"Stephen Howard" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 5 Nov 2002 09:31:13 -0000, "Michael Savage"
wrote:


Lynda

One of the latest surprises as we head into our first autumn/winter in
the
new garden is the range of fungi that are appearing. Most I haven't a
clue
what they are - will be getting the Roger Phillips out at the weekend (I
always used to work on the rule of thumb that I would identify 20 new
fungi
each year and then forget 18 of them...) - but was pleasantly surprised
when
raking out under a juniper for a small wood blewit to
appear...unfortunately
neighbour's dog got to it before we could eat it but bodes well for the
future


There are a couple of varieties of Blewit - you may have the one that
grows in gardens ( unless your garden is particularly foresty ).

Blewits are very tasty indeed - in fact they used to sell them 'oop
north' on market stalls.
A word of caution though - you cannot eat them raw, they need to be
well cooked.
They won't kill you, but boy will they flush you out!

You may also find that they don't agree with you. I found this out,
twice.
The woods adjacent to my garden are packed full of them every year -
and despite my best efforts to enjoy their fragrant taste I found they
made me what can only be accurately decribed as violently and
coloufully sick! I tried them again a year later... just to make
sure....never again.

I happened to bump into Antonio Carluccio ( who lives nearby... though
I sincerely doubt he has anything to do with the disappearance of the
field mushropoms from my lawn! ) and he informed me that some people
are just plain allergic to Blewits.

If you're tempted to try them I strongly advise anyone to check with
at least two good field guides ( you often find that one lists a
fungus as edible whilst another notes that there may be those who
suffer some ill effects ) and that you eat only a small portion
intially - retaining some samples just in case.
Sounds like a dire warning, but it's just common sense.

Note too that Blewits bear a passing resemblence to a Purple
Cortinarius...which some guides insist is poisonous ( poisonous in
this case meaning a very unpleasant hour or so inspecting the bowl of
the loo ).

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Don't think I'm allergic to blewits 'cos I used to eat all I could find when
I was a countryside warden - I think they may be my favourite wild fungi.
This was definitely Wood Blewit - lovely blue-lilac gills, tall slender
stem, no trace of cortina. I guess the juniper gave it the conditions it
needs - I used to find lots in shady hedgerows so not so dissimilar...also
it's a mature garden.

They certainly have a good taste, so maybe that's why some people react -
chemicals there to react to...

Will have a peak under the bush again this weekend to see if there are any
others.

Michael S
ps if you have to bump into anyone, I guess Antonio Carluccio is as
comfortable as you could hope for...
(cheap joke 'cos I'm no skinny minny myself)