The ancient Romans, for all their incredible achievements, had a few glaring weaknesses as well. One of these was gluttony. We have joked from time to time that the food we were eating was so good, when we were so full we couldn't eat another bite, we would emulate the ancient Romans by sticking a finger down our throat to, uh, make some more room, as it were.
We've never actually done this, mind you, even though it was a not uncommon practice in ancient Rome. But occasionally, the dish we were eating was so wonderful that it brought to mind this story.
But gluttony, however tempting it may be, can carry grave consequences. The penalty for gluttony is occasionally severe sickness, and even death, and nowhere is this more true than in the world of mushrooms.
Some of our favorite mushies fruit in peaceful landscapes
carpeted with Oregon oxalis, such as this one.
We had done unusually well in a fall foray for Boletes, and had dehydrated many pounds of them for later use. The flavor of Boletes is actually made stronger (and better, many think) by dehydrating, and we almost always dry them when we are fortunate enough to get a nice batch. On this particular occasion, while unloading the dehydrator, I took one and popped it into my mouth. One led to more; they were delicious, and tasted like mushroom-flavored potato chips. I was hungry, and gave no thought to the fact that when I consumed them, they re-hydrated themselves inside me, and once consumed they were suddenly ten times the volume I thought I'd eaten. It certainly didn't seem like I'd gorged myself on them - it really didn't - but that was the result, and I was sickened by mushrooms that I'd eaten many times before with no ill effects.
We always tell anyone who asks, eat only a small amount of any mushroom species that you have not eaten before, just to make sure you don't have a unique (and adverse!) reaction to them. That's good advice, and we stand by it. But a corollary piece of advice is to be moderate in your intake of any mushrooms you eat, even those you have eaten many times before. It's tempting to "pig out" on mushrooms we particularly enjoy, but it can have consequences; we recently heard of someone who was sickened by eating an entire cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis crispa). We absolutely love cauliflowers, but we have never eaten them in anything like that quantity, nor will we.
If mushrooms have lost their identity, they should never be eaten. We are obsessive about making sure that any mushrooms that we preserve are well labelled, not just the species but the date and the location where harvested. It takes only a few minutes, and can pay big dividends later.
I'll give you an example. I serve as the resident mycologist for an annual wild game banquet held in Portland each Spring. It's a delightful event, and benefits several worthy charities while feeding over 200 hungry hunters, fishermen and other outdoorsy folks a truly memorable feast. Mary and I provide mushrooms for the banquet, but others sometimes bring them as well. I adamantly insist on looking at and approving any mushroom that is served. One time years ago, the French chef who then headed our kitchen crew brought in some mushrooms that he identified as Porcini (Boletus edulis). From twenty feet away, I could tell that they were no such thing; I didn't know what they were, but I was certain they weren't what he thought they were. Our relationship wasn't improved when I explained why I could not allow them to be used, and unceremoniously dumped them in the garbage, but he eventually came to understand the reasons for my intransigence, and my perfect record for not poisoning anyone at this event was preserved.
When we spied these mushrooms cascading down a
distant tree, they were so old that they were
falling apart and had lost much of their shape.
One more thing to mention: freshness. Even a novice should be able to tell the difference between a nice, fresh mushroom and one that is past its prime; if you're not absolutely certain, ask a knowledgeable friend or acquaintance. The color, the firmness of the flesh, the presence of worm holes, even the aroma give us all the clues we need. If it's not perfectly fresh, discard it; just one of many reasons is that mushrooms past their prime acquire bacteria that can sicken you. But being past their prime isn't the only way mushrooms can acquire harmful bacteria; if you don't cook mushrooms prior to freezing them, they can easily pick up bacteria that might not be destroyed by subsequent processing. Many people are sickened every season by eating mushrooms that are less than perfectly fresh; don't be among them.
The bottom line is this: use common sense. Eating wild mushrooms is a rewarding experience, foraging for and gathering wild foods is fun and a delicious addition to your diet, but approaching it with responsibility and moderation simply makes sense!