Do you forage for edible Fungi?

[gregorach]

Now that's just showing off!

 

[Hoodoo]

Now that's just showing off!

And here I thought I was showing restraint.

 

[Neumo]

I think a mistake a lot of people make is trying to learn too many at once... Yes, there are a lot of edible fungi out there, but when you narrow it down to the ones that are (a) really tasty, (b) fairly common, (c) easy to identify, and (d) available in your local habitat, you're probably down to a half dozen or so. Learn to identify the 3 or 4 best options absolutely reliably, and stick with them until you're never going to forget them. Then you can move on to learning others.

Sure, you can take the books and have a play from time to time, but don't get caught up in trying to ID every single 'shroom you see - you'll be there forever, and you'll never remember any of them. For example, we often see posts asking for IDs on various LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms)... What's the point? They're not worth bothering with anyway, even if they weren't an absolute nightmare to ID. Ignore them completely unless you really want to be a serious mycologist.

I dont touch them at the moment as I dont know what I am doing, but plan to go on a course soon, which is why I went for 'No but I would like to. Will probably try to find a couple of courses based near me before I take the advice quoted above & try to reliably identify just 3 or 4 that grow near me and are woth the effort (& risk?) of eating. Good skill to have but I want lots of lessons before I jump in

 

[John Fenna]

I am afraid to say - I am afraid that I am very poor at fungi recognition, which makes me afraid to be adventurous with fungi, just looking out for the ones I realy know and trust as I am afraid of poisoning myself,
I'm afraid this is one area of foraging I realy need to work on!

 

[Wayland]

I know where to find plenty of jews ears but they just don't appeal to me! Trying to find a god supply of boletes and chanterelles has eluded me since moving back to UK, very frustrating! On the other hand, since I am now confident with Amethyst Deceiver, I know where to get plenty of them and nearby is a patch of puffballs that I hope will show themselves in the next month or so. I need some good boletes though, I have very few left from Germany that I have eked out for over two years now!

The Amethyst Deceivers are up all around my local woods now, We had a wild mushroom risotto just last night. Found a couple of Ceps to add in as well.

This is a thought provoking subject.

I have thought long and hard about wilderness food and have decided to leave it where it is, I look but dont touch. The reason is simple, more woodland and natural environment is being lost every day. The areas I have acess to are used by others and it is so easy to over glean an area. Part of my appreciation of bushcraft is the knowlege that I am not unthinkingly 'gleaning out an area' of natural resources. Often i will hump in my own fire wood (pallets burn wonderfully!), pre-chopped in a sack. Some may consider it a bit extreme, but try finding unmolested woods and forest in the South East.

Look, appreciate, identify and let it live its life cycle.

I have put down other things to concentrate on, but its not true. I think a lot of us just let it live and appreciate that its just there unharmed.

Sandsnakes

I tend to agree with you about reducing our impact which is why I rarely pick mushrooms unless they are in plentiful supply.

Yesterday I picked over a pound of shrooms but it was less than ten percent of the available crop.

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

No - Fungi have little or no calorific value and at best are a food "additive" Plus if you get it wrong you can die an agonising and painful death. i'll stick to foraging MEAT!!

They do contain some protein and lot of vital minerals to keep the brain working well, but I tend to stick to meat too :-D

I can't eat 'shrooms on their own; don't like the texture, don't mind the flavours as long as they are in something else.

 

[Iona]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43456575@N03/4000541751/

Just a few of the best ones for the pot...

Sooooo much fun to be had poring over books and identifying all the little odd little things I find when I'm out looking for the ones I want to eat And the more time I spend out picking and identifying the more confident I feel... There are so many beautiful things in the forest as well as the edibles too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43456575@N03/4001307524/

 

[Rumcajs]

I went for, yes – rarely. The truth is I used to do it every year but not anymore. Ever since I moved to UK I foraged only once and that was back in Czech Republic. That was good year.
I was bringing home so many mushrooms every day my granny didn’t know what to do with them anymore. After a week we only kept caps as they taste better and discard stems. We dried most of them for winter.

 

[poddle]

Not really, just for mushrooms, I am not knowledgeable enough about fungi to go looking around for anything other than a standard mushroom/ Horsemushroom or Puff ball.

Probably end up in Intensive Care

 

[poddle]

No - Fungi have little or no calorific value and at best are a food "additive" Plus if you get it wrong you can die an agonising and painful death. i'll stick to foraging MEAT!!

Here Here Dave

 

[brancho]

I faroage occasionally when I dont fall out SWMBO over it like last timw when I taking pictures more than anything else as we seemed to have missed a lot as they were looking pretty bad. (was months ago though).

 

[Ryecroft]

I voted No but would like to, as most on here.

I did go on a days course once, but there was so much to try and remember, still too nervous to identify anything other than ink caps!

The course was excellent and will do again when I get the time, highlight of the day was the guinea pig who volunteered to try a 'magic 'shroom' and was very happy for the rest of the day, and closely watched by his wife

I do remember that the one that smells like old dog poo is not worth even going near, let alone cooking!

 

[Harvestman]

Yes, often. BUT, you have to know what you are doing, or else you are in trouble. I will only eat it if I am 100% sure that I know what it is.

There are false death cap in some parkland near me. They are edible, and quite good, or so I understand. However, they resemble the Death Cap (as per their name), so even though I am sure they are the edible false death cap, I won't eat them. I've been wrong before.

A quote I heard recently (possibly on this site):

"All fungi can be eaten, but some of them only once".

 

[ananix]

Wont say i forage for it but when it gets about time for a meal i usaly look in the biotopes where i know the food that will complement my basic food should grow. Or else i just eat what comes along the way as the day passes, NOT FUNGEE as it "ALWAYS" has to be prepared.

He he "judes ears" we call them "Judas ears" but i guess he was a jude I found them to be perfect for tenderfoots, and for all who lives in the nature doing winther.

Identifaction, cant be mistaken.
Habitat, cant be mistaken.
Season: autum, winter, spring.
Polution: Lives on trees so i consider them safe from heavy metals. (no confirmation please advice).
Conservation: Easy to dry.

My first and most trusted fungi.

-- Regards ananix
rover-spejderen.blogspot.com

 

[fred gordon]

Yes I have done quite a few times but you have to be very sure of ID. Few things are better that cooking freshly picked fungi in the open with a little butter and garlic. Hmmmmmm

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

I used to hunt for mushrooms but the more I learned the less I wanted to take the chance with ones that I thought their was no way to make a mistake but their are bad ones that are so close and hard to tell the difference that I just wont take the chance anymore its just not worth my life....

 

[capt.dunc]

i'm a yes sometimes, i've been building up a list of ones i can id and ones to look for. i used to have several poisonous mushrooms growing in my garden up north and learning to id them is as useful as learning edible ones. i'll be looking out for cauliflower fungus this year (seen an old specimen before) and chicken of the woods to try, as well as keeping an eye open for cramp balls for fire. i'm trying to id fungal families as i go as well. only eat what you're sure of, even thinking you've eaten the wrong one can cause upsets. use a lip, tongue tip, taste, chew test if you're 99.9 % sure but still don't trust yourself. it's character building experience, but don't feel pressured, there's no harm in just throwing away the mushrooms you've picked if you want to.