The Power of Edible Mushrooms
By Jerilee Wei
The Wild Mushroom
It’s often been said that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” and when it comes to eating wild mushrooms, no axiom could be truer.
While I know a lot about a large number of edible plants found all over the world -- the subject of picking wild mushrooms for consumption, is one I shy away from.
Not because I don’t have knowledge, but because I’ve seen the power of the mushroom and it wasn’t pretty.
Mushrooms -- A Mighty Force
I was first aware of the intensity and brawn of the lowly mushroom on a fine spring day when my husband, who prides himself on being a mushroom aficionado, came bounding into the kitchen with the enthusiasm of a teenage boy who had just discovered girls.
“Look at all the mushrooms I found out near one of the back ponds,” he said grinning from ear to ear.
Working from home, and annoyed that I’d been interrupted once again to do the domestic goddess job of cooking, for he who can’t boil water and wants to eat constantly -- I handed him a field guide book on wild mushrooms. This was my futile effort to postpone the inevitable, by urging him to check out his mushrooms, knowing fully well that he reads slow and thoroughly. I’m ashamed to say, but will admit, I was more concerned about my online schedule, than I was about his safety. I didn’t fool him.
“I’ve been picking mushrooms all my life, and I don’t need some book to be sure that they are safe. If you won’t fry them up now, I’ll just eat them raw, because I want my mushrooms fresh,” he sourly retorted, as he popped a gob of them into his mouth.
A short while later, he was laying on the couch with a terrible tummy ache, and I wisely resisted the temptation to be a “told you so.” That was only because he moved from the couch to the bathroom in a big hurry. Soon, he couldn’t stop vomiting and was sweating profusely.
Big Trouble With Mushrooms
Now, we had a big problem on our hands. I say big, because he is six foot five inches, weighs over two hundred and fifty pounds, and wears a size 17 shoe. I’m not a small woman, but he could no longer stand up and I couldn‘t lift him.
To make matters worse, our farm was two miles to our nearest neighbor, six miles to the nearest paved road, and forty-five mountain miles to the nearest town with a doctor or hospital. Moreover, no ambulance could traverse our steep, four-wheel-drive-only trek of a dirt road, once you left the paved road down on the highway.
As his eyes rolled back into his head and he went rigid, he was now prone on our floor -- while I rang the local auto repair shop for help (the owners were friends, and I knew there were always men strong enough to lift him there).
Giant Felled by a Lowly Mushroom
Soon a convoy of pickup trucks flew up the mountain to our cabin, four men dragged him out to the back bed of a truck, and my unconscious husband was off to the hospital.
Today, I'm happy to report that Mr. Mushroom is still with us. Indeed, that scary event a number of years ago, actually saved his life. During his time in the hospital recovering from his wild mushroom ordeal, it was discovered that he had colon cancer. Had he not eaten those mushrooms, and that mass would not been discovered -- they told us that even waiting a couple of weeks would have cost him his life. The doctor came out of the surgery, saying it was the largest tumor he'd ever removed from someone's intestines.
Still in Love With Mushrooms
After that life changing event, needless to say I was even more determined to make sure we never repeated the "mushroom mistake" (as he refers to it) again. I probably bought up every book on wild mushrooms I could order. Being the information nerd that I am, I made real sure they were strategically placed in his "reading room."
It isn't that he's a slow learner, it's just that after twenty some years together, I know him real well -- even a near death experience isn't going to tame the wild mushroom cravings in him. If you haven't read my previous hub, the West Virginia mountain man I'm married to -- is a card carrying plant rustler with no hope of reform. That fact alone explains a lot of his walk on the wild side when it comes to mother nature, and his view of mushrooms.
This didn't completely cure him of picking mushrooms, but let's just say the whole experience slowed him down. The fact that mushrooms kept disappearing in the areas where they'd grown in the past, may have had something to do with it (and the fact that I made real sure I saw them before he did).
After Our Mushroom Scare
Fast forward a few years later, when we no longer lived where the population was three hundred and nineteen, and now lived where the population was 3.8 million. Now, you wouldn’t think wild mushrooms would still be an issue, but they were.
It seems our brand new house in a large resort subdivision, had been built upon an old cattle pasture. Mushrooms were popping up every where on our little acre by the lake.
So, there I was, back on mushroom patrol. It got a little old sneaking out the back patio door to case our lot, when he was in the shower everyday.
Now, lest anyone think I don't enjoy eating mushrooms, let's be clear, I really like them. My current favorite meal is a portobello mushroom, spinach, and bacon sandwich.
So, I got this brilliant idea that all I had to do to combat his old farm boy ideas about mushrooms, and other gardening concepts -- was to enroll him in the University of Florida's Master Gardener program. At least then, maybe he'd be less likely to poison himself.
Identify Wild Mushrooms
Master Gardener Programs
Almost every state has a Master Gardener's Program, under the Department of Agriculture. It's a six month certification program, taught at a university level, that involves giving back to your community in a certain percentage of volunteer hours. Lots of homework, lots of classroom hours, but well worth the time and expense. They are great programs, that I highly recommend for anyone who has an interest in gardening.
The last field trip in this program, was a day at Quincy Farms, a commercial mushroom farm that produced 28 million pounds of mushrooms annually. Sadly, they are also one of the many business victims of the current recession, and will be closing their doors at the end of this month after thirty years in business.
This trip to a commercial mushroom farm, brings me back to the beginning, "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." This tired old axiom could be applied to the whole process of commercial farming mushrooms. If you love mushrooms, you probably don't want to know what gets them to market, just like you don't want to know about commercial poultry operations, or cattle lots.
Even though we've had extensive training both in the Master Gardener's program and in military survival classes, in terms of recognizing edible plant food sources, after my husband's "mushroom mistake" -- I'm not keen on picking wild mushrooms. I say that, with a horticultural degree and after teaching biology, in addition to the Master Gardener program. I won't write a how-to hub on picking mushrooms, for fear that someone might accidentally use it for inspiration, without being fully knowledgeable and competent in their own mushroom quests. Harvesting wild mushrooms is not for amateurs.
Now, I know that a lot of readers might be a whole lot braver than I am and look at picking mushrooms differently. Let's just say, I prefer to error on the tamer side of the wild edible knowledge bank. I either grow my own mushrooms or buy them from the store.
Mushrooms and Mother-in-Laws
If You'd Like to Know More About Mushrooms!
- Identify Mushrooms
- Identifying Mushrooms (MushroomExpert.Com)
- Identifying Wild Mushrooms
The basics of identifying wild mushrooms: the where, when, and best resources for wild mushroom identification - Rogers Mushrooms | Mushroom Pictures & Mushroom Reference
- The BASICS of MUSHROOM IDENTIFICATION - AmericanMushrooms.com
Comments
Now they (morels) are perfectly safe and the one I'd trust almost anyone to correctly identify. LOL
OMG, he almost went the way of the Buddha. What a story!
Hopefully I will not have such a story after we eat our morels. I looked them up several places and took them down the street to the garden center too, and they are definitely morels--hollow in the center, no gills.
I too am wary on the side of caution. Morels are the only wild mushrooms I've ever been brave enough to eat, and even they make me a little nervous... but wow are they good. :)
Too funny that last video. Thank you Jerilee for a very entertaining hub. I have seen your name around but this is my first reading and now I see why you have such a great following. I went here because of the Quincy Farms, I was looking for someone who lived near Quincy, Califonia where my step-son will be going to college. Anyway, thanks for the great narrative and informative hub.
Oh yes! Just talking about them has changed the menu for tonight's dinner here, but the mushrooms in our refrigerator came straight from an organic farm.
But don't they taste good when you get them right? Bacon, eggs, mushrooms, and tomatoes (tinned) on toast or fried bread and I am transported back to a paradise from my youth... :-)
Thanks Ken Devonaid! For me, it's not only the risk of poisoning, it's also wondering about pollution or insecticides in town. Out in the country, you are just too far from a doctor to be playing the mushroom game if you don't know absolutely what you are picking.
Thanks sandra rinck! Just call your local country agricultural extension office. The Master Gardener programs are only a small part of which they do. There are also free workshops in various aspects of gardening, home economics, animal husbandry, and even helps for home owners (like how to calibrate your sprinkler system). You can also take them an ailing plant and get free advice for care; get free plants and trees; identify an unknown insect; and learn how to care for your particular kind of lawn. Every county in the U.S. is connected to this program that is run under the Department of Agriculture.
When I was young my uncles reared pigs, and Harry persuaded my Dad not to pick some field mushrooms until the morning, when they could have some bacon and fresh eggs with them. Needless to say the pigs got them in the night.
The only mushroom I would consider eating now is the larger puffballs. I think the risk of eating something nasty is too high. And what scares me more than anything is that you can appear to recover after a bad experience, only to die about a week after eating it because the liver packs in.
I loved the comment about the hallucinating dog as well!
Crazier things have happened. Glad to hear your husband is alive and well.
As for me, I too love mushrooms but pick'um, no way jose! A little experimentation in my younger years with magic mushrooms is enough for me to know that if I did not get them at the grocery store I aint gonna eat it.
Great hub. I didn't know universities offered 6 month certifications in master gardening. I think I might want to check into that. Thanks!
Thanks Bob Ewing for stopping by, your own hubs are very on target both in gardening and cooking.
It is fascinating how things work out, thanks for sharing.
Thanks oparu! We just had some for dinner tonight, but they were from the grocery.
This is so informative! I love mushrooms and have some in the fridge all the time.
Thanks cgull8m! It's never too late to expand our food preferences.
I am like Lgali, never tried it on other foods but Pizza. I have to find some good recipes and test it soon.
Thanks SEO IT! My main point was to point out the caution that needs to be strictly adhered to when it comes to wild mushroom picking, I'm all for trying them, if and only if you know what you are doing.
Morrels. I moved from Michigan to Arizona a few years ago. Oh, how I miss morrels! Those are tricky, too. If you don't know what a real morrel really looks like, there are mushrooms that resemble them that are not supposed to be eaten. Thanks for the hub. I hope it makes some people stop and think. I also hope it encourages some people to try them.
Thanks Netters!
Very entertaining hub. Really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Thanks Darlene Marie -- I guess Officer in Charge of Mushrooms is just one of my many hats on the food patrol with him. At 66, he's not going to change.
Thanks Just_Rodney -- On my wish list sometimes is spell check on comments, so often I post them and then wonder if the reader got what I said because of misspellings, and skipped words.
Thanks Aya! -- Bill is very entertaining, we're as opposite as any two people and that leads to a lot of miscommunication as you'll read in future hubs.
Jerilee, that was a great read! I didn't drop by earlier, because mushrooms are not my thing. Not only am I allergic to the perfectly edible kind, I also never liked the taste of them back when I wasn't allergic. However, it's fun to read about your husband and how you interact concerning plants!
Jerilee, in my haste I stated that I brewed up a bath of these, what I meant to say was that I brewed up a BROTH of these.
even spell check would not have helped me ther! LOL
Excellent hhub there Jerrilee, I too like mushrooms and often in my scribblings have brewed up a bath of these 'friendly fellows' for various effects.
Very nice Jerilee. From the sounds of it, I've bet you have had to be more than a Police Officer of Mushrooms with your stubborn husband :)
Thanks Susie Writes! I'm pretty sure he'll never tell. My husband is still the daring soul he always was and I guess I'll always be a little chicken.
One of my dogs ate a wild mushroom in our yard when he was about 7 weeks old. I caught him chewing on it and quickly got all I could out of his mouth. A little while later he was sitting in his box with his head in the air, seeming to be watching invisible things fly by. When I came near to look at him, he looked back at me with the strangest look I've ever seen on a dog. He was clearly hallucinating!
After a night at the emergency vet clinic we brought him home and gave him the moniker "Medicine Man" in honor of the journey he surely took. I still wonder what all he saw. LOL!
Yeah, I leave the wild shroom hunting to those daring souls in the know. I'll only eat what I grow (mainly shiitake) or what I get from the store. I'm a big chicken too!
Glad your husband survived!
Thanks Hot Dorkage! I'm pretty sure that you and my husband are kindered spirits -- those who like to push the door of safety, just to see what's on the other side. I am a big chicken unless I'm 100% sure of what I'm doing.
That rural hospital never did tell us what mushrooms he ate.
Sounds like you are a whole lot more knowledgeable about mushrooms, whereas my husband was depending on his old school farm boy education.
Thanks Denny Lyon! Maybe it's because they don't live to tell the tale, or are too embarassed.
I can totally related to the the toddler patrol. He's 66 and not likely to change, and it's sometimes like living inside the old cartoon of Baby Huey. He eats copious amounts of food, yet never gains a pound.
Mushrooms are brain food! grin.
That said I'm either tooooo lazy to grow them or find them so it's off to the grocery store I forage. I'd always heard about how mushrooms were bad if the wrong ones were eaten but never knew of anyone to tell the tale.
Glad to hear your husband is now doing fine. My Louisiana husband can't boil water either and eats constantly. Sometimes you feel like toddler patrol! Keep smiling...
Thanks for a very interesting hub! Will check out the resources too.
Yeah now you've hit on my latest passion. But you never did say what it was your husband ate. From your description of his symptoms it sounds like muscarine poisoning. Enlighten me please! Was I right?
The only accident I ever had so far was that I ate a coprinus comatus within 48 hours after consuming wine. (I had forgotten that I scarfed a glass of wine 2 days prior to eating the shaggymane and you're not supposed to do that.) I got just a slight stomach cramp from it. If shaggymanes grow where you are they're quite safe as there's nothing that looks like it once it gets big enough to eat. And they are awesome tasting. I'm drying some boletes as we speak. Those are also fairly safe as long as you stick with the yellow ones.
atleast I some thing common with my fan club
Thanks Lgali! That's one of my mushroom favorites too.
Fascinating! I don't think I will try this at home! :)
very nice article i like them only in pizza
Thanks NoLimits Nana! I'm with you, the only ones I'll pick and eat with confidence are the morels.
What an interesting hub! Here on the west coast, we've had a real 'mushroom year'. My nephew, Stephen, picks wild mushrooms - and, yes, he knows the right ones - and sells them. I'm familiar with morels, so they're the only ones I've had the nerve to eat. When we were children on the farm, we'd pick lots of puffball mushrooms after the rainstorms in summer, and they were delicious, too.
goego 6 months ago
great article with tons of use-full insight, mushroom magic.