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A Curry County Sampler

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Poisonings PostScript

I have just re-read our original commentary, "Some Thoughts About Mushroom Poisoning"  (which follows), in light of a recent event that touched us personally, and deeply.  On reflection, I feel our earlier article explained these things properly, but the cautions may need even more emphasis.  Eating wild mushrooms is serious business, and needs to be approached that way.  Here's what happened.

A couple who lives nearby called me about some mushrooms they'd found growing by the side of a nearby, rarely-traveled road.  They thought they were "the Prince," one of the most desirable and highly prized edibles of all mushrooms.  They'd never encountered Agaricus augustus before, and wanted my help in identifying them.  I dropped by their home later that day to have a look.

When I first saw them, I was sure in my own mind that these were, in fact, Agaricus augustus, but being sure in my own mind isn't enough when identifying mushrooms you intend to eat yourself, much less for others to eat.  I'd come armed with three of our most trusted books: The New Savory Wild Mushroom (McKinneyStuntz/Ammirati),  the recently published Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (Trudell/Ammirati), and Mushrooms Demystified (Arora), and proceeded to go through the descriptions of A. augustus in each of them, pointing out how these specimens conformed to them.  I then used the "keys" in Mushrooms Demystified with the couple to verify and double-check ourselves. 

All this may seem like overkill, but stay with me, here.  First, I wanted to make sure we weren't cutting any corners.  Gilled mushrooms are inherently trickier than most of the common non-gilled mushrooms we gather, like Chanterelles, Hedgehogs and Boletes, and the consequences of a mistake can be dire, indeed.  Second, I saw it as an educational opportunity - for them and for me; sure, I was pretty familiar with this mushroom, but every time we open a book, we can't help learning something, and I wanted them to understand that this is serious business, one that requires certainty before even thinking about eating any wild mushroom.

Our book work done, I confirmed that I was confident that these specimens were Agaricus augustus, considered to be a very fine edible (indeed the cover of Mushrooms Demystified confirms this).   I stated that I, myself, had eaten these mushrooms in the past and found them to be delicious; I would happily eat these, had I found them, after going through the identification process we had used.  But we still weren't done.  I explained that even mushrooms thought to be edible and choice can cause adverse reactions in some people for reasons not clearly understood, and I cautioned them to eat only a small portion (thoroughly cooked, of course) the first night to make certain they weren't among them.  I re-verified that these had been gathered in an area by the side of a road that I knew had very little traffic and was never sprayed with herbicides.  I also told them a story about the esteemed Dr. Denis Benjamin, author of the best book on the subject we know of, Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas, who once accidentally poisoned himself with a variety of mushroom he'd gathered and eaten frequently before, and was certain his identification was proper. He discovered the next day that the area where he'd gathered them had been sprayed liberally with weed killer just hours before he'd arrived; the mushrooms hadn't poisoned him, the weed killer had. 

This wasn't to scare them, but to caution and educate them.  At the time, I thought that what I was doing was not only educating them, but helping them to form good habits that would help them to safely gather and eat wild mushrooms in the coming years.  I wished them a wonderful meal, and left them to prepare their dinner.

The following evening, they called me back.  Rather than telling me how good the mushrooms were and how much they'd enjoyed them, the lady proceeded to tell me that they had both become very seriously ill shortly after eating the mushrooms.  They'd cut up only one stem, and had cooked it thoroughly in butter, fresh garlic, a little white wine and a pinch of salt.  She reported that they were absolutely delicious, but not long after the meal, they became very nauseous, eventually vomiting, developed both diarrhea and excess gas, and their blood pressure had increased dramatically.  Now, 24 hours later, they felt better, and the vomiting and diarrhea had subsided, but they felt nauseous and weak and, in general, just plain lousy.

I was flabbergasted, and deeply concerned.  Of all the calls I expected to get, this was the last.  After questioning her further, I called several of the most knowledgeable mycologists we know to seek their advice.  The consensus was about what I expected (which was comforting in itself); that with many wild mushrooms, some people experience bad reactions to them, while most other folks eat them with no ill effects.  That both of these people had had such severe reactions despite the fact that they were not related by blood seemed an odd coincidence, but not unheard of.  One expert I talked to said that he himself had the exact same reaction to Agaricus augustus.  Everyone concurred that the reaction (while alarming) was not permanent, and would diminish over the next few days.  A small comfort, perhaps, but an important one. 

As I write this, their symptoms have continued to diminish, but they are far from feeling their best.  Their bodies are telling them that they don't like what they were fed, and want no more of it.  Message received and clearly understood by all, I am sure. 

What have we learned?  One thing is the wisdom of eating a small amount first, to determine whether you have an individual but adverse reaction to a mushroom considered to be eminently edible.  Another is the importance of being aware of where a mushroom is growing, and how non-related toxins may be present from spray or road run-off, even though that doesn't appear to have been a factor here.  A third is the importance of caution in identifying with absolute certainty any mushroom you intend to eat.  And finally, even if you do all these things (as this unfortunate couple did), you can still have an adverse, possibly extreme, reaction to eating wild mushrooms, even when you do everything right.

Posted at 06:39 PM in Poisons & Other Possibilities | Permalink

Some Thoughts About Mushroom Poisoning

 

Aminiti6jun07rev_3
Fly Amanitas are a colorful (but poisonous!) addition to the forest floor!

 

No discussion of gathering wild mushrooms would be complete without addressing the topic of mushroom poisonings. Some wild mushrooms are toxic, and a few are deadly poisonous. Many so-called poisonous mushrooms simply cause stomach upset (sometimes severe), while others simply accumulate their toxins in one or another of your internal organs, doing their damage over time. Most beginners at some point ask the question, “how do you know which mushrooms are poisonous?”

 

Well, we don’t always know. There are over 2,000 different species of mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest, some of them so closely similar that even degreed mycologists can’t identify them precisely. Moreover, the toxicity of many mushrooms is unknown, and some mushrooms are toxic to some people but not to others.  So, again, the question, “How do you know?”

 

The simple answer to the question is, “we don’t always know which mushrooms are poisonous, but we do know which mushrooms aren’t poisonous!”

 

We are not degreed mycologists.  We consider ourselves to be experienced mushroomers.  We have learned to recognize with absolute certainty a couple of dozen species which are safe edibles that we enjoy, and those are the ones we gather.  We also recognize a hundred or so others that interest us for some reason, usually their unusual beauty, but either we don’t particularly like their flavor, don’t know they are safe to eat or, more directly, know they are unsafe to eat.  We may take them home (carefully segregated from the others, in their own container) for further study or observation or even to be photographed, but we never even remotely consider putting one in our mouths.  The old adage, “Every mushroom is edible…once” is a good one for wild mushroomers to mind.

 

Our best advice to beginning mushroomers is to choose one or, at most, two species of good edible wild mushrooms at the start of a season. On every foray, focus on only those. Learn everything you can about them: what they look like at every stage of their development, what they smell like, where they are found, what trees they seem to grow near, what elevation, what the soil is like, etc. Take good notes in a pocket field journal as to when and where found, what the weather has been like, and so on.  At the end of the season, you should really know that species. Next year, add another species or two. In this way, you will gradually develop a wealth of knowledge that will be satisfying and will keep you safe. You will also have a written record of your experience on previous forays, which can help you pinpoint likely spots on just the right weekend.

 

All decent mushroom guides discuss mushroom poisons.  Refer to them, and believe them.

 

Suebrightyellowunknown
Don't know the mushroom? Don't eat the
mushroom! Sue Dawson photograph.

Here are some further thoughts.  Even though you are absolutely certain of your identification of  a species, sample it in small amounts first, rather than stuffing yourself.  We know it can be tempting to make a big feast of them, but use caution.  Some wild mushrooms classed as safe edibles can cause temporary - but sometimes severe - stomach upset in some people but not in others.  Ease your way into this.

 

 

Think about where you are gathering mushrooms, too.  If you find a patch of mushrooms growing  by a busy highway, for example, you might be certain that your identification of them as an edible is accurate, but what you don’t know is the amount of run-off from the road they have absorbed.  Oil, gasoline, antifreeze, etc. invariably leaks onto highways and runs to the shoulders. Are you sure you want to risk that?  Areas that have recently been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides are another thing to consider.  Our intent here is not to scare you, but just to make you think carefully about what you’re doing, and use reasonable prudence.

 

Wild mushrooms should never be eaten raw; always cook them thoroughly.  Some mushrooms are very toxic when raw (one good example is morels, of all types) and will sicken almost everybody; morels and some others lose all this toxicity in the cooking process and are perfectly safe to eat when cooked (note: dehydrating or freezing is not a substitute for cooking!).  Mushrooms do not degrade from cooking and, in fact, their flavor is always improved with proper cooking in butter or olive oil and the accompaniments you like, such as garlic, wine, various spices and seasonings.  Experiment, and try different recipes. That’s part of the fun.

 

The Puget Sound Mycological Society, in which we were active members for many years when we lived in the Seatle area, had an annual wild mushroom dinner they called “the Survivors’ Banquet,” in mock celebration of having survived another year of eating wild mushrooms.  Among experienced mushroomers, there is a certain amount of “gallows humor” about mushroom poisonings, and that’s not bad.  It heightens our awareness, and that’s a good thing.  We have been eating the wild mushrooms we gather for many years and even providing some to a few close friends with absolute confidence… but that confidence is not macho posturing, but rather the result of learning and knowing.  You can do the same.


Amanitafortheweb_2
Be cautious: some mushrooms are look alikes!

Posted at 05:09 PM in Poisons & Other Possibilities | Permalink | Comments (0)