Mushrooming with Confidence: A Guide to Collecting Edible and Tasty Mushrooms

by Alexander Schwab

Overview

Picking mushrooms in the woods on a sunny day can be fun for the whole family . . . but only if you do it safely! Here mushrooms are divided into four identification categories so anyone can recognize what he or she is looking—and forage without worry!

There are thousands of different species of fungi, so it can be hard to tell which are edible and which are poisonous when you are picking them for yourself in the wild. Safe and unsafe species often closely resemble each other, and worrying about which mushrooms are safe and which might be deadly can take all the fun out of mushrooming. Enter Mushrooming with Confidence!

Improving on the usual overwhelming and exhaustive wild plant guidebook, Mushrooming with Confidence is a slim, handy manual that focuses on the tastiest and most common mushrooms, so that you can easily spot those that are not only safe to eat, but also a delight to cook and share!

Here mushrooms are divided into four identification categories so that anyone will be able to recognize what he or she is looking at quickly and correctly. Thirty of the most common and delicious types are explained in detail, from the common field mushroom to the pretty purple amethyst deceiver and the prolific and tasty charcoal burner. Each mushroom includes a “Positive ID Checklist” that the reader can go through to be absolutely certain they have the right species, and more than 300 color photographs make it a snap to know exactly what kind of mushroom you’ve found . . . and whether you really want to pick it!

With lists of the best tools for mushrooming, the best techniques for getting a mushroom out of the ground in one piece, and even how to remove worms, Mushrooming with Confidence will extinguish any fear or doubt that might stop you from hunting down your own delicious mushrooms. This will prove a fun and essential guide for novice and experienced pickers alike!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620871959
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	11/13/2012
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	661,555
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Alexander Schwab grew up in Switzerland and gained a master’s degree in philosophy and history at
Aberdeen University. He now lives in the beautiful Emmental region of
Switzerland and fills the gaps between fishing trips by working as a management consultant. His hobbies include mushrooming, cooking, exploring the countryside, and reading poetry. He is the author of Mushrooming without
Fear, Dear Jim: Reflections on the Beauty of Angling, and Hook, Line,
and Thinker.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Guide 8

The Mushrooming with Confidence Method 9

What does "edible" mean? 9

Learn to leave a mushroom 9

Look-alike poisonous species 10

The tools of the trade 11

Worm-infested mushrooms 11

Cutting or pulling? 11

Raw mushrooms 11

What Is a Mushroom? 12

Gills, Ridges, Tubes, and Spines 15

Gills 16

Ridges 20

Gills and Ridges in Comparison 23

Tubes 26

Spines 27

Positively Identifying Mushrooms 29

Mushrooms with Gills 31

The Field Mushroom 33

The Wood Blewit 39

The Shaggy Mane 45

The Parasol 49

The Shaggy Parasol 55

The Oyster Mushroom 61

The Charcoal Burner 67

The Amethyst Deceiver 75

Mushrooms with Tubes 79

The King Bolete 81

The Red Cracked Bolete 87

The Larch Bolete 93

The Slippery Jack 99

The Bay Bolete 103

The Birch Bolete 109

Mushrooms with Ridges 115

The Chanterelle 117

The Trumpet Chanterelle 121

Mushrooms with Spines 125

The Hedgehog Fungus 127

Mavericks 131

The Morel 133

The Common Puffball 143

The Hen of the Woods 149

The Horn of Plenty 155

The Cauliflower Mushroom 159

Trees and Mushrooms 162

Handling, Storage, and Cooking 165

Index 172