Never foul.

• Often grows overlapping in shelflike formations. Individual caps may share the same base.

Look-alike mushroom species to avoid include false turkey tail, which has a whitish pore surface, and artist’s conk, which has a smooth underside. When just starting out, go mushroom hunting with an experienced forager to properly learn identification.

Supplies Needed

Making DIY turkey tail powder requires only a few supplies you likely have in your kitchen already:

• Harvested or purchased turkey tail mushrooms
• Food dehydrator or oven
• Coffee grinder, spice grinder, food processor or blender
• Glass jars or resealable plastic bags for storage

A food dehydrator will make the process much easier but a low temp oven (set at 150°F with door cracked) can work too. If you don’t have either, air drying turkey tails is possible but very time consuming.

How to Make Turkey Tail Powder

Follow these steps to make your own nutritious and personalized turkey tail mushroom powder:

Step 1: Prepare the Mushrooms

After harvesting turkey tails, clean any dirt or debris off the caps and pores with a brush, cloth or paper towel. Avoid washing the mushrooms in water. Use scissors to slice or cut mushrooms into thin pieces to speed drying.

Step 2: Dry the Mushrooms

Air drying can take 1-2 weeks, so use a food dehydrator set to 115°F or an oven on the lowest setting with the door propped open. Dry until the pieces are brittle and snap when bent rather than bending like leather.

Step 3: Grind the Pieces

Once fully dried, break turkey tail pieces into a coffee grinder, spice grinder, food processor or blender. Process into a coarse powder. Avoid over-grinding into a super fine powder, which may impact potency.

Step 4: Perform a Hot Water Extraction

Place mushroom powder in a pot and add enough water to just cover. Simmer gently for 1-2 hours to release beneficial compounds. Allow to reduce down to a thick extract.

Step 5: Dehydrate the Extract

Spread extract thinly onto a baking sheet and place in the dehydrator or oven at 150°F until dry and brittle again. Completely drying preserves the powder.

Step 6: Process Into Powder

Break up the dried extract and grind once more into a fine powder using your preferred appliance. Store finished turkey tail powder in a sealed glass jar or zip-top bag.

Step 7: Enjoy Your DIY Mushroom Powder

Add 1-3 teaspoons daily to smoothies, teas, soups, broths or capsules. Turkey tail powder blends readily into foods and beverages. Consume within 1 year for maximum potency.

Get creative with ways to use your homemade healing mushroom supplement! Capsules offer convenient precision dosing while mixing into enjoyable foods and drinks makes regular use easy.

Turkey Tail Mushroom Powder FAQs

Making DIY turkey tail powder is straightforward once you understand the key steps. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:

How much powder can I make from fresh turkey tails? Expect a 10:1 ratio, so 10 grams fresh will yield 1 gram dried powder. The final yield depends on the individual batch.

What is the best way to take turkey tail powder? There is no single best method. Teas, pills, blended into foods, and mixed into broths are all effective options.

How long does turkey tail powder last? Properly stored in sealed containers away from moisture, light and heat, turkey tail powder will retain its potency for up to 1 year.

Can I eat turkey tail powder raw? While not toxic, raw mushroom tissue is not highly digestible. Extraction via hot water improves the bioavailability of the beneficial compounds.

Are there any side effects or interactions? Research has not found side effects or negative interactions even at high doses. However, consult your doctor before use if you take any medications.

Give Turkey Tail Powder a Try

Mushroom foraging connects us intimately to nature while providing nourishment and medicine. Turkey tail mushrooms have rightfully earned their reputation in traditional healing systems. While research continues to unveil mechanisms behind their benefits, you can easily experience them yourself by making DIY turkey tail powder.

turkey tail mushrooms: 20
polysaccharide-K (PSK): 3
polysaccharide peptide (PSP): 2
food dehydrator: 4
oven: 7
coffee grinder: 1
spice grinder: 1
food processor: 1
blender: 1
glass jars: 1
resealable plastic bags: 1