"Klara" wrote in message
...
In message , Sacha
writes
My family knew a family of 4 who all died from mushroom poisoning - I
wouldn't risk it without lessons from a professional...

Good heavens above, that's absolutely terrible! Where did they pick these
mushrooms and in which country? It's a truly dreadful thing to happen and
just illustrates the need for extreme caution.

It was in Austria, soon after the war. I think many Austrians survived the
war on things like mushrooms, so they were very knowledgeable about them
indeed ... I can't imagine how they could have made such a mistake!

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

I was under the impression that if you bruised the stalk of a "mushroom" and
it went blue then it was poisonous. However, last week we had a relative and
his Russian girlfriend staying with us - she came into the kitchen
brandishing some large brown mushrooms she'd picked from our lawn. Upon
slicing them I noticed the blue coloration but she said it was not important
so I cooked them as per her instructions gently frying them for 10 minutes
in a little butter. She said they were very tasty, but everyone else
declined to try them. I only know two Russians and both are mushroom
experts. Perhaps its a Russian thing.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
"Klara" wrote in message
...
In message , Sacha
writes
My family knew a family of 4 who all died from mushroom poisoning - I
wouldn't risk it without lessons from a professional...

Good heavens above, that's absolutely terrible! Where did they pick
these mushrooms and in which country? It's a truly dreadful thing to
happen and just illustrates the need for extreme caution.

It was in Austria, soon after the war. I think many Austrians survived
the war on things like mushrooms, so they were very knowledgeable about
them indeed ... I can't imagine how they could have made such a mistake!

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

I was under the impression that if you bruised the stalk of a "mushroom"
and it went blue then it was poisonous. However, last week we had a
relative and his Russian girlfriend staying with us - she came into the
kitchen brandishing some large brown mushrooms she'd picked from our lawn.
Upon slicing them I noticed the blue coloration but she said it was not
important so I cooked them as per her instructions gently frying them for
10 minutes in a little butter. She said they were very tasty, but everyone
else declined to try them. I only know two Russians and both are mushroom
experts. Perhaps its a Russian thing.
--
David
... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/



It was from someone who was in Holland during the war that told me cats
taste like Rabbit. He should know, he eat them :-))

Mike


--
.................................................. .........
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk
www.nsrafa.com

On 15/10/06 09:27, in article ,
"Klara" wrote:

In message , Sacha
writes
My family knew a family of 4 who all died from mushroom poisoning - I
wouldn't risk it without lessons from a professional...

Good heavens above, that's absolutely terrible! Where did they pick
these mushrooms and in which country? It's a truly dreadful thing to
happen and just illustrates the need for extreme caution.

It was in Austria, soon after the war. I think many Austrians survived
the war on things like mushrooms, so they were very knowledgeable about
them indeed ... I can't imagine how they could have made such a mistake!

With some of the most poisonous, I believe one that has got in by accident
would be enough, especially if it's mixed up in some kind of stew so that
the juice seeps into everything. It's a terrible tale and a timely
warning, too.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

bluebell writes

K wrote:

Only by identifying them precisely as to which species they are. There
aren't any general rules that say 'these mushrooms are good, these are
poisonous" If you're interested, there are a lot of 'fungus forays'
being run atm - you could go along and meet some mushroom experts, then
perhaps join a local group and start learning a few edible species which
are quite distinctive and not eay to confuse with anything poisonous.


Are you in Kent - where can I get this information

Try Googling on "fungus foray" kent. If that doesn't give anything, try
finding the British Mycological Society site and look for local groups.
--
Kay

David in Normandy writes
"Klara" wrote in message
...
In message , Sacha
writes
My family knew a family of 4 who all died from mushroom poisoning - I
wouldn't risk it without lessons from a professional...

Good heavens above, that's absolutely terrible! Where did they pick these
mushrooms and in which country? It's a truly dreadful thing to happen and
just illustrates the need for extreme caution.

It was in Austria, soon after the war. I think many Austrians survived the
war on things like mushrooms, so they were very knowledgeable about them
indeed ... I can't imagine how they could have made such a mistake!


I was under the impression that if you bruised the stalk of a "mushroom" and
it went blue then it was poisonous. However, last week we had a relative and
his Russian girlfriend staying with us - she came into the kitchen
brandishing some large brown mushrooms she'd picked from our lawn. Upon
slicing them I noticed the blue coloration but she said it was not important
so I cooked them as per her instructions gently frying them for 10 minutes
in a little butter. She said they were very tasty, but everyone else
declined to try them. I only know two Russians and both are mushroom
experts. Perhaps its a Russian thing.

I think it's more a British thing that we don't.

Roger Phillips told a story about a farm he stayed on which had a good
population of some particularly tasty fungus - chanterelles, I think,
and on suggesting to the owner that he could make a tidy extra penny by
harvesting and selling them, got for answer an emphatic 'we dinna eat
that s***!"

--
Kay

Sacha writes

Hmmm. Well, without having tried it out myself, I do know that the nasty
ones are seriously nasty so I'd be very cautious indeed. An old folk
'remedy' used to be to put a silver sixpence into the pan when cooking the
fungi. If the sixpenny piece went black it's said the fungi were poisonous.
I don't think I'd trust that either, even assuming one could find a silver
sixpence now!

That definitely is not to be trusted, neither is the one that says 'if
you can peel it, it's edible, or the one that says 'all poisonous ones
have got red on them'.
--
Kay

On 15/10/06 19:51, in article , "K"
wrote:

Sacha writes

Hmmm. Well, without having tried it out myself, I do know that the nasty
ones are seriously nasty so I'd be very cautious indeed. An old folk
'remedy' used to be to put a silver sixpence into the pan when cooking the
fungi. If the sixpenny piece went black it's said the fungi were poisonous.
I don't think I'd trust that either, even assuming one could find a silver
sixpence now!

That definitely is not to be trusted, neither is the one that says 'if
you can peel it, it's edible, or the one that says 'all poisonous ones
have got red on them'.

I never have believed the last one but I'm glad to have the first discounted
for safety's sake. I love eating fungi and would so much like to be sure of
identifying them but simply dare not risk it.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Sacha writes
On 15/10/06 19:51, in article , "K"
wrote:

Sacha writes

Hmmm. Well, without having tried it out myself, I do know that the nasty
ones are seriously nasty so I'd be very cautious indeed. An old folk
'remedy' used to be to put a silver sixpence into the pan when cooking the
fungi. If the sixpenny piece went black it's said the fungi were poisonous.
I don't think I'd trust that either, even assuming one could find a silver
sixpence now!

That definitely is not to be trusted, neither is the one that says 'if
you can peel it, it's edible, or the one that says 'all poisonous ones
have got red on them'.

I never have believed the last one but I'm glad to have the first discounted
for safety's sake. I love eating fungi and would so much like to be sure of
identifying them but simply dare not risk it.

I've seen a list of about a dozen of good edible fungi which are
distinct from any poisonous species (common field mushroom was not among
them) - list included lawyers wig, giant puffball, cep IIRC. So it's
worth finding out more because there is the opportunity to experiment
without unacceptable risk.
--
Kay

K wrote:
Sacha writes

I never have believed the last one but I'm glad to have the first discounted
for safety's sake. I love eating fungi and would so much like to be sure of
identifying them but simply dare not risk it.

I've seen a list of about a dozen of good edible fungi which are
distinct from any poisonous species (common field mushroom was not among
them) - list included lawyers wig, giant puffball, cep IIRC. So it's
worth finding out more because there is the opportunity to experiment
without unacceptable risk.
--
Kay

giant puffball I eat and I know this one, big as a dinner plate

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 10:46:46 +0200
"David in Normandy" wrote:

[]
I was under the impression that if you bruised the stalk of a "mushroom" and
it went blue then it was poisonous. However, last week we had a relative and
his Russian girlfriend staying with us - she came into the kitchen
brandishing some large brown mushrooms she'd picked from our lawn. Upon
slicing them I noticed the blue coloration but she said it was not important
so I cooked them as per her instructions gently frying them for 10 minutes
in a little butter. She said they were very tasty, but everyone else
declined to try them. I only know two Russians and both are mushroom
experts. Perhaps its a Russian thing.
--

Hello David,

As I gather you live somewhere near Vire, it is time you learned the truth
about this. Many mushrooms here -- and I live maybe 30 mi away --
go blue when cut. It has nothing to do with their being poisonous. Examples
that spring to mind are the Bolet bai and the Pied rouge. This latter cepe
has yellow flesh that goes bright blue when cut. It is also one of the very
best edible cepes, often better than the cepe de Bordeaux because it stays
firmer and is less attractive to bugs.

The cepe that started the legend is the Bolet satan, which also goes bright
blue when cut, but has white flesh and a nasty gray warty cap. It will make
you very sick but not kill you. The good news is it is very rare here, I've only
seen one in over 15 years of local mushrooming.

Even Pieds de mouton occasionally go blue when cut here!

The large brown mushrooms were probably Lepiote (Coulomele) which are in season now.
We don't usually bother with them, but there certainly is an abundance this year
and they do sometimes go on the lawn; I usually get a bunch of early ones
at the grass clippings pile.

The mushroom that would kill you here is Amanita phalloides (Death cap) which
is very variable in cap color. I assure you it doesn't go blue when cut!

HTH, and happy mushrooming.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 10:46:46 +0200
"David in Normandy" wrote:

[]
I was under the impression that if you bruised the stalk of a "mushroom"
and
it went blue then it was poisonous. However, last week we had a relative
and
his Russian girlfriend staying with us - she came into the kitchen
brandishing some large brown mushrooms she'd picked from our lawn. Upon
slicing them I noticed the blue coloration but she said it was not
important
so I cooked them as per her instructions gently frying them for 10
minutes
in a little butter. She said they were very tasty, but everyone else
declined to try them. I only know two Russians and both are mushroom
experts. Perhaps its a Russian thing.
--

Hello David,

As I gather you live somewhere near Vire, it is time you learned the truth
about this. Many mushrooms here -- and I live maybe 30 mi away --
go blue when cut. It has nothing to do with their being poisonous.
Examples
that spring to mind are the Bolet bai and the Pied rouge. This latter
cepe
has yellow flesh that goes bright blue when cut. It is also one of the
very
best edible cepes, often better than the cepe de Bordeaux because it stays
firmer and is less attractive to bugs.

The cepe that started the legend is the Bolet satan, which also goes
bright
blue when cut, but has white flesh and a nasty gray warty cap. It will
make
you very sick but not kill you. The good news is it is very rare here,
I've only
seen one in over 15 years of local mushrooming.

Even Pieds de mouton occasionally go blue when cut here!

The large brown mushrooms were probably Lepiote (Coulomele) which are in
season now.
We don't usually bother with them, but there certainly is an abundance
this year
and they do sometimes go on the lawn; I usually get a bunch of early ones
at the grass clippings pile.

The mushroom that would kill you here is Amanita phalloides (Death cap)
which
is very variable in cap color. I assure you it doesn't go blue when cut!

HTH, and happy mushrooming.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies


Thanks for that. It sounds like we are living in the mushroom capital of the
world! Perhaps its time I bought a book and learned to identify all this
food growing all around.
Even yesterday, while mowing the lawn, my good lady pointed out what was
probably on ordinary white mushroom - but again without the knowledge to
make a full and confident identification we didn't pick it. For all I know
there are white mushrooms that look like edible mushrooms but are deadly
poisonous! High time I learned to identify them!

(Why did the mushroom get invited to the party? .... Because he is a
fun-guy. Feel free to cringe - I got it off a Christmas cracker!)
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

K wrote:

Sacha writes
On 15/10/06 19:51, in article , "K"
wrote:

Sacha writes

Hmmm. Well, without having tried it out myself, I do know that the
nasty
ones are seriously nasty so I'd be very cautious indeed. An old folk
'remedy' used to be to put a silver sixpence into the pan when cooking
the
fungi. If the sixpenny piece went black it's said the fungi were
poisonous. I don't think I'd trust that either, even assuming one could
find a silver sixpence now!

That definitely is not to be trusted, neither is the one that says 'if
you can peel it, it's edible, or the one that says 'all poisonous ones
have got red on them'.

I never have believed the last one but I'm glad to have the first
discounted
for safety's sake. I love eating fungi and would so much like to be sure
of identifying them but simply dare not risk it.

I've seen a list of about a dozen of good edible fungi which are
distinct from any poisonous species (common field mushroom was not among
them) - list included lawyers wig, giant puffball, cep IIRC. So it's
worth finding out more because there is the opportunity to experiment
without unacceptable risk.


I really think that the fear of fungi isn't very rational. I quite often
take a nibble of some wild plant that I know to be edible. Like all wild
plants and fungi there are some that are easy to know. What if you were to
substitute umbellifer in the discussion for fungi?

There are many poisonous umbelifers such as hemlock but carrot, fennel and
parsnip commonly grow wild and are very very distinctive.


Neil Jones
http://www.butterflyguy.com/

On 17/10/06 09:57, in article ,
"David in Normandy" wrote:

snip
It sounds like we are living in the mushroom capital of the
world! Perhaps its time I bought a book and learned to identify all this
food growing all around.
Even yesterday, while mowing the lawn, my good lady pointed out what was
probably on ordinary white mushroom - but again without the knowledge to
make a full and confident identification we didn't pick it. For all I know
there are white mushrooms that look like edible mushrooms but are deadly
poisonous! High time I learned to identify them!

AIUI, people guard their mushroom 'patches' very carefully but if you *can*
find a local who is willing to teach you how to id what they pick for
themselves, you'll learn very fast.
Apparently (and I got this from reading Patricia Atkinson's book) it's
important to use a basket so that spores fall to the ground to re-seed the
area and not to use a plastic bag which don't allow that to happen.

(Why did the mushroom get invited to the party? .... Because he is a
fun-guy. Feel free to cringe - I got it off a Christmas cracker!)

Not Christmas already!!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:57:41 +0200
"David in Normandy" wrote:

"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
[]
HTH, and happy mushrooming.
[]
Thanks for that. It sounds like we are living in the mushroom capital of the
world! Perhaps its time I bought a book and learned to identify all this
food growing all around.
Even yesterday, while mowing the lawn, my good lady pointed out what was
probably on ordinary white mushroom - but again without the knowledge to
make a full and confident identification we didn't pick it. For all I know
there are white mushrooms that look like edible mushrooms but are deadly
poisonous! High time I learned to identify them!

(Why did the mushroom get invited to the party? .... Because he is a
fun-guy. Feel free to cringe - I got it off a Christmas cracker!)

Ouch.

The mushroom in your lawn is probably the wild version of the common
white one we by in the supermarket. It's called rosé des pres locally,
you could look up the latin name if interested. It's easy to recognize
because of the flat cap, short stem, and rose gills when young. Older
ones should be rejected because there are a few possible confusions
(but not deadly) when the gills go dark brown. It's a very nice shroom
and easy to find.

You should get a "guide vert," assuming your french is now up to it!
Sadly most pharmacies can no longer help much except with the really
easy identifications. So you're on your own unless you get training.
There is a program at Belleme you can take an all day course, it's
well known if you ask around.

One trick for the debutant (here) is to stick to mushrooms with tubes,
that way there is no possibility of doing yourself serious damage. But
you should learn to identify the Bolet satan to avoid unpleasantness,
even if you will never likely see one. And anything with gills, be extra
cautious.

I don't know about globally but you are in the mushroom capital of
France. There are more species here than anywhere in the country,
IIRC it's around 240.

cheers,

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

Neil Jones wrote:

I really think that the fear of fungi isn't very rational.

I come from a long tradition of chasseurs de champignons in the SW of
France. We would know our various cepes, and girolles, and pieds de
mouton, and lactaires, and morilles etc, and were often asked for
advice on what was good and bad.
Some very poisonous mushrooms such as certain Amanites are very
distinctive indeed - however, I can still remember a frying-pan full of
what we all knew full well to be a few different cepes mixed together
having all 5 members of the family who ate them puke their guts up for
the night.
Turned out one of the cepes, almost undistinguishable from the edible
ones, was not (edible).
It didn't kill us, but I would not recommend it.
When it comes to mushrooms, I fully agreed with Sacha: unless you are
absolutely sure of what you are picking, just leave them for the slugs.


Cat(h)