>>4633
Some sort of mutant fungi?

>>4634

Looks like a puffball to me... but could be wrong.

I never asked how does one eat a puffball - fry it? Boil it? Bake it?

It is a giant puffball. It was cut into roughly steak-sized slabs, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then fried for a few minutes per side.

Heavenly.

Did it go well with the bottle of cloudy piss?

>>4638

This is why I stopped buying 'special edition lemonade' from that tramp in the town centre.

That's elderflower pop. It's pretty good too.

OP, are you an /eco/ regular?

>>4638
Looks more like homebrew. Sort it out.

>>4640
I thought it was elderflower, I just made about 20 litres of the stuff, nice one op!
sage for adding nothing of value.

>OP, are you an /eco/ regular?
No. I'm not much of a treehugging hippy, either.

>Looks more like homebrew. Sort it out.
There's nothing to sort, elderflower pop is supposed to look like that. It is slightly cloudy on account of it not coming out of a factory.

It's not the most flattering of photos, perhaps.

>>4645
Sort it out was in reference to the doubting poster. The brew looks splendid, it's un-/eco/ to not realise that.

>>4646
I was mermly gently mocking to cover up my fungus envy. A typical tale, told a thousand times all over the world every day.

OP, where did this godly puffball? Find it in the woods?

In a field in Wales.

(They're usually a bit bigger, to be honest.)

Loads of field mushrooms pooping up around here (SE) due to the recent rain. I picked a bag full yesterday and they were lovely.

I picked the biggest, heaviest field mushroom I've ever seen a couple of days back. Unfortunately it was occupied :(

>>4697

By what, a gnome?

Maggots.

>>4633
Beautiful OP, beautiful

>>4636
Best way to treat any fungus, wild or otherwise, is to fry in half/half oil and butter - oil for heat, butter for flavour - and a generous amount of salt. Serve on toast. Oh yes.

I'm getting mighty excited by the impending shroom season.

>I'm getting mighty excited by the impending shroom season.
It's all going on out there right now (to say nothing of the St George's mushrooms which were around April-June). I've been hitting my regular parasol patch every five days or so for the last few weeks and have not yet come back empty handed.

Pic related, a couple of massive parasols (and the aforementioned infested field mushroom on the far right). The middle one was about 7 inches across. They're actually getting a bit too big at that point - the brown colouring on the top is quite tough.

I do the same oil/butter combo, coincidentally, on my dad's advice, though I'd never thought of the heat/flavour thing. Always with some garlic, though, and a dollop of cream if available. Flour as thickener if required. Chunky slab of homemade bread. Wonderful.

Last year I found out that the brightly coloured red and apricot mushrooms that the hill gets covered in near by are actually edible, and delicious. Both species are supposed to be uncommon but there are always enough of them up there to feed an army. I'll try to remember to photograph it, the scarlet carpet is quite a sight.

All fungi are edible. Some fungi are not edible more than once.

>>4701
Sadly, not 'round here it isn't. It's still dry as a bone.

Today's haul.

I measured the big parasol this time. 9.5" at broadest. Unfortunately it's a little past its best, but still edible. Apparently they can grow up to 40cm across (!) so it's not as big as I thought.

Shaggy inkcaps in the middle. There's some confusion about these - some people think they make you sick if eaten with alcohol. This is only the case for the normal inkcap, and the distinction between the two is as visually obvious as the name suggests.

Field mushrooms on the right. No maggots this time.

>>4763
They look lovely.

>>4763
Looking good.

4703 here: things are looking up here at last - the local downland is producing fine crops of Fairy Ring, Parasol and Field shrooms. I love this time of year.

On a trip to Wales I feasted on boletes day after day. Beautiful.

It is a shame I don't eat mushrooms at all. They seem a huge source of food if you live near fields.

>>4785

I feel the same. People are so enthusiastic about them it makes me wish I enjoyed them more.

>>4763
Never really fancied the parasols much, Do they taste nice?
Also I wouldn't eat a Shaggy inkcap, they just seem too soggy.
I've found a nice patch near me where I have found a few boletus edulis. Here's one I ate earlier.

>>4789
Yes. The parasol is truly very nice; I couldn't comment on other members of the group.

>>4789
Parasols are lovely.

I try not to be too picky - not everything is as tasty as a Penny Bun, but that's no reason not to eat it, you just have to be a little more creative with 'em. Deep fried battered parasols are lush and mushroom pate (made with garlic and cream cheese) is a great way to liven up even the plainest of shrooms.


>>4785 >>4788

Why don't you like them? Perhaps you've just never had them cooked properly? They really are a very tasty way to get your protein.

>Never really fancied the parasols much, Do they taste nice?
Lovely. Toss the stem though.

>Also I wouldn't eat a Shaggy inkcap, they just seem too soggy.
You need to get them before they go inky. This necessitates picking them perhaps before you'd think they're sizeable enough to be ready; either way, they should be white inside. Then they're delicious - nice than field mushrooms or parasols in my opinion.

>I've found a nice patch near me where I have found a few boletus edulis. Here's one I ate earlier.
Nice one. Found some Larch boletes the other day. They've been dried for flavouring (soup stock etc).

>>4794

>Why don't you like them?

For me, it's the texture. Something about the fact that it's a fungus puts me off. I really don't know why, I'm not a picky eater by any stretch, I can stomach anything from fish eyes to snails to Cheesestrings but for some reason a big chunk of mushroom knocks me sick. I'm aware of how delicious they are too, a mushroom soup free of floating bits is divine.

If I had more time on my hands I'd train myself to eat them. I know I'm missing out.

Today's haul, just showing off really.

>>4798
Tasty looking.

Personally, I'd've left the smaller two to shed their spores, and used a paper rather than plastic bag. (But I'm just jealous, really).

You sure about that one in the bottom left?

Remember that one of the main reasons to let mushrooms grow before picking them is accurate identification.

>used a paper rather than plastic bag.
I've been told that a wooden basket is best but nobody's ever been able to explain any logic behind this. I just use plastic bags.

>>4800
Paper is better than plastic because it lets the shrooms get some air.

Baskets are better than paper because it allows the spores to fall out - so as you walk you help distribute and propagate the species.

The spore thing makes sense but I'm not convinced that staying damp is a terrible thing for a mushroom, and it's not like a Morrisons bag is airtight anyway.

>>4800

Pretty much what >>4801 + plastic causes mushrooms to "sweat", it's why supermarkets provide paperbags for mushrooms.

Found some of these today, commonly called the hedgehog mushroom. Easily identified by it's spines on the underside, hence the name. Really delicious, I can highly recommend.

>>4876
Mmm... have always fancied one of these, but never found one.

On a recent trip we came back with bay, cep, red foot, and ruby boletes plus deceivers, parasols and charcoal burners. What a feast. Just bloody yum.

>>4880
Nice. A medley is the way to go. Here's another first one for me. The Wood Cauliflower, looks nasty so I was dubious but was just gawjus, deep mushroomy flavour and had the texture of al-dente pasta.
This season has been excellent.

>>4876
>>4880
>>4883
Good hauls all round, by the sound of it, especially you, 4880, though I hope you were careful identifying the deceiver.

My last expedition came up with yet more huge parasols (my main spot has had so many of these over the last few weeks that I've had to leave lots of them to rot, which hurts, but there's only so many dishes a man can cook from the same thing before boredom strikes the palette) and a couple of unknown collections, one of which was "poisonous" and the other "deadly poisonous".

I'm going to find the time to visit a common next week where I've found various hygrocybes (mostly meadow wax caps and scarlet wax caps) in insane quantities in years past. Wish me luck.

Found all these with my dad today, after he spotted some in the location a day or so earlier. He'd never managed to find Chanterelles before, so it was quite a happy moment.

Also some Saffron milk caps which were just eaten, very tasty.

>>4896
Delicious - how did you cook the chanterelles?

The existence of this thread hurts me. I wish to declare my HATE for all participants.

>>4902
I too, used to be disgusted by mushrooms. Then I grew up!

>>4902
But mushrooms will save the world!

https://www.youtube.com/v/XI5frPV58tY

>>4900
In a parsley sauce.

Hunting for more today.

I met this fellow recently, but photographed it rather than acquiring it. The others I met (chanterelles, hedgehogs and a cauliflower) I acquired rather than photographed, but I am going out tomorrow and shall hopefully return with photos as well as a meal or two.

>>4907 I ran across this the other day? What is it? All I know is that it looks like a toadstool but isn't.

>>4915

Looks like a fly agaric.

>>4917
Yes, it is A. Muscaria.
Here is some of what I met yesterday. The purple corts are said to be edible, but not particularly tasty. The Amanita on the lower right is also known as DEATH CAP, not sure how it tastes. They say that A. Muscaria is actually quite good if it is first detoxified, has anyone tried this?

>The Amanita on the lower right is also known as DEATH CAP, not sure how it tastes.
A joke in poor taste, if you don't mind my saying.

>They say that A. Muscaria is actually quite good if it is first detoxified, has anyone tried this?
My parents say that the closest they ever saw of anyone actually turning green was when some friends of theirs tried fly agaric. Suffice to say it did not go down well.

>>4920
Cortinarius Iodes doesn't grow in the the UK (I'm assuming you are in the UK). I'd be careful with any Cortinarius species as many are poisonous.

>>4924
You are very knowledgeable in this category.
I am not in the UK.
Please don't shun me.

>>4876
4880 here. I found some! Absolutely delicious. Made hedgehog pancakes with chive butter. Nomnomnom.

Also came across a whole load of white saddles (pic), but didn't fancy them much, although I believe they're prized in oriental cooking.

Although I stand by my hatred for all things fungi, this one does amaze me

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/plants/news-gruesome-bleeding-mushrooms

sage for FUCKING MUSHROOMS

>>4921

I've had Fly Agaric mushrooms, and they made the walls pulse. The hippies who introduced me to them seethed (yes, 'seethed') them in milk, threw away the milk, rinsed them and plopped them into a teapot.

I didn't get at all sick.

>>4951
Nice one mate. Still finding Ceps but must be near end of season for them, pic related
>>4953
Mushrooms are wonderful, Aren't they?
>>4954
Sounds legit.

>>4953
yes, that i certainly unappealing, in a horror film kind of way, but at least it doesn't look like a penis the way some young boletes do.

>>4954
I was told to do the same thing with my cauliflower mushroom, except for the part about throwing away the milk. my book said pour how milk over it and let it sit an hour before cooking it. I made the milk into a cream sauce and poured it over my s. crispa omelet.
>>4955
beautiful, i am jealous. i found a lobster weighing a full kilogram on wednesday

I found a nice, big Trooping Funnel yesterday (I would've photographed it but I was hungry). I found some last year and thought they were absolutely delicious, and after this last one I'd have to say that they're the tastiest wild mushroom I've eaten. They're certainly the nicest of the dozen or so edible species I've enjoyed this year.

https://www.youtube.com/v/iIyfEMAMn4Q shrooms you say

frog bolete

also found these little ones
they're not really food, but still highly sought after

>>5097
Are those psilocybe cyanescens?

>>5108
you are correct.

>>5097

They can be used as food. I'm sure they have nutritious potential as well, and they have a distinctive flavour.

Are they this year's?

>>5109
indeed.
Care to tell us when and where (habitat etc not precise location) you found them?
Its one that's been on my 'hitlist' for a few years. Interesting species that seem, by all accounts, to be taking a foothold in the UK.

>>5123
the habitat in question is a public park in a posh neighborhood where children play and families picnic, just at the edge of landscaping mulch under a pair of medium sized as yet unidentified conifers. penny-bun thrives in this park as well, so do amanitas phalloides and pantherina. my guess is that, of the lot, pantherina is the one most likely to get eaten.

>>5120
yes, this years, i've been collecting them and giving them away to pretty much anyone who wants them, or i have been, the fruiting rate has dropped of the a very slow pace lately.
i feel just like a satyr, sans fur, its quite a thrill. the boletes i keep for myself.

Alright, my apologies for coming late to the party.

How do so many of you know what all these kinds of mushrooms (fungi, if that's the correct term) are?

I still have this childhood fear of, "OH NO, don't eat that; it's a toad-stool, and that shit'll kill you." so I've never really experienced mushrooms past what the local Tesco/Markets sell.

Any resource would be much appreciated, or the recommendation of a good book.

Hope they were all enjoyable, and thanks for the tips about oil/butter combo, and how to best consume.

As you were.

>>5165
The bible is Roger Phillips' "Mushrooms" which is as comprehensive a tome as you will ever need. It's a little challenging -frustratingly, he often uses highly specific words but doesn't bother to include them in the glossary- but if you want to identify a random British mushroom you will do so with this book. Get the latest edition if possible, though it's worth mentioning that older editions include a step-by-step identification guide (I assume it was removed on account of being teeth-gratingly difficult to use).

I have a few other books but almost never use them - if I'm in doubt after identification I go online and check out my suspicions.

Don't buy a foreign book, and don't assume any book on British mushrooms applies when you're abroad. Case in point, the parasol mushroom - these are commonly found both here and in the States, but there's a nearly identical species over there that causes fairly serious gastric upsets (they can only be told apart by spore prints).

>>5165
as well as acquiring the appropriate text, going out on a hunt with someone that is in the know is a very valuable learning experience for a person new to the sport.

>>5166
>>5168
Excellent, thank you for the advice, I'll get hunting for that book now.

I'll see if I can't find someone who regularly goes picking for them, and see if I might tag along. My hopes are too high where I live though.

I think even if I checked, double checked and checked again I'd still be to scared of eating them, especially if I'd been picking alone.

I wonder if, similar to that 'what pill did I just find on the floor' app, there's a similar one for shrooms? That'd be nice.

>I wonder if, similar to that 'what pill did I just find on the floor' app, there's a similar one for shrooms? That'd be nice.
There are various such guides, but they vary. The ones I've seen online and in free pamphlets with a newspaper etc are typically extremely limited in scope, usually just a handful of the main easily identified species. The other extreme is the one I mentioned in older editions of Phillips' book where really you need a microscope and slides to assess the colour/size of spores to make a positive identification. Usually I can't be fucked.

>>5171
>I wonder if, similar to that 'what pill did I just find on the floor' app, there's a similar one for shrooms?

There is a Phillip's mushrooms app for the iphone.
http://www.appstorehq.com/wildmushroomsofnorthamericaandeuropebyrogerphillips-iphone-229742/app

You're a bit late in the year now though mate.

>>5171

>'what pill did I just find on the floor' app

What is this app called exactly? Purely for curiosity's sake, you understand.

Hello again, chaps.

St George's day has come and gone, and it's just been too dry here: anyone had any joy finding our national hero?

I went on a delightful stroll around Castle Combe yesterday, and found this. Is it a fungus? Is it edible?

>>6037 Unfortunately not. Had a quick look around last week but like you say, far too hot and dry.

>>6038
Looks like a morel, if it is then it is indeed edible, highly desirable in fact.

>>6038
>>6040 is right - that looks like a delicious morel. Poisonous when raw, mind, so be warned, but very tasty cooked. A good spot. The only worthwhile spring 'shrooms, other than St George.

>>6041
They're not so much poisonous raw as they are upsetting to the stomach. I don't like to see the term "poisonous" thrown around so liberally because a lot of people are put off of mushrooming because of fear of poisoning. A good number of the most sought after mushrooms will give one an unhappy tummy if they're eaten raw, but that doesn't make them poisonous. A potato needs to be cooked to be eaten also.
Amanita phalloides is poisonous.

The season dictates that this topic need to reappear on the front page of this board. People who live near me claim to be finding penny buns (in France they call them "ceps") currently. Other rare & delicious morsels are bound to be popping out of the ground in the coming weeks and months. I personally aim to find some agaricus augustus, which I have never tasted, but have read wonderful things about.

>>6038

That reminds me of "The Nipple". Awful picture.

>>6554
Morels and lotus root are both delicious. Now I'm wondering how they would be together, probably great, maybe even better with some Maasdam or Jarlsberg.

Has anyone else found anything nice yet this year?

>>6548

Looks like she's holding a big willy. Fungi are far too phallic for my delicate eyes.

>>6814
It is in fact a big willy, not a fungus.

>>6811
yes.

Best thread on /nom/.
I went to pick shrooms with my grandparents alot when i was a kid and wanted to pick that up this autumn, then lost my drivers license and the only place for shrooms within footwalk is my fridge ;_;
Pic is of some non- edible i took when cheking out the woods some weeks ago.

>>6863
Those look interesting but I have no Idea what they are. From what I can see the gills looks decurrent which could suggest some sort of cantharellus. I'll have a search through my books and see what i can come up with.

>>6863
>>6870
Velvet roll-rim (Tapinella atrotomentosa)

>>6872
I disagree for a number of reasons, the most convincing of which is that I met a large collection of velvet roll rims last weekend and the ones in that photo certainly do not look like what you say they are (clubbed gills, lack of velvet, etc.). I was going to put forth a guess of gilled boletes, but that doesn't really look right to me either and I hate to guess that something is a delicious edible and then turn out to be wrong (even if its not me doing the eating), although the slugs seem to like those ones,

>>6842
that is a beautiful collection, especially the penny buns. i've never had that dark topped chanterelle variety.
what are they like?

>>6885
Very nice. Not as fruity smelling as the yellow variety, but similar taste. Also they grow in abundance (this was less then half of my total haul) so make a good meal. First time I've found them, but really pleased, because as you know, Once you find a good spot it can reward you for years.

Cooked this up a couple of months back. Mixture of different boletus cooked in white wine and butter. Fuck, it was tasty...

>Once you find a good spot it can reward you for years.
It really is the key for successful mushroom hunting - find a spot and remember it.

Anyway, OP here, it was quite nice to see this thread bumped, so thank you >>7216. I've been away for a year or so; attached is this season's best find, more giant puffballs. I found out that giant puffballs have a surprising longevity if kept in the fridge, I think it was finally polished off two weeks later and still fine.

Not a great mushroom year for me otherwise, though. That weird hot spell at the start of October seemed to confuse the shit out of the shrooms in my patches, I came back empty-handed several times despite hitting all the best spots. Seems like the rest of you did alright, >>6842 especially. What a fucking catch, that must've been a delight.

Is this thread still here? I don't really like mushrooms and I've always found it odd. They don't seem to taste of anything, they're like tofu.

>>7219
If you mean the mushrooms in Tesco then you're right. Wild mushrooms have a wide range of flavours. Some are great just fried, some are better used in soups or in baked recipes, some can be dried for later use in stock or as flavouring for other dishes. And finding them is half the fun.

Sorry the thread doesn't interest you, anyway.