Do not pick if not totally certain!
Field mushrooms have pink gills (feathery things on the underside of the mushroom) but can be easily mistaken with Amanita Phalloides or death cap, but these have white gills, and Agaricus Xanthoderma or yellow stainer, which has pink gills but blooms yellow when bruised. Death cap can kill and yellow stainer will make you ill.
When and where
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| I found this one in our garden this morning |
Any time after rain but usually from early autumn to early spring. Pick before the gills turn brown. They prefer dark moist places but will still be plentiful out in open areas.
Cook
First peel the mushroom by taking hold of the lip of the skin. It should peel off in a few pieces. After that, pull off the stalk. If it has lots of little holes, discard the mushroom - the holes are maggot holes.
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| You can see little holes where the stem was snapped off. I had to throw this one away |
Fry in garlic and butter.
Other mushroomsUsually we just pick and eat field and horse mushrooms, but in the autumn we found a Caesar mushroom. It is the only edible mushroom from the amanita family. It was delicious!
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That’s a good factual piece Frank��
ReplyDeleteIf like you live in one place, you become familiar with the places that they will pop up. Some years they are less prolific due to adverse weather conditions.
If you are uncertain, leave the mushrooms for several hours and the strainers usually develop a yellow tinge to their tops.
My husband Dave ate a ‘yellow stained’. He had a bad dose of the squitts! Felt a bit poorly for a couple of days but as you say, he lived to tell the tale��
Hi Frankie Just read your blog from wild asparagus hunting to picking wild mushrooms. Full of really useful and interesting information and I love the photos. We have asparagus and wild mushrooms near the house in Montacuto - though not so much fishing haha! Next time you all come over to visit, we'll have to do a family hunt. Love from all of us (Unc P, Auntie Sabrina and Lucky)
ReplyDeleteBy the way that last comment was from me!
ReplyDeleteI picked some yellow stainers a few years ago and cooked up a Mushroom Stroganoff and I was ill. I thought they were field mushrooms!!!! I was OK though just stomach ache!
ReplyDeleteMake sure you look for a giant puffball in autumn Frankster! Lovely in butter and garlic as well.