Mushrooms

The article in this month’s Conscious Eating department, “Marvelous Mushrooms: Celebrating a Culinary Powerhouse,” on page 20, reminded me of a mushroom festival I attended years ago.

I knew next to nothing about mushrooms, other than a couple of varieties I often bought at the grocery store were very tasty. As I was talking to people in this huge room filled with every kind of mushroom imaginable, I thought, “Who knew that people have fungi as a hobby, and that it is such a vast subject requiring so much knowledge?!” It was particularly interesting (and a little scary) to learn that two species can look almost identical, and yet one is edible and the other poisonous—in other words, one should know their mushrooms before sampling these delicacies along the trail.

One species I learned about at the festival, often found along the trails where I lived, was the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria). They have whitish stalks with white-spotted bright-red caps. What I didn’t know is that they are known for their hallucinogenic properties, but they aren’t often eaten because they have unpleasant side effects. All I could think about when I saw them was that they looked like little villages, and I expected to see tiny people coming out of these red-capped “structures.” In fact, this fairy-tale scene triggered a memory of old Disneyland cartoons, particularly Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And, no, I did not eat any before these thoughts popped into my head!

After the festival, I decided I would leave the mushroom picking up to the experts. I stick to grocery stores and farmers markets, both of which carry an assortment of mushrooms, these days. It’s amazing how the various types impart their wonderful flavors to so many dishes and provide us with health benefits as well. My latest thought is to try a mushroom drink, but I’m just in the research stage so far!

Tracy Patterson, Publisher