Mushroom picking

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I've read that it's popular in Russia. I don't go mushroom picking because there are no mushrooms here, but I've always wanted to. But I love to pick fruit and stuff. My grandparents have pomegranate, figs, peaches and a lot of stuff, so when I go over there, and they're good, I'll pick them.

Some person from Canada I know online told me that in his country no one picks mushrooms because almost all mushrooms that grow wild in there are poisonous.

Recently a LOT of attention in our media is paid to Tomek, a little boy of 6 who was given a poisonous mushroom to eat by his parents. He underwent a liver transplantation but his organism rejected the transplant. He's in need of a new liver now. It's one of the main topics in our media now; it has replaced the one of the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl Iwona Wieczorek. She disappeared with no trace:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28itwoHdbN8 The song from the soundtrack used in the clip is about a missing girl (however I think the words are about a girl with whom someone just lost touch over the course of time, about her METAPHORICAL disappearance not a real one).

Tomek got replaced in the media by Karina now; she is a mentally ret*d, autistic, epileptic girl of 10 coming from a pathological family, who got lost in the woods when she went to bring some mushrooms. She was found 6 days later. She lost all her toes on both her feet as the result.

She lost them due to the cold. They were looking for her - there were 600 people - but they didn't manage to find her until she was found accidentally by some people who saw her.

A small girl of 4 in Poland recently ate a death cap mushroom and is going to get a liver transplant now.

I identify mushrooms, but never actually pick them. I found some turkey tails growing on a dead tree stump. It's really cool, they formed a perfect circle around the edges of the dead stump. Paul Stamets, a famous mycologist, did a TEDtalk and towards the end he mentioned how a combination of some cancer meds and turkey tail mushrooms cured his 80 year old mother from cancer. Really interesting stuff, and to have it growing around here, is pretty awesome.


Video below, conversation begins around 7:50

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjv8Zj1ABAc[/youtube]

We have Turkey tails here,they are beautiful.
There are oyster mushroom,hen of the woods,kings coral,puff balls,and morels here.The most prized are the morels.They are called dry land fish.You never tell someone where your morel patch is.it is passed down from your family.We soak them,split and clean them and roll in meal and fry like fish.Wonderful.
There is folklore here about a seven step mushroom,eat and die on the seventh step.And we know not to eat a Witch's tit mushroom,or a death angel,both are here.The coolest thing I saw were the Indian pipes,so beautiful.
And there used to be these special mushrooms growing in the cow patties......

I love all those names I never heard them. I even don't know the names in Polish, to tell the truth.

I'm a very cautious person and would be too scared to pick mushrooms myself. I have heard that there are often poisonous mushrooms that look similar to edible ones and people die from eating the poison. It does sound like a fun activity though. Maybe I'd pick them and not eat them.

I love mushroom season. The edible ones seem to come up in the same places each year, so once you are confident identifying them it is great. All the mushrooms you can eat for a few weeks.

My dear mother picking mushrooms at everyopportunity untill her death at 78 years old. Mushroom picking was in her blood as was crabbing. She was so unique. She was so special. Even if she abandoned me again and again I can't help but celebrate her zest for life and mushroom dishes.

She was so special. My mother. Eliza

When I visit my Sister in Sweden we go to these woods were we pick baskets of Chanterelle which are quite expensive to buy.
Then she cooks them and we have them on toast.

I eat mostly Morels. Others are delicious as well, but my dad is much better at finding and identifying them. I do have Shaggy Manes that come up every fall in my back yard.

I would LOVE to go mushroom picking, but feel that I would have to do it as part of an organised outing, because I'm not confident enough about which mushrooms are safe to eat. I've heard it's easy to learn to differentiate between the dangerous types, so as long as you know which ones not to risk, you're safe. Although I've also heard that poisonous mushrooms can contaminate safe ones if you put them in the same basket, so it's not just a matter of picking all the mushrooms you see and picking through them later. I'm not sure if that's actually true though.

For the most part in the UK, foraging seems to be the province of relatively wealthy foodies (i.e. not the poor). I keep meaning to make nettle soup or elderflower cordial each summer, but never quite get around to it. I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for a decent blackberry patch this autumn though.