Читать книгу Good Mushroom Bad Mushroom - John Plischke - Страница 6

INTRODUCTION

Picking and eating wild mushrooms can be one of the most rewarding experiences any lover of the out of doors or gourmet cooking can experience. Edible wild mushrooms are many times more delectable than store-bought button mushrooms. Many people believe the taste of Morels tops the list. As you comb the woods and fields for mushrooms, you will likely learn more about the out of doors than you ever felt possible. The experience is like hunting for a treasure chest. It is exciting and fun. However, you need to be aware of potential dangers.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR YOUR HUNT

You will encounter many very nice people. You may also encounter tics, poisonous snakes, bears or wild dogs. Be careful not to break a leg or get lost. Be cautious, but enjoy the hunt. Be exacting in your mushroom identification. Buy several field guides to aid you, and triple check your information. Go hunting with someone who really knows what they are doing. By all means join a mushroom club. If you do, your learning curve will increase dramatically. If you don’t know of one, check the North American Mycological Association website at www.namyco.org and find the one closest to you. Remember that any source may produce a mistake, so cross-check everything. I may even have a mistake in this book, try as I did to make it accurate. It is up to you to triple-check what I say as well.

Do you know who’s who? One of these can be lethal; the other is a harmless delicacy. (Deadly Galerina on left, Eastern King Bolete on right)

BEFORE YOUR FIRST BITE

Some people are allergic to chocolate, peanuts or milk; others are allergic to specific mushrooms even though they are edible. The first time you eat a mushroom, eat only a small quantity. Don’t eat more than one new type of mushroom at a time. Always thoroughly clean and cook wild mushrooms. Check the field guides to see what they say about alcohol consumption with the mushroom; some mushrooms and alcohol don’t mix. You don’t eat rotting meat; don’t eat rotting mushrooms. Mushroom rule number one is: When in doubt, throw it out! Always keep a refrigerated sample (whole, uncooked mushroom) of what you have eaten, which will aid health workers in treating you if you have made a mistake.

IT’S ALL ABOUT ID’ING

This booklet is intended to be a guide to some of the more common edible wild mushrooms and their poisonous look-alikes. It should be only one of the tools you use in identification. Most of the photos in this book have been set up in a way that their use will aid in the mushroom identification process. Some photos show the mushrooms cut in half so you can see how the interior looks or how the cap is attached; others show habitat, plants or trees.

SAFE, NOT SORRY

Although I have picked and eaten wild mushrooms for over 35 years, I always err on the side of caution. As delicious as they may be, they can be dangerous or deadly. The safest thing is not to eat wild mushrooms at all. If you choose to eat them anyway, the responsibility is entirely yours.

That being said, I have one more word for you: Enjoy!