how long before you tried one

[cruixman]

hello everyone. im still new to this site. and im into mushrooms. i know theres quite a few people. in here. who also have this interest. but my questions simple.

how long was it before you tasted your first wild mushroom?

[Rosendula]

About a week ago! I've always wanted to pick wild mushrooms but have never had the knowledge (other than the knowledge that some are poisonous, which was enough to stop me picking any). A while ago I got Richard Mabey's 'Food For Free' and thought I might be able to identify some, but never had it with me when I saw any. I did pick a few and take them home, but on checking the book I couldn't be certain and so threw them away. I then borrowed John Seymour's 'Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency' from the library, and, er, won the Self Sufficientish Bible . With all those on my arm, I felt confident that the shaggy caps I found were edible. And they were lovely. . We've also found others when out on walks, but couldn't find them in any of the books I had to hand, so I've bought special mushroom book which identifies all the mushrooms and toadstools in England. Unfortunately, it only tells you on some of the descriptions whether the mushroom is edible or poisonous. For the rest you're left guessing If anyone can recommend a mushroom book, I would really appreciate it, but it needs to be cheap We're hoping to get out to some local wild woods one day soon where I know a lot of mushrooms grow. I'll take all my books along I think

EDIT: BTW, you asked 'how long was it?' I first heard of people eating wild mushrooms when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I'm 37 now, so about 30 years!

[Rod in Japan]

I have some little mushrooms growing in my "lawn". I'm wondering if they're of one of the magic varieties. I'll take some pics next time some come up and solicit opinions.

[prison break fan]

Hi Cruixman, My daughter and I are really into mushrooms and fungi. We have several books, some more helpful than others, but all we have been brave enough to try are the ordinary field mushrooms and the parasol mushrooms. We did find one cep a couple of weeks ago, and had half each! Delish! We found a Chicken of the Woods but lost our nerve at the frying pan stage! pbf

[Clara]

My first was a parasol and I ate that because It was confirmed to me by someone who knew not only the mushroom but also the area (and was once given an entirely different but poisonous mushroom by her mother by mistake, and so I knew would be applying an extreme precautionary principle). That was three years ago and not long after I got into foraging etc. In truth though I've not eaten much since, I see mushroom foraging as a lifetime pursuit so I will collect any mushroom I see and then take the time to identify it, making sure I hone my observation skills, look but don't eat. This might be over cautious of me, but then my friend's description of mushroom poisoning (a yellowstainer so something quite easily confused) sounded horrendous (and they aren't even deadly). I figure that our foraging forebears would have had a deeper and more intimate connection with the ground they foraged, being raised in the same area (that doesn't often happen these days), the knowledge of what grew where and whether it was safe to eat being instilled at an early age, being almost intuitive. I'm trying to build this knowledge first. The recent case of fatal mushroom poisoning in the south of england seems to have come about because the women applied the knowledge of wild mushrooms they had from their native asia to mushrooms which grew in the UK, with tragic consequences.

[cruixman]

im a novice to mushroom collecting. most specimens ive only photographed. i have eaten 3 types so far. the pennybun was the first i tried. as this one to me is almost unmistakeable. and delicious too. and in august and september. they were everywhere in my local glen. the next one was a chanterelle. which only grew in 1 part of the glen. the other was wht i thought to be a saffron milk cup. i was wrong. i still have not identified it yet. but i think it was a beech milk cap. it had a very strong mushroom flavour. infact to strong for most pallats i,d say. next thing im looking for is a good guide. as the internet can be very misleading. and i now intend to spend alot more time with identfication. just for my own knowledge. as the ones i eat will be the ones that are easiest to identify...see yous all later...cheers guys....jim

[citizentwiglet]

Do magic ones count??

[rockchick]

My 1 year old decided to try one in the garden the other day, she only took a very small nibble but it sent everyone into a whirl of panic trying to identify and work out if it was ok to eat. We don't have a dedicated fungi book but by the time we'd finished picking through every vaguely wildlife centred book we own and child still happily charging round the garden with no adverse reaction, we decided she probably got away with it. Stupid thing is she won't touch a standard button mushromm when served on her dinner plate!

[sleepyowl]

when I was a kid around 20 years ago

[agapanthus]

Just bought Roger Phillips book.....Mushrooms. It's fantastic!!! Has over 1,250 detailed photographs. Also have a few others but these have drawings rather than photos. Definitely think you stand a better chance of identifying them with photos rather than drawings.

[cruixman]

magic mushrooms.............err yes they count................jim

[Flo]

Haven't had wild mushrooms since I left home on farm. Dad knew every mushroom that grew there and bought home decent ones daily when he found them. Mind you he'd been farming man and boy all his life and there's no substitute for experience in any book.