The Mistaken Mushroom

[ladyflyfsh]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/magazine/26lives-t.html

[Dave W]

Ha! Funny article... in a dark sorta way. Actually, I fear that the author has not sufficiently eliminated "Entoloma" as a possibility for his alleged Sweetbread Mushrooms.... or Clitocybe subconnexa, either. Clitopilus prunulus is not a very good choice for a beginner to try to ID/eat.

[jdcooper]

That was a great article!

[Sunny_0ne]

That WAS funny, and it resonated with me.

When I first started learning to identify wild edible mushrooms, I lucked onto a fallen log with a generous fruiting of oyster mushrooms. (My avatar photo) I checked every detail, took a spore print, and they were fine. So hubby and I enjoyed them.

Not too long after that I found something that looked kind of like an oyster mushroom, only it was growing out of the center of a cut log instead of from the bark, had a longer, skinnier stalk than an oyster, and didn't really look like the other ones I had found. But I wanted it to be an oyster so badly that I convinced myself it was. After all, it was growing on the same log where I had found the oysters. And I didn't mess with taking a spore print this time.

To make matters worse, I sliced it and served it raw on top of salad.

Exactly 20 minutes later, hubby and I raced to the back deck where we -- well, there's no way to make it sound more graceful than it was -- puked our guts out.

24 hours later we were starting to get back to normal.

Since then, I BELIEVE the warning not to eat a mushroom unless I know for SURE what I am eating! I'm a little more relaxed with boletes, but still will not eat one with red anything anywhere or that stains blue. So I pass up some blue stainers that are probably good edibles... but I haven't headed for the back deck railing lately either.

[dualsetters]

I talked to a ranger in the state forest yesterday that told me of a family of three that made a mistake in the area. They were not as fortunate as this writer. Im afraid to try anything and last year was torture trying all my first mushrooms. If adrenaline junkies want to try something dangerous, Id say this is way better than bungie jumping or parachuting where your actually tied to something. Im hoping in the near future to have more confidence with mushrooms like blewits and honeys, but for now I will stick to the obvious.

[Niish]

Illuminating and scary. I relied on a neighbor and made a mistake, but I only tasted it (a very tiny bit) and then spit it out as the fear element kicked into place.

[Sunny_0ne]

Illuminating and scary. I relied on a neighbor and made a mistake, but I only tasted it (a very tiny bit) and then spit it out as the fear element kicked into place.

The one thing I have learned so far is that I would NEVER eat a wild mushroom that someone else cooked unless I was willing to trust them with my life. Because that is what you are doing. And I have seen some people who are very careless with details who are enthusiastic about their mushroom hunting skills.

Now, if I saw the mushrooms before they were cooked and was absolutely certain they were identified correctly, then I would enjoy them.

For that reason, I also do not like to cook wild mushrooms for anyone but myself. And I am doubly careful before I offer them to hubby, too.

There are other considerations, too. For instance, oyster mushrooms contain statins, and my body has zero tolerance for statins. So although I will still eat them in small amounts, I would not eat them regularly.

So far I know that I have negative reactions to hen of the woods, honey mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms. And I'll probably discover more that are wonderful edibles for most people, but not for me.

For that reason, my interest in mushrooms is tending more toward photographing and identifying them rather than trying to find out how many I can eat.

So far I have not had a bad reaction to any bolete, so I regard them as relatively safe to experiment with, provided I am satisfied I have a close identification.

[Niish]

The one thing I have learned so far is that I would NEVER eat a wild mushroom that someone else cooked unless I was willing to trust them with my life. Because that is what you are doing. And I have seen some people who are very careless with details who are enthusiastic about their mushroom hunting skills.

Now, if I saw the mushrooms before they were cooked and was absolutely certain they were identified correctly, then I would enjoy them.

For that reason, I also do not like to cook wild mushrooms for anyone but myself. And I am doubly careful before I offer them to hubby, too.

There are other considerations, too. For instance, oyster mushrooms contain statins, and my body has zero tolerance for statins. So although I will still eat them in small amounts, I would not eat them regularly.

So far I know that I have negative reactions to hen of the woods, honey mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms. And I'll probably discover more that are wonderful edibles for most people, but not for me.

For that reason, my interest in mushrooms is tending more toward photographing and identifying them rather than trying to find out how many I can eat.

So far I have not had a bad reaction to any bolete, so I regard them as relatively safe to experiment with, provided I am satisfied I have a close identification.

Call this a lesson learned the hard way. I am alright and had no reaction whatsoever, however, I will NEVER do it again as it gave me a chill thinking about the possibilities. I prefer to admire and photograph as well and after my scare I think I'm gonna stay on the admiration side of the fence.