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Castle Duncan Forums > CRAFTWORKS *** DAY to DAY LIFE > AROUND THE CAULDRON > MUSHROOMS

Megan

Aug 11 2002, 08:45 PM

Mushrooms have been with us since ancient times. The Ancient Greeks thought that they came form Zeus's lightning. In the Middle Ages they were fairy rings, the work of little people. In Roman times they were gourmet food. In the New World they are some times refer to the food of the gods. In our times the mushroom can have exorbitant prices and can be used for medicine, food, dyes and a multitude of other uses.

QUOTE

Bring home what looks like a wild onion for dinner, and no one gives it a second thought -- despite the fact it might be a death camas you have, especially if you didn't bother to smell it. But bring home a wild mushroom for dinner, and watch the faces of your friends crawl with various combinations of fear, anxiety, loathing, and distrust! Appetites are suddenly and mysteriously misplaced, vague announcements are hurriedly mumbled as to dinner engagements elsewhere, until your're finally left alone to "enjoy" your meal in total silence.
For there are few things that strike as much fear in your average American as the mere mention of wild mushrooms or "toadstools." Like snakes, slugs, worms and spiders, they're regarded as unearthly and unworthy, despicable and inexplicable -- the vermin of the vegetable world and yet , consider this: out of several thousand different kinds of wild mushrooms in North America, only five or six are deadly poisonous! And once you know what to look for, it's about as difficult to tell a deadly Amanita from a savory Chanterelle as it is a lima bean from an artichoke.
This irrational fear of fungi is by no means a universal trait.
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora on Fungophobia

My best advice I have to offer on the subject of wild mushrooms for food is to get a very good book that covers your region. Then study the book carefully and find an experienced mushroom person or the local chapter of the mushroom club to help you recognize a few of the easier species. Missing the actual person to show you which is which I would take a spore print of the mushroom and take a complete mushroom along with the mycelium (the roots structure) to the local mushroom club.
If you are in question about which mushrooms should be eaten or is poisonous it is best to not eat it until certain, as some can cause death or other unpleasantness.

It is better to error on the safe side than to have regrets from the grave! :thumbs-up:

AJR

Aug 6 2002, 05:00 AM

How can you tell which mushrooms are edible and which are not ?

AJR

Aug 12 2002, 02:18 AM

When I was a kid I used to nip across the road to the village cricket ground early in the morning to pick mushrooms for breakfast. My Mum always checked them over before cooking, and anything that was considered suspect, she chucked out. I never any them myself though.

robinthehood

Aug 7 2002, 09:59 AM

The ones that are not edible will make you sick:)
Just kidding, I really don't know.

Megan

Sep 8 2002, 08:41 PM

Sorry for the long delay.... :sleep2:

AJR: I see that you had an experienced person to guide you.
Do you know what type of mushrooms she had you gathering?
Are you still able to recognize them? Does your Mum still Collect them?
My parents and daughter collect mushrooms.
This is a picture list of the mushrooms.
All of these mushroom will be required to be cooked before eating.
This is what they collect the most of:

Bearded Tooth -- Hericium erinaceaus

Often growing on living hardwood trees in the fall. Will turn sour with age.

Puffball -- Calvatia gigantea

Open woods or pastures in the fall. Will need to cut open in the field to make sure that there are no traces of color (yellow, green or brown). As the slightest trace of color can cause unhappy tummies. You should also look at any shape that may be inside the mushroom. Such as any traces or outlines of a cap, gills or stem as it could be a Deadly Amanita in the Button stage.

Morel -- Morchellacea elate

On the forest floor under the trees and sometimes in the open fields. Almost always well camouflaged. They are slow growers and often take 3 to 4 weeks to grow to a good size. Found in the spring when the oak trees start to bud. Make sure what you pick is pitted and not wrinkled as the false morel can be poisonous. Sometimes a person will get an upset stomach from eating morels. Make sure the mushroom is well cooked before eating.

Tree Ear -- Auricularia auricula

In the Fall growing on dead branches,logs or stumps. Very jelly like and rubbery, never brittle like the Cup fungus which is poisonous. Tree ears require a long moist cooking to make them good, lest they be tough gummy worms. The Chinese use a very similar mushroom in a lot of there soups.

All of these Fungus will be required to be cooked before eating. Very careful picking of all mushrooms should be carried out with the help of some one experienced in your area. As some varieties from one area is considered safe, in another region they can be very poisonous.

Pictures -- "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms" by Gary H. Lincoff -- Visual Key by Carol Nehring

Another good book "Mushrooms Demystified" by David Arora

Duncan

Aug 7 2002, 10:13 AM

No joke,your right or cause out right death, its a tricky subject that my wife knows much more then I do about. Right now she is teaching a class and wont be back untill later or she could help with this.

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