Wild Fungi

[Richard Brittain]

Does anyone else here have an interest in wild fungi? Recently I have become interested.

I have come across a lot of Birch Polypores in local woodlands lately. Some of you may know this fungus as the 'Razor Strop Fungus' or 'Birch Bracket'. According to my book it's too tough to eat, but I have read elsewhere that it is eaten in some places, and it doesn't look or feel incredibly tough. I reckon that if it were cooked correctly it would be quite edible, tasty even. Does anyone here have experience in this kind of thing?

Edit: to avoid confusion regarding the exact species of fungi I mean, I added a picture:



These fungi really look quite appealing and there are so many of them around, it would be a shame to think that there is no use to them.

[Charlie Reams]

Wow, this is the sort of thread that makes me glad we have an Off-topic forum. I've never eaten one but I'd be well impressed if you tried it. It does seem a waste not to.

[Jon O'Neill]

For a moment tehre I thought you'd psoted that picture of my penis I sent you.

[Richard Brittain]

Jono, you were so excited in making that post, you made 2 typos.

For the record, I do intend to make a thread about your penis, but that will obviously go in the 'Countdown - Spoilers' section, not here.

[Charlie Reams]

Will it be a regular feature? Maybe we should set up a dedicated sub-forum.

[Richard Brittain]

Will it be a regular feature? Maybe we should set up a dedicated sub-forum.

About fungi or Jono's anatomy? Or both?

It could be both, because there is actually a fungus called Jew's Ear.



No joke. It is edible but 'quite tasteless'.

Anyway, I think making a sub-forum dedicated to the discussion of fungi would be a great idea.

[Jon Corby]

Why did the fungi go the disco?


Because he was a mushroom.

[M. George Quinn]

Why did the mushroom leave the disco when it got busy?

Because there wasn't fungi in there.


I ate a mushroom once that tasted like frog crap. It was actually a toadstool.

[David O'Donnell]

When did you eat frog crap, big lad?

PS best thread ever!

[Gavin Chipper]

Why did the fungi go the disco?


Because he was a mushroom.

Erm - actually, no, I think you know.

[Joseph Bolas]

Mushrooms are lovely. I like buying the portabello mushrooms and spreading blue cheese on them and grilling them until the cheese melts, but the mushroom ends up getting soggy.

[M. George Quinn]

When did you eat frog crap, big lad?

Oh, you know, these things happen, you're licking their back and you slip.

[Richard Brittain]

Weirdos.

[Joseph Bolas]

I ate a mushroom once that tasted like frog crap. It was actually a toadstool.

I get the joke, but is there any real differences between Mushrooms and Toadstools?

[Richard Brittain]

is there any real differences between Mushrooms and Toadstools?

I think that a toadstool is distinguished by its round and fleshy head, and general thickness. Example:



You could imagine a toad just sitting on it. A toadstool is merely a type of mushroom.

[Ben Wilson]

is there any real differences between Mushrooms and Toadstools?

I think that a toadstool is distinguished by its round and fleshy head, and general thickness. Example:



You could imagine a toad just sitting on it. A toadstool is merely a type of mushroom.

...And if you eat it, you grow to twice your normal size and can take one fatal injury without fear of death.

[Joseph Bolas]

Seems a bit weird, but there is a mushroom called Fried Chicken Mushroom :

[Richard Brittain]

Interesting. There is also 'Chicken of the Woods', which does look quite tasty:



I suppose there are a few types of mushroom that taste like chicken.

One day I would like to try living in the woods for a few months consuming only fungi and water.

[Joseph Bolas]

Interesting. There is also 'Chicken of the Woods', which does look quite tasty:

To me that looks a bit like scrambled egg actually .

[Ben Wilson]

Interesting. There is also 'Chicken of the Woods', which does look quite tasty:

To me that looks a bit like scrambled egg actually .

I was thinking more along the lines of a load of poppadoms.

[Joseph Bolas]

I was thinking more along the lines of a load of poppadoms.

I never looked at it that way. It also looks like a stack of giant Skips (as in the crisps).

[Jon O'Neill]

I think it looks like my mother's vagina.

[Jon Corby]

I think it looks like my mother's vagina.

I'll just lol at that, rather than posting some obvious "yeah I thought that too" gag...

[Joseph Bolas]

How about this for a mushroom

[Richard Brittain]

Not bad. Is it edible?

[Joseph Bolas]

Not bad. Is it edible?

I am not sure to be honest. The link was included in a passage on a site where it doesn't state name or edibility (sp?).
This passage is taken from Jim Conrad's Naturalist Newsletter:

OLD MAN OF THE WOODS
Last weekend in the moist, magnolia-populated little cove I visited, all alone in the middle of a trail there was an Old Man of The Woods, whom you can admire at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/07/070803om.jpg.

If you have trouble making sense of that photo, it's a mushroom with a black, shaggy cap, STROBILOMYCES cf. CONFUSUS. The "cf." in the name stands for "confirm," in recognition of the fact that two look-alike species exist and I'm just guessing that this is the one with the more southerly distribution, one extending into Costa Rica.

I assume that the mushroom's name is a comment on its cap's shagginess, as well as its tendency to be found alone, all dark and broody-looking, in such isolated places as that shadowy little cove. Books say that the species is edible, but very bland, and not making a pretty dish, so few people bother to pick it.

By the way, while my US server was issuing last week's Newsletter it went offline. I'm guessing that up to 800 subscribers didn't get that issue, so they never saw the picture of what surely is one of the most unusual mushrooms on Earth. That image remains archived at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/07/070727wf.jpg.

There is an archive on the site which lists all the types of mushrooms http://www.backyardnature.net/n/fungi.htm but the links are directed to topics but not actual pictures.

[Richard Brittain]

Looks as though it could be some kind of morel. A rare American variety perhaps.

[Jon O'Neill]

My attempts at reducing possible the most boring discussion on any forum anywhere ad absurdum failed; I shall therefore resort even lower, and post something vaguely interesting.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puDkLFcCZyI

[Gavin Chipper]

I ate a mushroom once that tasted like frog crap. It was actually a toadstool.

I get the joke, but is there any real differences between Mushrooms and Toadstools?

Aren't toadstools the poisonous ones?

[JimBentley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puDkLFcCZyI

Fucking hell, I think that's where the Doctor Who scriptwriters got their inspiration from in the seventies (and eighties, to a lesser extent). Thanks Jono! You are indeed a ginger god.

[Joseph Bolas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puDkLFcCZyI

Fucking hell, I think that's where the Doctor Who scriptwriters got their inspiration from in the seventies (and eighties, to a lesser extent). Thanks Jono! You are indeed a ginger god.

Awesome video. I think the 3rd one is very funny and the last one is very disgusting.

[Richard Brittain]

I have some wonderful news for you all. Today, for the first time ever, I found some Chicken of the Woods in Northaw Great Wood. I took some of it home, fried it and ate it, and behold, it tasted quite good.

[Damian E]

Dont you have Sainsbury's in your part of the country?

[Richard Brittain]

Dont you have Sainsbury's in your part of the country?

Haha, yes, but I find their selection of fungi to be quite limited. Also, this is completely natural, it hasn't had all sorts of chemicals pumped into it, had fats and other parts extracted from it, been frozen and shipped from Africa, etc. I found Chicken of the Woods to be very satisfying and wholesome tasting; even when fried I could taste a natural, rich goodness to it. The only downside of eating wild fungi is that you could suddenly keel over and die after eating one, but with a decent guidebook one would have to be pretty stupid to pick a poisonous one.

[Joseph Bolas]

The only downside of eating wild fungi is that you could suddenly keel over and die after eating one, but with a decent guidebook one would have to be pretty stupid to pick a poisonous one.

Whats the best guidebook to buy when it comes to poinsonous mushrooms?

[Richard Brittain]

The only downside of eating wild fungi is that you could suddenly keel over and die after eating one, but with a decent guidebook one would have to be pretty stupid to pick a poisonous one.

Whats the best guidebook to buy when it comes to poinsonous mushrooms?

I don't know what the best one is, but I would recommend the Easy Edible Mushroom Guide (of Easy Nature Guides). A comprehensive book written by Prof. David Pegler, which details virtually all of the edible and poisonous species found in Britain. Each species has two pages to itself, with a photograph, pictures and diagram of it and a 'Lookalikes' box, and there is lots of other general information about fungi in Britain. A reasonably small book, and quite light, so can easily be carried around in a coat pocket. More comprehensive guides on fungi do exist, because this book doesn't include all of the quite numerable inedible-yet-not-poisonous species, such as the common birch polypore mentioned at the top of this thread, but you can't go wrong with this guidebook if you're looking to find edible (or poisonous) mushrooms. £12.99 RRP.

Another book I would recommend is the tiny pocket-sized Collins Gem 'Food for Free', which lists all sorts of plants, flowers, berries, nuts and fungi which can actually be eaten. Carry these two books on you at all times, and you basically need nothing else.

[Joseph Bolas]

Whats the best guidebook to buy when it comes to poinsonous mushrooms?

I don't know what the best one is, but I would recommend the Easy Edible Mushroom Guide (of Easy Nature Guides). A comprehensive book written by Prof. David Pegler, which details virtually all of the edible and poisonous species found in Britain. Each species has two pages to itself, with a photograph, pictures and diagram of it and a 'Lookalikes' box, and there is lots of other general information about fungi in Britain. A reasonably small book, and quite light, so can easily be carried around in a coat pocket. More comprehensive guides on fungi do exist, because this book doesn't include all of the quite numerable inedible-yet-not-poisonous species, such as the common birch polypore mentioned at the top of this thread, but you can't go wrong with this guidebook if you're looking to find edible (or poisonous) mushrooms. £12.99 RRP.

Another book I would recommend is the tiny pocket-sized Collins Gem 'Food for Free', which lists all sorts of plants, flowers, berries, nuts and fungi which can actually be eaten. Carry these two books on you at all times, and you basically need nothing else.

Thank you for the reccommendations . I am a bit tempted to go out and find some poisonous mushrooms .

I tried some shitake mushrooms before that had been soaked in a brine and they tasted very slimy and sickly.

[Derek Hazell]

I have just tried some Portobello mushrooms from Marks & Spencer. About the circumference of a large mug, they were were a strong-tasting dark mushroom, with a delicious juicy centre. Grown on Ireland's Atlantic coast, and picked daily, they are just the kind of mushroom I would like to be able to pick myself.

Maybe if I can make CoBruss I can learn some valuable tips.

[Richard Brittain]

That sounds pretty good. We're just coming into the mushroom season.

[Derek Hazell]

That sounds pretty good. We're just coming into the mushroom season.

From the new Radio Times (apart from the controversy he has caused by saying we should leave pandas to die out), Chris Packham says "look for edible cep mushrooms underfoot, which people forage for. Autumn is great fungi season.
The great myth of edible plants? One per cent of our flora is edible; one per cent is poisonous. The rest just taste crap."