Edible Fungi.

This site can be quite useful
Fungi
I'm only an occasional shroomer picking only what I can recognise without doubt to eat (and being in work, work internet won't let me see the pic you've posted!), but I did stumble across a hoard of Morels growing in the herbaceous border next to our car park a few years ago, tasty!! Pity they only appeared the once....and no I didn't collect them all.
A blewit is something I haven't tried yet though.

Tony,

I love foraging in the woods and fields here for Mushrooms. I'm not an expert, but do have a friend who regularly comes down in the Autumn to forage with me. He usually manages to fill his car with Ceps and Boletes.

If there's one rule that you should follow to avoid death it's to never pick a mushroom with gills (such as the one you are holding in the picture above). Only the Gilled 'shrooms will cause serious harm. The Cortinarius family in particular, such as the "purple stainer". The nightmare with the Cortinarius family is that at least one of the deadly ones looks very much like a tasty field mushroom, and has, in recent years, even caught out a couple of the experts with dire results. Believe me, eat the wrong mushroom (Particularly Cortinarius Orellanus) and even if you initially survive, you will never completely recover. The damage to your liver and kidneys is irreversible. The symptoms are often an initial sickness that then subsides. After a day or two you feel fine. Then a week or so later your organs fail. Nice. Don't take the risk unless you are 100% sure you know what you're about to eat.

Remember this: Gills Kills.

p.s. OK, so I cheat a bit. I love field and horse mushrooms and we get plenty here. I always only ever eat the ones I'm 100% sure of. I never eat any gilled mushroom found in a wooded area. But then the woods offer forth such wonderful Ceps and Boletes, it's no hardship. Stick to the tubed varieties such as Cep, Bolete, as well as easily identifiable morels, Cahnterelles etc.. and field and horse mushrooms you are absolutely 100% sure about and you'll be fine. If in any doubt leave overnight on a piece of paper to take a spore sample and then consult the books.

Another thing for anyone who wants to forage for Mushrooms; Make sure you only ever take what you need. Ensure you only pick after a Mushroom has released its spores - i.e. not immature and before the cap has developed. Always leave a few behind for the pixies...

Try the River Cottage website and their mushroom and fungi handbook

One last thing:

If you still decide you wish to try out a mushroom that doesn't necessarily fall into the safe categories described above then take an overnight spore print. Once you think you've identified it as edible, take the precaution of keeping one aside. That way, if you do feel ill then you should immediately tell your doctor and have the sample ready to show him. It may just save your life. Oh, and never, ever eat a raw mushroom that you've picked from the wild...

Roger Phillips is my reference on all things mushroomy. He's now got an excellent website but any forager should have a copy of this.
If you live in a reasonably rural area, there's sure to be a local group who will be going out for regular forays. It was the only way for me to find out the closely guarded locations of some species - once you know where to find the good ones, you keep quiet
I've often wondered why the British are so reticent about edible mushrooms - the French and Italians think we are mad.
Good tips from Richard BTW

quote:

I have suggested to SWMBO that I just cook one variety at a time which she could try, and if one type makes her feel a bit ill, well, we're only a short dash (depending on traffic) from A&E & they can quickly put her to rights.

Tony, you're not daft.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Dane:
One last thing:

Oh, and never, ever eat a raw mushroom that you've picked from the wild...

Why's that then? I often do.

Rockingdoc, apart from the contamination risk, I believe it's because any possible toxicity is higher when raw.

I mostly dry my mushrooms. A Belling or warming oven in an Aga (make sure you leave the door ajar) is good for this or you can get dedicated dryers if you're very keen. Once dried, the mushrooms will last for ages and can be used throughout the year. Mushroom Risotto is one of my favourite dishes and for this, a good selection of different dried varieties really makes the dish.

I think our administrator knows what he is talking about.

I was first taken fungi foraging very many years ago by a very knowledgeable uncle of a friend of mine from central Europe (where foraging for wild mushrooms is an art form). He was adamant about not eating anything raw and doing the overnight spore test on anything we found that we were uncertain about.

Since then we have enjoyed many spectacular and profitable days in France (where the pharmacists are trained to tell you what is what and what are inedible or worse poisonous) and in Italy, where everyone has their favourite (& secret)haunts.

We have been foraging for quite a few years in the UK and have our own selection of succesful spots( Lakes, Derbyshire, Suffolk, Surrey). But, unlike Richard, we have never been successful at drying mushrooms but have learned to pickle them and and preserve in olive oil.

Some years, we have had a haul of almost 3kg of fabulous ceps(penny buns) and bay bolete in just a couple of hours. Another year, just one or two from the same area...

This year has been good with rich and highly pleasurable pickings.


A friend (a serious mycological expert) stayed with us recently and gave us a copy of his identification bible. It's called "Mushrooms" by Roger Phillips published by Macmillan for £20 ( cheaper on certain websites).

He has a web site www.RogersMushrooms.com showing sample pictures which will help identify the sample.

Good hunting,

Geoff

This spore test , could Richard explain in a bit more detail please.
Computational powers (mine) are not what they once were.

Geoff,

Short of finding some truffles, Ceps (Penny Buns) are for me, the holy grail of mushroom foraging. And they dry brilliantly too, unlike a few of the other Boletes. Only trouble is you have to be quick around here because no sooner are they at a good size than you find that the slugs are at them!

One of the most memorable forages was while staying at a friends place on Mull last year and we happened upon a place that was awash with Chanterelles. With a big Paella pan we cooked kilos of them on the beach - they were some of the best tasting mushrooms I've ever had.

Thanks for the link. Great site!

BigH,

as I said, I'm no expert, but the spore test is another way of helping to identify the type of mushroom you have found. All you have to do is place the mushroom with the cap facing down onto a clean sheet of paper (try to do this with a sample that isn't on the wane). Leave it overnight. In the morning you will usually find that it will have dropped spores that will mark the paper. You can then compare your spore print with those published and positively identified by others (either in books or online). Spore prints can be quite distinctive from one type of 'shroom the the next and it all helps in the identification.

decades ago down in San Diego I cleaned up a garden for a woman and found a mushroom grower that had old mulch to sell. Wow was that great, she loved getting really big mushrooms all year long.

quote:

All you have to do is place the mushroom with the cap facing down onto a clean sheet of paper (try to do this with a sample that isn't on the wane). Leave it overnight. In the morning you will usually find that it will have dropped spores that will mark the paper.

Richard,
Don't you put a glass over the mushroom and paper?
H,
The corresponding spore print can then be examined against spore prints in for instance (one of) Roger Phillips great books or on the sites mentioned above.
I love hunting out wild mushrooms but usually baulk at eating them for many of the reasons mentioned above.
I recently met a young lady from eastern Europe gaily picking away at a haunt of mine with an abandon that scared the c@#~P out of me !
Another time I remember meeting this old Polish couple who told me about watching a group of students with tutor on a field trip picking mushrooms and identifting them in situ.
The old guy walked up and asked what they intended doing with their finds, to be told they would take them back to college and cook them. The old guy said that was great but as the mushrooms that they had correctly identified as deathcaps had shared a collecting basket with the rest, there was a chance of cross contamination so be prepared for some sick students!
Don't know if this is true/likely or not but it has always made me wary of what I find.
We do however have an abudance of Chantrelles up our way (but since I can never decide if they are false chantrelles I get mine from the greengrocer )

3 decades ago I was north of San Francisco and met a man who'd bought a nursery for his research into fungi. The planting beds would erupt every spring with bulbs which was a good sign spiritual for him. He taught at Berkeley so you can imagine his knowledge. Later on I found he had psychedelic ones, he was mainly looking for medical uses for fungi. I never imbibed.

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
Try the River Cottage website and their mushroom and fungi handbook

I got a copy of this through the post this morning and read it during a long car journey - an excellent read and very funny to boot. Thanks for the recommendation deadlifter.

The mushroom in my original photo's a Blewit. I shall be brave & eat a couple next week.

quote:

Originally posted by Howlinhounddog:

Richard,
Don't you put a glass over the mushroom and paper?

Probably not a bad idea but I don't bother. I just leave them overnight on the kitchen table. I'm looking forward to one day harvesting 'shrooms from the skirting board...

quote:

Originally posted by tonym:

The mushroom in my original photo's a Blewit. I shall be brave & eat a couple next week.

Tony, if you don't make it, can I have your dibbles, please??

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Dane:

quote:

Originally posted by tonym:

The mushroom in my original photo's a Blewit. I shall be brave & eat a couple next week.

Tony, if you don't make it, can I have your dibbles, please??

I'll put you on the list Richard.