Best August for shrooming that I can remember...

[Cab]

Just in the last few days I've had 33 different species of wild edible mushrooms.

And its only August for pities sake.

Shaping up into an amazing season.

Most exciting finds were unexpected ceps and bay boletus up near where her parents live in Wakefield, and some sweet little oyster mushrooms nearer to home in Cambridge. Also had good finds of two rare-ish Agaricus, namely A. vapoarius and A. porphyrocephalus, both of which I've been eating for years but now, looking at Rogersmushrooms.com, are suspected of being inedible or toxic. Oh, well...

LOADS growing out there. Absolutely loads.

[Dave]

Well that's my weekend planned then, seems very early for a lot of things this year.

[Andy Hamilton]

doing really well! Not found that much this year yet, a trip to the woods is in order I think. GOt some dryads saddle for my tea tonight though.

[hedgewizard]

I didn't know you could eat that! Wow - looks like I have to get out there. The planting will have to wait another few hours...

[Millymollymandy]

OK folks, please tell me where I am going wrong. I know you are not supposed to wash mushrooms, but they are filthy when picked out in the wilds, so I don't see any other option. I wash supermarket mushrooms and that doesn't change their texture or taste.

However the three different kinds of wild mushrooms I've eaten have all turned to mush when cooked and really didn't taste of anything at all. (Parasol, oyster and field). It has quite put me off them completely.

So what do you do?

[Dave]

Hedgewizard - You can eat Dryads Saddle but only the young ones, the bigger they are the tougher they get. I really don't like the taste, me and Andy went picking together and I left him with them for that reason

Millymollymandy- Try washing with just a jay-cloth or similar rather than in a collinder as you would other vegetables. Is it at the washing stage they turn to mush or cooking? Also it might be to do with how you get them home, mushrooms don't like being in plastic bags very much. It sometimes doesn't hurt but I have had a nice mixed mushroom mush at the bottom of a bag when picking before especially if the weather's been wet.

[Shirley]

Love the new pic Dave!!

I tend to just wipe muck of the mushies with a damp thumb.. or cloth if needs be. I also find that cooking IMMEDIATELY after washing/wiping helps.... I do just a handful at a time and then straight into the hot pan.

[Cab]

OK folks, please tell me where I am going wrong. I know you are not supposed to wash mushrooms, but they are filthy when picked out in the wilds, so I don't see any other option. I wash supermarket mushrooms and that doesn't change their texture or taste.

However the three different kinds of wild mushrooms I've eaten have all turned to mush when cooked and really didn't taste of anything at all. (Parasol, oyster and field). It has quite put me off them completely.

So what do you do?

When collecting, snap the base of the stem off and have a look. Is it so full of maggots that it would be like eating noodles? Chuck it. Is it filthy? Brush as much dirt off as you can, it should be as near to clean as you can get it when it goes gills down into your basket.

Get the shrooms home, and then wipe them over with a cloth, tissue or little brush. Thats all you should need to do.

Parasols are usually bursting with flavour; try segmenting them up a bit, dip in batter with some garlic in it, and deep fry. Gorgeous. Oyster shrooms should have loads of texture, try using them in oriental dishes where that texture comes through. Don't over-cook, leave a little bite to them. Field mushrooms are usuall outstanding as fried mushrooms with breakfast or in stews... unless, of course, you pick them when they're sopping wet, then they'll usually go mushy. Dunno if this helps, hope it does.

[hedgewizard]

Mmm, parasol mushrooms were the first ones I ever picked. Delish! Echo sentiments about washing; wipe or brush only, and don't attempt to store for more than a few hours. If you're not using straight away, dry.

[Millymollymandy]

I'm not the one picking (apart from the oysters which are in my garden). So the field mushrooms were damp and all covered in grass and stuff - they couldn't be wiped off as it was everywhere. I think they were picked in the morning and there is a lot of dew.

Anyway I still have the horrors of last years maggoty oysters so that is kind of where I get put off the wild ones.

[gunners71uk]

i wanna find puff balls but i only see em on tv any tips as they easy to identify and i wont get deli bele lol

[hedgewizard]

Sounds like a mix of leaving them too long and not pouncing on 'em quickly enough after cutting - sorry about the bad experience! Even your maggoty oysters will slice and dry for powder ok though. The mags just add to the protein!

Gunners, puffballs are easy but they're not the best eating in the world unless you like tofu or mushroom flavoured marshmallow. You already know more or less what they look like so all you need to do is cut right through the middle of one when you find a patch, and if they're white all the way through then they're ok to eat - nothing you might easily confuse them with will be uniform and white right through. If you're talking about giant puffballs, the only thing you might possibly confuse with one of them is an escaped pet rabbit. Take them when they're grapefruit sized, then there's no need to peel.

[gunners71uk]

cheers hedgewizard.... do i need to peel the rabbit lol