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Be Careful Foraging!

I know a number of you like to forage for food in nearby woods and parks, but please, please do not forage for mushrooms. Recently, a woman who was with a “foraging group” in Westchester, N.Y., ate a mushroom and died within 2 hours. I’m not being an alarmist, but when it comes to mushrooms, unless you really are an expert, I would choose shopping over “hunting.”

Comments

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Thanks for the warning, I wouldn’t touch a wild mushroom, not worth it!

  • Paxton SquiggledyPaxton Squiggledy Raw Newbie

    If it isn’t growing in cow shit, I won’t touch it.

  • RawVoiceRawVoice Raw Newbie

    Paxton, what do you mean?

  • Paxton SquiggledyPaxton Squiggledy Raw Newbie

    ...awkward silence…

  • shgadwashgadwa Raw Newbie

    Hmmmmmm…..

    This does not mean that mushrooms are bad. There are a lot of good mushrooms. Such as, Morels (really good), giant white puffballs, the chicken mushroom, and one other, I forget its name. Those are the top four, there are others.

    I think, basically, you have to just use caution but I would not be afraid of what God made for us. By that, I mean, if you find something in the wild, and you are unsure what it is, read about it, or at least eat a small amount, do not make mushroom soup and eat TONS.

    I believe the reason that people get ‘sick’ off of wild edibles is because all plants have chemicals in them. Some chemicals do deferent things than others, some are stronger than others. It is like, Garlic, compared to antibiotics. Garlic is much better, it does not harm the body. Antibiotics, as well as drugs, are often made from plants, but it is way too strong and should not be consumed, in my opinion.

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    Wow, what a story! When I was on a wild edible walk, they gave me a piece of advice that I keep in mind. If three different people have told you that it is edible and you have seen it in three different locations, then it is safe. Those trying to wing-it from books are most at risk.

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    There are lots of poisonous lookalike for wild mushrooms. You have to have a very trained eye to tell the difference sometimes. Sometimes it just a difference in the spores – it can be very subtle. If you don’t know than you should have an expert look at it or pay to have a mushroom expert pick for you.

    There are lots of safe edbile mushrooms though too. Not all wild mushrooms are poisonous! Truffles are very valuable and if you can find one people will pay you hundred of dollars for it. :) There are also lots of edible mushrooms that just taste bad raw – wild mushrooms are better cooked or marinated. We have picked chicken and hen of the woods and puffballs before and they tasted better in cooked soups or marinated.

    Mushrooms aren’t the only thing that have some very close poisonous lookalike. A friend of ours died because she was foraging in an unfamiliar area and pick something that she thought was mullein (which she had eaten before) but it turned out to be a extremely similar looking poisonous lookalike. She made a green smoothie out of it and died of liver failure many hours later. She was not an amateur forager either but she didn’t know about the lookalike because she was foraging in another part of the country that she wasn’t familiar with.

    We went foraging today for blackberries and pricky pear fruit. Both safe to eat! :)

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    I know a whole family that died from eating wild forage mushrooms, and they were supposedly “experts” and had been picking for years. I refuse to forage for mushrooms and won’t even let my “expert” friends show me cuz I just think it’s too risky. Thanks for the warning.

  • I agree about the mushrooms. My father was telling me about a conversation he had with an author of “survival in the wilderness” books. He asked him why he didn’t include any information about mushrooms in his books. The author replied that there are too many variables to cover in a book and that someone with partial information could accidentally kill themselves. OK, store bought mushrooms it is. :)

  • Hey, everyone, of course not all mushrooms are poisonous! I love mushrooms, but still would never forage for them. What sad stories, queenfluff and Carmentina. Also, Karuna, glad to hear that the author of the survival book was being responsible. A little off topic, but related…today in the New York Times, there is a front page article about how people are hiring others to plant gardens in their yards and then pick the produce for them! Kudos to those who want to eat locally, but hey, does everything have to be outsourced?! :)

  • I am a mushroom hunting expert! I have given classes on how to safely look for edibles. The key for new hunters is to look for those mushrooms that don’t have poisonous look-a-likes. Some mushrooms are easy to identify, and safe. I wouldn’t recommend that a beginner look for some of those edibles, yummy though they are, that have scary look-a-likes.

    And yeah, if it’s growing on cow shit, and if it stains blue when you press it, you’ve got quite a (illegal in most places, ha ha) find…

    If you are interested in becoming truly skilled at mushroom hunting, check out your local Mycological Society, all of the states have one. They can steer you in the right direction for classes or instruction with someone who knows what they are doing.

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