I regularly work in an area that was, once upon a time, a huge birch woodland and heathland. Nowadays it's taken up with a housing estate, with a few pockets of woodland left skirting the edges of the development. During the autumn the place produces a huge wealth and variety of wild mushrooms.
Whilst there this week I came back with a small handful of edibles.
That evening we fried up the mushrooms, two of them I'd not eaten before, so generally with anything new I just fry it up on it's own and have a bit of a taster. Fried up the Slippery Jacks (peeled the caps first), the taste was all right but the texture was a bit slimy for my liking.
Then tried the Brown Birch Bolete. Peeled the stem and got rid of a few manky bits from the pores and fried it up. I know they seem to be regarded as not particularly good eating, but I quite liked it personally.
However, about 5/10 mins after eating it my neck and back started to stiffen up quite dramatically and quickly, I had a rush of feeling/sensation that ran through my body and limbs and I started to sweat a lot from my forehead. It definitely felt like a reaction to something I'd just ingested. It felt like taking a drug, with a continued slight delay in communication between my brain and the rest of my body. The initial reaction was quite potent but didn't last more than 30 -60 mins. I fried up a little bit more, just to see if it happened again, and it felt like it could, so I didn't persist. After that I had some minor fluctuations in temperature and a general feeling of intoxication and unease that lasted until I went to bed.
My partner, who also ate the same as me, felt fine initially. She had a bit more and then suddenly said "actually I feel a bit weird too". She described it as a feeling similar to what you might have just before you pass out, light headed with a cold flush. She felt a bit off for the rest of the evening. Though she thought it might be psychosomatic, due to me describing how I felt. Either way, we didn't opt for any more.
The next morning I had a slightly detached feeling from my memories of the night before, again similar to being intoxicated.
Whether this was related to the Birch Bolete or not, I can't be 100% sure. But it certainly felt like there was a toxic reaction going on. If I find another one, I will try a very small amount to see whether it happens again.
One thing that has occured to me with eating wild mushrooms is that the whole business seems very dependent on the individual, the site where they are growing and many other factors.
Anyway, just thought I'd put it up to see if anyone else has had similar.
Whilst there this week I came back with a small handful of edibles.
That evening we fried up the mushrooms, two of them I'd not eaten before, so generally with anything new I just fry it up on it's own and have a bit of a taster. Fried up the Slippery Jacks (peeled the caps first), the taste was all right but the texture was a bit slimy for my liking.
Then tried the Brown Birch Bolete. Peeled the stem and got rid of a few manky bits from the pores and fried it up. I know they seem to be regarded as not particularly good eating, but I quite liked it personally.
However, about 5/10 mins after eating it my neck and back started to stiffen up quite dramatically and quickly, I had a rush of feeling/sensation that ran through my body and limbs and I started to sweat a lot from my forehead. It definitely felt like a reaction to something I'd just ingested. It felt like taking a drug, with a continued slight delay in communication between my brain and the rest of my body. The initial reaction was quite potent but didn't last more than 30 -60 mins. I fried up a little bit more, just to see if it happened again, and it felt like it could, so I didn't persist. After that I had some minor fluctuations in temperature and a general feeling of intoxication and unease that lasted until I went to bed.
My partner, who also ate the same as me, felt fine initially. She had a bit more and then suddenly said "actually I feel a bit weird too". She described it as a feeling similar to what you might have just before you pass out, light headed with a cold flush. She felt a bit off for the rest of the evening. Though she thought it might be psychosomatic, due to me describing how I felt. Either way, we didn't opt for any more.
The next morning I had a slightly detached feeling from my memories of the night before, again similar to being intoxicated.
Whether this was related to the Birch Bolete or not, I can't be 100% sure. But it certainly felt like there was a toxic reaction going on. If I find another one, I will try a very small amount to see whether it happens again.
One thing that has occured to me with eating wild mushrooms is that the whole business seems very dependent on the individual, the site where they are growing and many other factors.
Anyway, just thought I'd put it up to see if anyone else has had similar.
