Roadside mushrooms

[HeyWayne]

Sat in traffic on the way into the office this morning and noticed a large patch of orangey coloured mushrooms growing on the grass - about a metre square (3ft sq, or 1 sq yd for the old school amongst us).

Looked very tempting, but:

a) I don't know what type of mushroom they are

and

1) I don't know what's pee'd/pooped on them.

I'm sure HFW would harvest them, but would you?

[Hans Mum]

dont do it HW, if they're not posinous they'll be full of fumes from exhausts....& some of the stuff HFW eats

[pdblake]

I do a fair bit of foraging about but if I don't know what it is, I leave it alone. I've taught my kids what I know is safe for definate, but the strict rule is if you don't know, don't touch.

With mushrooms I tend to stick to the obvious ones, field and horse mushrooms.

[kernowyon]

I know how to recognised five edible mushrooms that I forage for when walking the mutt, thats it, wouldn't trust myself with any others, even when I am with someone else who says they are ok. you can never be too safe.
as for roadside? not sure if i would but then again I do eat blackberries, sloes etc from there.

[piskieinboots]

I'd try to find out what they were, then pick and enjoy - the fact that they are roadside wouldn't really bother me, I have to breathe the sh!te in anyway.

My Pa used to take me mushroom picking when I was wee, 0400hrs up and out and at it - wish I'd taken more notice.

[Alison]

Depends on their condition etc etc. Have eaten plenty from the roadside after careful checking of what they are. Don't eat wild ones raw and the heat of cooking will steralise them (at least that's what I tell myself!). Learnt loads in the past year but still way behind OH who knows more.

[organic]

The bit about HW's point number 1 reminded me of something I heard in a talk at Salford University when I started there many moons ago.

The campus bobby gave a lecture and one thing he mentioned was the parkland attached to the campus. Long talk short, he said some of us would no doubt hear that magic mushrooms grow down there, that is in fact true, they are magic mushrooms, but they should be avoided. Not for all the usual "don't do drugs" reasons, but because every year, without fail, there's a massive surge in numbers of people taking time off sick with bad stomach infections and worms.
You see, not only does that place provide a massive crop of Psilocybe mushrooms, but it's a VERY popular dog-walking place. Lots of food for the 'shrooms, but lots of sickness for the users too.

Yuck!

[HayleyB]

I've got sommat that looks like Enochi in my carrot buckets but no way am I checking it out

[Flummery]

Some of the small orangey ones are just honey fungus - the one that grows on dead wood. There's been loads this year. The only one I regularly pick and eat is the Ink Cap. Preferably NOT from dog-walky areas though!

[Alison]

Ink Caps are nice but sadly don't last long - grow in seconds and go mushy in the same timeframe.

[Glutton4...]

I pick 'horse' mushrooms for my Dad and Husband - I don't eat 'em tho!

[Snadger]

I think Ink Caps are used in mushroom soup to give it it's mushroomy flavour? Boiled up with milk or cream they are lush!

[HeyWayne]

Well, I've had a bit of a look here:

Welcome to Visual Fungi

but still can't find it, so think I'll leave alone. They look at bit like chicken of the woods, but without taking a photo I can't trust my memory.

[wollyanna]

We bought a good few sacks of mushroom compost which we spread over part of our plot to try an help with the heavy clay problem,mixed it with grit . A few days later went to discover fne crop of mushrooms which keep appearing.

[greengas]

I was thinking of buying one of those mushroom growing kits, has anyone had much luck with them? I would love to know more about wild mushrooms I do have the book food for free by Richard Mabey but there is a very fine line between what makes you and what makes you . I work with a french guy who just goes out picking with confidence, I wish us British had the same attitude towards food. I believe you can even take mushrooms to the chemist over their where they will tell you if they are edible or not.