Comments on: Why There Are No Old Bold Mushroom Hunters

By: David B.

David B.

second one down on the right hand side of the third group sure looks like a chanterelle (a choice edible) to me, though one that’s a way past its prime. the one to its left is obviously in the chanterelle family, though i don’t know if it’s one of the choice edibles.

don’t feel too bad about not eating them, though — rule number one of eating wild mushrooms is that if you’re not ABSOLUTELY sure what it is, DON’T EAT IT.

what convinced me to start being sure enough of my identification skills to eat some kinds of wild mushrooms was when on a hike someone noticed me snacking on wild sweet cicely and was shocked someone would casually eat something so closely related to (and to many eyes — though not mine — close in appearance to) deadly poisonous water hemlock.

that, and tasting a few a friend had harvested — MUCH better than the store-bought ones.

By: Beth

Beth

Yet another reason I’m glad I don’t like mushrooms :-)

By: Melynda

Melynda

They are beautiful, and they can be deadly. My father was a forager, he was not old.

By: Jo

Beautiful pictures!

When I used to live at an old house, every spring the lawn would have a fairy ring of small white mushrooms. They were as delicate as lace and would be gone as soon as the sun shone on them awhile.

I agree with you, I do not eat wild mushrooms. Too risky for sure!

By: Jen

Jen

They’re really gorgeous!

By: rhiamom

rhiamom

Try morels. Once you know what they look like, they cannot be confused, not even with the so-called false morels. Look them both up. Don’t pick the so-called half-free morels, just the common and black varieties. I hunted them with my mother as a child, as did all my cousins with their mothers. Yes, even a child can distinguish them with ease. My mother would never even consider eating a mushroom of any other kind, as there are so many poisonous varieties and she couldn’t be certain of their safety.

The only caveat with morels that they must be cooked before eating. Soaking in salt water makes the bugs come out of the ridges of the mushroom before cooking.

By: momzoo

momzoo

Those are beautiful, I have always loved the look of mushrooms. However, I am with you, and I would rather be safe than dead!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie

There’s a mushroom festival where I used to live, every year. I went one year and found what one can do, even if one is not bold enough to eat the mushrooms– dye fiber with them! The different spores interact in various ways with different dye agents, and you can get some very vivid shades, even royal blues, out of natural mushroom-based dyes.