Jump to content

What is it about mushrooms?


Recommended Posts

What is it about mushrooms that pulls you in?

Its multidimensional for me.  I love cooking so wild edibles such as shrooms make my dishes a little extra special.  The different textures, tastes and shapes, mushrooms totally kick ass in a dish.  Foraging is highly therapeutic for me - getting out into the forest is really quite the medicine for my mental state.  Mushrooms are full of surprises from a scientific perspective - there are many more spectacular secrets for us to uncover from them.  They make for great subjects to photograph - no sudden movements.

Your turn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the above.

It's a healthy obsession, an Easter egg hunt that lasts a lifetime. You can go out into Nature and find something that wasn't there yesterday, and it's beautiful, interesting, and maybe even tasty. US coins used to be a lot of fun, before the silver was taken out of circulation and the "wheat" pennies all disappeared. Now, your chance of finding a rare coin is virtually zero. But it's not all that unusual to find some particular type of mushroom that I have not seen for maybe 10 years, or maybe never before. Plus, I enjoy the challenge of trying to ID what I find. Then joy of discovery. Game changers for me were digital cameras and the internet. Since I've been a little kid, I've always enjoyed collecting things. When I was 4 or 5 I had a collection of chewing gum wrappers that I found on the ground. Then I moved on to rocks/minerals, coins, stamps, fossils. Now I collect photographs of mushrooms... and jars full of dried morels and porcini. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been a nature nut since I was old enough to wander away from the house. I feel content and at home there. I make primitive archery hunting gear and when I go hunting, I don't just go 'hunt deer' as most do nowadays... I go as a hunter gatherer, hunting any opportunity at any wild game in season, always with an eye for wild edibles or other useful items as well. But mushrooms, especially, have been intriguing me for some reason recently. I think it's like Dave said, a lifelong Easter egg hunt, a challenge, and quest for knowledge. What better reason to spend more time out in the woods?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like that they get you into the forest more than hiking does. Walking through the woods and observing is fine, but once you really start studying the diversity found in forests it gives you a whole new appreciation for them.

For me it’s also a way to feel connected to the people who taught me the foundations of mushrooming/outdoorsmanship but have since passed. 

Plus they are tasty. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I like being in nature, identifying organisms is fun and somewhat educational, and fungi are so unstudied that I can contribute to studies just by finding and cataloging them online.  Someday I might even feel confident enough to eat what I identify as edible!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

All the above plus the slight danger factor in the back of my mind somehow draws me. I'm still brand new outside of hens and sulphur shelf. Took me a while to work up courage to try these this past August even tho I really researched and made sure they were chanterelles I was nervous, but I did eat, and man are they delicious, and I'm still alive! Ha! I gotta find a morel!!

IMG_3933.JPG

IMG_3936.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.