Posted: 5/11/2014 7:47:55 AM EDT
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Unless you can 100%, unequivocally, absolutely, positively ID, I would not think about eating them. Too much risk if they are not safe for eating. Morels are the only ones I would consider eating after picking. Not much out there in the fungus world looks like them. |
| The only wild mushrooms I will pick and eat from the woods are morels (sponge). There is no mistaking them and they are all edible. I would not eat those, especially if you're not sure exactly what they are. Some mushrooms can make you very sick and may even kill you. |
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The Audubon Society prints a field guide to the mushrooms of north America. It's well worth the price. Only a few species in north America are seriously poisonous...but a number of others will cause gastric issues, are hallucinogenic or just taste like shit. Unless you are familiar with a certain species of mushroom, the only way to make a positive ID is to do a 'spore print' and examine it for spore size, color and shape. It's fairly involved and requires a microscope of some fashion. Pocket microscopes will work, but spore prints aren't something that can be done in the field. You can pick one up for around $20.00 online.  |
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The Audubon Society prints a field guide to the mushrooms of north America. It's well worth the price. Only a few species in north America are seriously poisonous...but a number of others will cause gastric issues, are hallucinogenic or just taste like shit. Unless you are familiar with a certain species of mushroom, the only way to make a positive ID is to do a 'spore print' and examine it for spore size, color and shape. It's fairly involved and requires a microscope of some fashion. Pocket microscopes will work, but spore prints aren't something that can be done in the field. You can pick one up for around $20.00 online. http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/3/7/4/7/6/4/webimg/489188824_o.jpg Useful. Thanks |
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Do NOT fuck around with mushrooms if you don't know what you are doing. (which means "if you have to ask")
There are a few which, if you eat them, will kill you in spite of all modern medical science. If you have a friendly Mycologist at hand, or live near a university, ask ... if not, don't do it. And don't believe that old bullshit "Squirrels eat this one ... so it's non-poisonous." |
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I love mushrooms, but I feel like I'd want to get a degree in mushroom studies before I started picking them up in the woods and eating them. (obvious exaggeration.) 
I remember being in college in the Bay Area in the early 80s and this 7-8 person Laotian family went up into the redwood forest and picked a bunch of amanita muscaria, not knowing what they were, but thinking that it would be a good idea to make soup from them. I think 6-7 of them ended up dying. Chris |
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http://www.dinosoria.com/plantes/amanita-muscaria-2.jpg I remember being in college in the Bay Area in the early 80s and this 7-8 person Laotian family went up into the redwood forest and picked a bunch of amanita muscaria, not knowing what they were, but thinking that it would be a good idea to make soup from them. I think 6-7 of them ended up dying. Chris Quoted:
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I love mushrooms, but I feel like I'd want to get a degree in mushroom studies before I started picking them up in the woods and eating them. (obvious exaggeration.) http://www.dinosoria.com/plantes/amanita-muscaria-2.jpg I remember being in college in the Bay Area in the early 80s and this 7-8 person Laotian family went up into the redwood forest and picked a bunch of amanita muscaria, not knowing what they were, but thinking that it would be a good idea to make soup from them. I think 6-7 of them ended up dying. Chris I bet that was quite an experience. |
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http://www.dinosoria.com/plantes/amanita-muscaria-2.jpg I remember being in college in the Bay Area in the early 80s and this 7-8 person Laotian family went up into the redwood forest and picked a bunch of amanita muscaria, not knowing what they were, but thinking that it would be a good idea to make soup from them. I think 6-7 of them ended up dying. Chris Quoted:
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I love mushrooms, but I feel like I'd want to get a degree in mushroom studies before I started picking them up in the woods and eating them. (obvious exaggeration.) http://www.dinosoria.com/plantes/amanita-muscaria-2.jpg I remember being in college in the Bay Area in the early 80s and this 7-8 person Laotian family went up into the redwood forest and picked a bunch of amanita muscaria, not knowing what they were, but thinking that it would be a good idea to make soup from them. I think 6-7 of them ended up dying. Chris Genus Amanita contains some which are edible, and some which are probably certain death. (and you don't even have to eat a whole mushroom) Not good odds to play. |
| Look em up online or in a book, if you see any insects eating them they are usually safe to eat(Rule of thumb). I used to love going mushroom picking when I was a kid. Would get several buckets every time we went out. Though we only would pick certain common ones in our area that tasted good. |
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I remember there used to be some folks who gave classes in the field for morel hunting in the spring. They would put notices up in the free weekly newspaper. A couple years ago I was talking with a friend, and I mentioned I wanted to go morel hunting but the people who gave the classes didn't seem to put notices in the free paper anymore. My friend said that's because they're dead, from eating poisonous mushrooms.
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| They look like the 10th mushroom down on this page. http://www.connecticutwilderness.com/pages/speciesfilter/index.php?filtertype=wildedibles&category=Fungi |
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Eat them and report back to us. It's not like you would die or anything. I'm going to go out and pick some morels to go with my steak. <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1636.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1636.jpg</a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1638.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1638.jpg</a> This! Are you finding them now up in MI? I have only found little smalls. Blacks ones. And not many. Not sure why but I attributed that to a late cold soil temps. But you guys had to have temps a little less than even ours. |
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Eat them and report back to us. It's not like you would die or anything. I'm going to go out and pick some morels to go with my steak. <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1636.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1636.jpg</a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1638.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1638.jpg</a> I found four morels today while mowing. They were delicious 
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Pro Tip: The next time you pick mushrooms, don't tear them out of the ground. Use that knife you carry in your pocket to slice the stem off which leaves the underground mycelia undisturbed. And only take one or two unknown mushrooms to identify later at home. Get a good field guide.
ETA: The amount of sheer idiocy in these replies baffle the mind. Coming from a guy who eats mushrooms, but knows damn well which mushrooms are edible in his stomping grounds, DON'T EAT THOSE MUSHROOMS. |
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This! Are you finding them now up in MI? I have only found little smalls. Blacks ones. And not many. Not sure why but I attributed that to a late cold soil temps. But you guys had to have temps a little less than even ours. Quoted:
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Eat them and report back to us. It's not like you would die or anything. I'm going to go out and pick some morels to go with my steak. <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1636.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1636.jpg</a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Wildweasel02/media/100_1638.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/Wildweasel02/100_1638.jpg</a> This! Are you finding them now up in MI? I have only found little smalls. Blacks ones. And not many. Not sure why but I attributed that to a late cold soil temps. But you guys had to have temps a little less than even ours. My brother found about a dozen but he found the first ones a month later than normal. His wife and her sister found some today. Temperature is in the 70's today, plenty of rain last week. Season is going to be over quick, In will get out this week if I have time. Cheboygan county. 
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