DELICIOUS OR DEADLY?

Wild Mushroom Foraging 101

- Phillip Meeks

When you mention harvesting — and eating — wild mushrooms, though, especially in a room full of people who’ve never experienced more than the store-bought variety, get ready to see expressions of admiration shift to skepticism.

That’s for good reason, perhaps. According to the National Poison Data Center, there are over 7,000 exposures to toxic mushrooms in the U.S. annually. Of these, 39 per year result in major harm, and statistically, 2.9 per year prove fatal.

For those who make it a point to learn a few wild mushrooms, though, nutritional rewards await. Mushrooms have more protein than most vegetables. They hold high levels of riboflavin and niacin and trace amounts of vitamin C, B1, B12, D, and E, according to the International Journal of Microbiology. Vegetarians, especially, can benefit from adding mushrooms to their diet, not only because of the protein levels, but also because mushrooms are the only non-animal food source of vitamin D.

Medicinally, species of fungi have been shown to have antioxidant, anticancer, antiallergic, antiviral, and antibacterial characteristics, again according to the International Journal of Microbiology.

Knowing What’s Out There

Foraging for mushrooms isn’t a leap one should make without being anchored to knowledgeable allies. Between 5,000 and 10,000 species of mushrooms are native to North America. Of these, about 100 are considered edible and roughly the same number are counted as toxic.

The old saying that “all mushrooms are edible once” shouldn’t be put to the test. You should be certain of the identification beyond the shadow of a doubt before ingesting any wild mushroom. In fact, learning just one or two edible species each year and then expanding your repertoire slowly is advisable to ensure that you know your chosen fungi well.