First Wild Shroom

[Platypus]

I have just eaten my first ever self collected wild mushrooms.

I found two really nice looking large parasols (I hope ) and after looking up as many references as I could finally decided to try them.

I lightly fried them in olive oil and ate them with home made sausages and free range eggs (shop bought sadly ). They tasted absolutely great.

Just keeping my fingers crossed that I got it right.......

 

[Alison]

Congratulations! I only wish that i had the faith in myself to try! i have seen some rather nice looking specimens but do not have the courage! Maybe after a few homemade schnapps !!!!! But on a good note - did pick quite a few fruits from a Strawberry Tree which my husband discovered yesterday - not bad for good old Pompey!

 

[Platypus]

A strawberry tree in Pompey :Wow:

Where????

C'mon do tell

 

[spamel]

A good start is with the boletus shrooms. They are quite distinctive as they look like a sponge underneath instead of the normal gills on a mushroom, like you would buy in the supermarket for instance. There are a few dodgy ones and different sources argue as to if they are fatal or not, but the basic ones like ceps are very easy to identify. I found one a few years ago whilst hunting for ceps and was amazed at the size of it!! I reckon I could have clubbed somebody to death with it, which after the day I've just had sounds very tempting!!

I used to live in portsmouth and we usd to go bramble picking every year on the creek. I lived on the old naval estate at Eastney, just before the Hayling Island ferry. The creek was the inlet that was north of our estate, and I've just looked on Get A Map and it is called Eastney Lake. This was in the day before the marina went up, in fact it was a favourite playing area when it was being built!! Not too sure what health and safety would say to that!!

 

[Alison]

Milton Park, by the Bowling Green. But don't tell anyone!!!!!

And to Spamel- i can not believe that you have given up the sunny climate of Pompey to live in Germany!!!!! But obviously they have mighty fine mushrooms- although i am going to keep with Sainsburys!!!

 

[Platypus]

Oooh, thanks Alison.
I work in Anchorage Park so may just have to pop down one lunchtime.

I'll try and leave a few for you

Spamel, I found a cep recently and would have tried it except the slugs beat me to it Still, I'm well pleased with the parasols

 

[Ed]

I found two really nice looking large parasols (I hope ) and after looking up as many references as I could finally decided to try them.

I know I probably don't need to say it, but please, please, please make sure your fungi are positivly identified before eating them. Even if it means taking someone with you the first few times until you are more confident.

Platypus has the right idea of checking as many referances as they can. Remember books can be wrong...... even popular ones..... mistakes are made in re-printing etc. Even 'food for free' got it wrong an edition or two back!!

I'd hate to think of someone getting ill due to something on here that has been miss-identified.

Enjoy your free food, and be safe


Ed

 

[ESpy]

A strawberry tree in Pompey :Wow:

Well, it ain't Pompey, but I think you'll find a few in the Victoria Country Park...

Me, I've been eating the shaggy ink caps off the lawn again.

 

[Alison]

Well Platypus - you have just become one of my favorite people!! :You_Rock_ . !!!!Keep going with the mushrooms - i don't suppose that you found your mushers round Anchorage Park did you? But if you like Sloes, go by Hilsea train station, there were quite a few last week! On a serious note- it wasn't you who nicked all the walnuts in Hilsea was it? because if it was i will have to remove the You Rock sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Platypus]

Not guilty of grabbing your nuts Alison

The shrooms came from Lee Ground Coppice, part of Botley Wood, near Whiteley.

Good point Ed, but I think parasols are one of the more easy ones, and I couldn't find anything to confuse them with. Didn't stop me from being nervous tho'

Still, I'm a few hours older now and no problems yet

 

[spamel]

I went to Milton Park Junior School, we used to walk through the park to go to the library, I always enjoyed it there. I think it is Milton and Bransbury parks that really got me interested in the outdoors, especially as I walked through Bransbury every day on the way to school.

It's funny, but as a child, I never noticed mushrooms growing around Portsmouth, and I've only noticed the edible mushrooms in the past few years since really getting interested in them. I noticed a lot of ceps and bay boletes when I was on sennelagr training area a few months back, but unfortunately I couldn't pick them at the time!! Since getting back to Hohne, I haven't seen any which is not good. Oh well, better luck next year!

 

[Alison]

Dear Spamel- you need to come on home!! loads going on in dear old Pompey! from walnuts (that have been nicked,) rosehips a plenty, wild Quince (rather surprising!), ten ton of sweet chestnut, one pear that refuses to fall from the tree (no amount of punishment by an umbrella will release it!), sloes, apples.....need i continue!!! and Farlington Marshes- need i say more? Do you glow at night?

only husband has just told me that Eastney barracks were closed for a time due to radioactivity? Are you the bright star in Germany?

 

[spamel]

Not too sure about radioactivity, but the marina is built on top of a large asbestos dump that was dug into the ground prior to building the accomodation on top of it. We used to play on the ground there for years before the marina was dug out of the ground, that area was visited by gypsies every year. I've tried looking on google earth at ferry and gibraltar road in Eastney which are the two streets Ilived in, but it doesn't seem to be very clear!

My first camping trip was along solent way, and my dad once lost his wedding ring on Milton common amongst the long grass. Don't bother looking for it as he found it again, but not before setting blaze to the whole common!! I strongly suggest that if you ever lose something in long grass, you don't "burn a little bit just to make it easier to find"! Well in dad!

Can you find shrooms around those parts though? It's actually been a long time since I've lived in Portsmouth, my dad got posted to Plymouth around 1987-8 so we lived in Plymstock and then moved to Looseleigh lane by Derriford hospital in Plymouth and then we all moved back up North about 8 years ago to Sheffield.

Sorry for going totally off topic!