[JohnB]

After moving to the countryside I immediatly started to look for ways to live ore frugaly.
Free firewood (don't ask I am not going to tell you)
I started with Mushroom picking.
1st The majority of things you here about mushroom picking is rubbish, utter rubbish. The normal idiotic statement is "All toadstools are poisonous" and all mushrooms aren't this is not just rubbish but dangerous rubbish.
2nd There is no scientific difference between a mushroom and a toadstool.
3rd The words are often used interchangeably. One book will have a variety as a toadstool another will call it a mushroom.
4th There are far more poisons mushrooms than poisonous toadstools although not proportionally. There are edible toadstools.
5th the categories are:-
Edible

Inedible (either taste horrible or is not cook able and sometimes counted as inedible at later stage of growth)

Suspicious (the sort of thing one village would say was poisonous while another would say it wasn't)

Poisonous (bad guts)

Very poisonous (very bad guts, possibly kill a young child, an elderly or already sick person)

Deadly poisons  (1 mushroom can kill 8 people) In the case of deadly fungi (the proper name) most deaths occur when a person does not go to hospital within 24 hours (about 50%) the remainder need a kidney and liver transplant. There are 3 deadly fungi Death Cap and destroying Angel. The 3rd is Inocybe papatouillardii (no common name) all the Inocybe though are poisonous to very poisonous. Also they all look very similar so you just avoid them end of story.

Note the majority of poisoning are caused by the yellow stainer (not deadly) which is mistaken for a field mushrooms (very similar) or the horse mushroom (not very similar). This epitomize just how silly people can be A/ it does not grow in the same habitat B/ It is very easy to identify it (yellow stain at the base when picked)

My rules
1/ Have 2 books. Firstly a Collins Gem. This is a pocket book with about 200 fungi in them. All the poisonous all the edible and a lot of poisonous/very poisonous. Plus a lot of the weird looking mushrooms. The second should be a large, A4 size for instance with lots pictures instead of drawings . You use this to do a final check when you get home. (Peter Jordan mushroom's pickers foolproof field guide for instance) These tend to have much smaller amount variety of fungi in them IE all the normal edibles, poisonous, deadly poisonous. About 90 fungi in total.
2/ personally I never make a meal with more than 1 variety of mushrooms in it. As it would be difficult to say which one poisoned you and more importantly was it deadly.
3/ Specialize. Keep your choice to maybe 10 edible mushrooms and get them from the same place all the time. The latter is also the best way to find them anyway. Over time you can increase the amount of types you go for but be in no rush to do so.
4/Record everything so you can find them again instead of walking round blind each year.
5/ Enjoy.

[arugula]

Very interesting John. I just wish I was brave enough to forage for mushrooms even though I have more than one book as you recommend.....

[Kleftiwallah]

The other book has got to be "Peter Jordan's Wild Mushroom Bible"    ?

If anyone's interested I.S.B.N.  0-7548-1066-6.  Excellent book.    Cheers,   Tony.

[sion01]

I eat a lot of wild greens but mushrooms are one thing I stear clear of appart from the bog standard field mushroom which seem to be deminishing every year.I just don't have the confidence to eat the others

[Yorkie]

That is an interesting post, John.  However, the bottom line for anybody has to be that if you are not 100% sure of what you are eating, do not risk it.

One person lost their life and another lost all use of their kidneys (I believe it was) last year through inaccurate ID of fungi which they ate.

[JohnB]

      Year has not started of well for mushrooms. Although there are fungi to pick all year round it is not till now that the season starts with the St Georges Mushroom. Well the daft weather seem to have knackered up the season. Got about  Kilo last year just 3 small ones so far this year and doubt anything else will appear. Pity anyone else find the same problem? I am checking because it could alway be something  else although as the farmer does not spray there I can think of nothing else.

[JohnB]

That is an interesting post, John.  However, the bottom line for anybody has to be that if you are not 100% sure of what you are eating, do not risk it.

One person lost their life and another lost all use of their kidneys (I believe it was) last year through inaccurate ID of fungi which they ate.

Actually it was someone who owned a large estate who was a mushroom collector and decided to have a dinner party where the main course was a mushroom stew (I don't do mixed dishes). Now as the dinner party was for 8 people he obviously struggled to find enough hence the mistake. I am not sure (assuming this was the case you are talking about) how many died but I think 4 needed kidney or and liver transplants........which brings me to another thing I would never do.........trust someone elses ID of fungi. Going out in a minute to see if the St Georges are making a comeback as the weather is more spring like now. Is it? or is it colder. I am on the LIncolnshire Wolds.      JB

[JohnB]

PS Don't tell anyone where your locations are why share a limited resource. If there is more than you need you can always give them away. This is not a contradiction of my earlier statement about not using someone else’s ID of a fungi as
A/ there problem if they want to trust you
B/ uncooked so ID is possible.
    Go early in the morning as most mushrooms are attacked by insects (which are dormant at night) and of course you stand a better chance of getting them before other collectors!!!

[Yorkie]

I was thinking of a combination of two stories, they were longer ago than I thought!:

First one

Second one, which is the one you referred to.

[Ice]

If you value your life and your health go on a proper foraging course with an expert mycologist in charge.  Don't try to teach yourself from a book.

My dad and many others round here poached and foraged for mushrooms all their lives.  He was taught by his dad and taught my brothers and me too.  But even he made himself ill a few times, luckily nothing too serious.

[Squibbs]

If you do eat mushrooms always save at least one that can be identified if you get ill.

I will only eat a very limited number I am very sure about - one of those is our garden's St George's which also hasn't appeared so far this year.

 

[JohnB]

If you value your life and your health go on a proper foraging course with an expert mycologist in charge.  Don't try to teach yourself from a book.

My dad and many others round here poached and foraged for mushrooms all their lives.  He was taught by his dad and taught my brothers and me too.  But even he made himself ill a few times, luckily nothing too serious.

People like you would normaly annoy me but sod it the more people the scaremongers put off the more fungi for me!!!

[joyfull]

Ice was not being a scaremonger but somebody who has seen the effects of people making mistakes so your response was totally uncalled for and personally I feel you owe her an apology.

[Yorkie]

John, please note paragraph 1 of the site policies:

Deliberately disrupting topics, unfriendliness or bad manners to others has no place here. 

Your most recent comment was rude to another member, and contained what was clearly intended to be a swear word.

Such conduct is not acceptable on this forum.

[Ice]

If I can save just one life, I will have made a difference.