There was a piece in the Sunday Times recently by Tom Doorley, veteran Irish horticulturist and food writer, on how to forage for mushrooms.
Doorley suggests knowing the difference between a blusher and a giant puffball when setting off to pick mushrooms. Good advice.
In the piece he says: “Wild mushrooms are huge in eastern European food culture, so much so that some dubious examples are eaten. A terrifying example is the brown roll-rim or Paxillus involutus. In Poland it was eaten until fairly recently but only after boiling in several changes of water on the basis that this removed the toxin. Well, it removed one of two toxins; the one that remained is a cumulative one that simply takes its time in killing you. And yet I’ve seen people picking them. However, on a note of reassurance, it’s unlikely you will die if you’re very careful choosing what to pick.”
Doesn’t exactly make you want to rush out and start foraging!
As ever the golden rule is to have someone with you who knows what they are picking. And never consume a wild mushroom that you’re not one hundred percent sure of.
