Mushroom Hunting

Mr H and I both bought each other mushroom hunting gifts for Christmas, perhaps that means we are made for each other? I got him a mushroom knife and he got me an identification book, which also contains some rather gorgeous recipes :)

Autumn seems the best time of the year for finding mushrooms, but there are certain species which pop up all year round. Following this spell of rain in July we decided to go out foraging last Sunday. During 2 hours of wondering around the woods, squinting closely at the ground and getting caught in a downpour, we found one mushroom. Not the most successful mushroom hunt! We brought it home and went through the process of trying to identify it. It was an impressive specimen, big and white with some evil looking scales. As soon as we spotted it I decided it was deadly. Mr H said I'm a pessimist.

In all honestly I may have decided the first time we went out mushroom hunting that I would never have the courage to eat any we find. From reading through our books, and researching on the Internet, the most Delicious varieties of mushroom have a twin, of which it is incredibly hard to tell apart and is also deadly. In fact, some of the deadly ones do not even kill you immediately, it takes a few days before you die of kidney failure. So you would spend 3 days telling everyone about this amazing mushroom you found and ate, only to drop down dead! Now that would be embarrassing.

So we went through the thorough identification process, type of gills, spore colour, does it smell, is there a skirt? And I am pleased to say.... we still have no idea what it was. I still maintain the evil scales was natures warning that it was death in the form of a mushroom. Our search continues.....