unmistakable fungi

[ateallthepies]

Loving my mushrooms as I do, it is the one wild edible I do not partake in, purely because if you make a mistake it may be your last apart from not cooking with enough garlic!!

What fungi do others here feel 100% confident of picking and eating without worrying?

For me it would be a youngish shaggy ink cap but even then I fear I may be scoffing a Destroying Angel!

Steve.

 

[sasquatch]

Hedgehog Fungus and giant puffballs are my two fail proof mushrooms...the spines on a hedgehog are a dead giveaway and they're as nice as chanterelle and a fist sized giant puffball is good to go if the centre is marshmallowy white. Puffballs should be out now and hedgehog in a couple weeks hopefully. Always best to check with someone first if unsure obviously, it's not worth the risk for a free munch! Note the type of trees where you found them and post pictures if unsure.

 

[Harvestman]

Parasol mushroom is pretty unmistakeable. Also Larch bolete, since none of the Suillus group of fungi are inedible or poisonous. Jelly ear (jew's ear in old texts), Chicken of the woods, there are several easy to identify fungi. I like St George's mushroom because its season makes it pretty impossible to confuse it with anything else.

Best advice though is go with someone who knows for certain, and learn them yourself. Take it slowly, and learn one or two at a time. As you say, it is better to be sure. If you find yourself in any amount of doubt, don't eat it.

Geoff Dann seems to be the foremost fungi expert on here.

 

[ateallthepies]

Many years ago, a Czech guy who moved here after the war and was a friend of my dad was a mushroomer and I remember vaguely going picking with him as a wee lad. Sadly he passed a while ago (not from poisoning mind) before I really learnt anything from him. Never met anyone else who knew their mushrooms since, except a mates again Czech wife and family who know their stuff.

Steve.

 

[Geoff Dann]

Steve,

What fungi do others here feel 100% confident of picking and eating without worrying?

For me it would be a youngish shaggy ink cap but even then I fear I may be scoffing a Destroying Angel!

If you are worried about confusing a shaggy ink cap with a destroying angel, don't eat shaggy inkcaps...

It all depends what is unmistakable for you. I usually advise that you shouldn't eat anything unless you are 100% certain what it is, but in reality it is some sort of numbers game. If the chance that you could mistake something you'd like to eat with something that could cause you serious harm is significantly non-zero, then don't eat it. You have to supply the actual numbers yourself.

 

[Geoff Dann]

hedgehog in a couple weeks hopefully.

I found some last week.

 

[spartacus]

Shaggy inkcap,cep of course,giant puffball,chicken of the woods,field mushroom.

Parasol done in beaten egg,breadcrumbs and grated cheese with a fried egg on top mmmmmm.

Bolete's and saffron milk cap.

Och, any that I can identify, dried for use later or done in breadcrumbs as a mezze.

As others have said, if in doubt, chuck it out.

Happy hunting.

Anton Carluccio has a recipe for rolled stuffed chicken and it's stuffed with ink caps breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning. My ex loved this. I promised to make her it then I had to find ANOTHER book to find out how to bone the chicken lol. One thing leads to another eh? Have fun.

 

[Mafro]

Its all too easy to get caught up in the eating of the mushrooms, when the most important part is the identification. I know its exciting to take home a meal, but learn your mushrooms first, as one mistake and it could be your last ever meal.
I totally agree with Geoff's comment of if you have the slightest doubt that you could get it confused, do not eat it. Its just not worth the risk. However, that isn't to stop you picking a specimin or two, taking them home and trying to make a possitive ID. Get yourself some good books, cut your mushrooms to watch for colour changes, do spore prints and smell them. All of these will help you with your identification in the future.

One thing I said to myself is that I wouldn't eat anything until I was 100% with its identification, and also that I had learnt its latin name.

Good luck mate, and enjoy the learning

 

[sasquatch]

I found some last week.

Nice one, they don't pop up here until late September normally where I go. Looking forward to it as I've found a geat spot not far from my house. Did you have a good haul down there?

 

[21st century pict]

I’ve been picking chanterelles and hedgehogs for years, and have made a big studied of fungi this year and the more I learn the more and more I get cautious. There is so many mushrooms with very similar looking species for example the Blusher and the Panther cap. Be very cautious.

 

[Geoff Dann]

Nice one, they don't pop up here until late September normally where I go. Looking forward to it as I've found a geat spot not far from my house. Did you have a good haul down there?

Of Hedghogs? No, there were just a couple, so a left the small one to get bigger. Probably just the first of many. Loads of chanterelles on the same day, though.

 

[Geoff Dann]

I’ve been picking chanterelles and hedgehogs for years, and have made a big studied of fungi this year and the more I learn the more and more I get cautious. There is so many mushrooms with very similar looking species for example the Blusher and the Panther cap. Be very cautious.

Indeed. Blushers are good to eat (must be properly cooked), but it would be all too easy for an inexperienced person to pick hundreds of them and get away with it before they come across their first panther cap. If on that day they are not paying CLOSE attention, they could easily find themselves in very serious trouble.