Wild mushrooms

[AMLK]

Can anyone identify these mushroom we saw today - don't worry we didn't pick them to eat just incase!!! I love mushrooms but do not have a clue when it comes to wild mushrooms. We were by the eden estuary, fife, in case the location makes a difference. Thanks.

[Pipster1969]

Bored so i thought i'd check Google, check this out, didn't know there were so many different types!! Any look familiar?

[Wadeski]

i dunno but careful you dont get hiiiiiiiiiiiigh

Edited by Wadeski on Saturday 31st July 19:07

[otolith]

Those in the middle look like they could be brown rollrims to me;

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBloc...

[Mobile Chicane]

1 and 3 - Earthballs I think. Do they have brown cores? If so they're not edible. Puffballs (same shape but with white cores) are edible as long as the centre is snow white when you cut it through - slice and fry in butter.

2 - I agree this is 'some sort' of rollrim - genus Paxillus - it's difficult to tell from the picture. None of these are edible.

ETA: Go on a guided 'mushroom course', then start by collecting a small repertoire of fungi which are absolutely unmistakeable (and best to eat) and expand from that with the aid of a good book. Roger Phillips' 'Mushrooms' (ISBN: 0330264419) is my bible. This is long out of print although it's worth scouring Amazon for a second-hand copy.

I may run a morning's mushroom course in the autumn in exchange for donations to Help for Heroes. (This will be in Surrey however.)

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Saturday 31st July 21:26

[AMLK]

Thanks alot! Glad I didn't pick them. We had mushrooms for tea, but played safe with shop bought portabellos!

[otolith]

Mobile Chicane said:

ETA: Go on a guided 'mushroom course', then start by collecting a small repertoire of fungi which are absolutely unmistakeable (and best to eat) and expand from that with the aid of a good book.

Excellent advice - and most of the handful of best eating mushrooms are either unmistakeable or at least unmistakeable for anything that will do you serious harm.

Having said that, some people were very ill last year after mistaking webcaps for chanterelles, so there's no accounting for stupidity.

[tenex]

I've been picking mushrooms up here in the far north of Scotland for years and am always disappointed by a lot of the "choice edibles" in the books.
Field mushrooms,Chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms are worth going after and that's about it IMO.(I have only found ceps once after a very hot summer. They were good)
I've tried lots of others and found them pretty tasteless or have a poor texture.
Bearing in mind the climate, perhaps they are not ripening properly.Perhaps it's my limited ability in the kitchen.
Any ideas/suggestions would be greatfully received.

[otolith]

Hedgehogs and chanterelles are great and easy to identify. I would add parasol mushrooms, shaggy ink caps and giant puffballs to the list. I've never been lucky enough to find anywhere where ceps are common, but some other boletes are good. I used to eat a lot of bay boletes when I lived in the lake district.

[tenex]

otolith said:

Hedgehogs and chanterelles are great and easy to identify. I would add parasol mushrooms, shaggy ink caps and giant puffballs to the list. I've never been lucky enough to find anywhere where ceps are common, but some other boletes are good. I used to eat a lot of bay boletes when I lived in the lake district.

Thankyou for your suggestions.
I've tried some boletes but not the bay. They are up here but tend to get hammered by the early frosts. I'll make a point.
Don't see giant puffballs and I've always treated the parasols the same way as the russules. There are one or two nasty species of them and so avoid them all to be safe. I need further education!

Thanks again.

[otolith]

There are some very dangerous smaller species which superficially resemble parasols - but parasols are big, often six inches or more across the cap.

[Mobile Chicane]

Don't pass over Russulas! The only ones that will make you ill are the red or pink ones.

Some of the remainder are too hot or strongly perfumed to eat, however the rest are good. The yellow ochroleuca and claroflava are easy to identify, common and very tasty fried in butter.

[krallicious]

Try looking in 'mixed' woods for ceps. Just don't come to the Black Forest as the mushrooms are all mine!

[Mobile Chicane]

krallicious said:

Try looking in 'mixed' woods for ceps. Just don't come to the Black Forest as the mushrooms are all mine!

Hardly sporting.

In the UK at least, anywhere you see the red and white spotted fly agaric should be good hunting ground since the cep enjoys the same environment.

[pugwash4x4]

Mobile Chicane said:

I may run a morning's mushroom course in the autumn in exchange for donations to Help for Heroes. (This will be in Surrey however.)

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Saturday 31st July 21:26

can i have first dibs on a place please- H4H donations a bit positive!