Next question ... has anybody ever tried growing their own mushrooms? That is one thing I have been interested in for a long time, but have been too lazy to try out so far...
Favourite mushroom
- Thread starter Valarie
- Start date
@Andy_T
It's funny you mention growing your own. The couple that owned my house before me told me about the mushrooms they had growing in the yard every year. Evidently her husband spread the spores in a favorable place and the mushrooms spouted up each year when in season, faithfully. That said, I do have a friend that could help me identify them, accurately, but without his help I would never risk it myself. People, children, pets, etc. die every year from eating incorrectly identified mushrooms or just from happenstance.
Home cultivation would be a cool project. Perhaps something like one of these starter kits? https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/best-mushroom-growing-kits/
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It's funny you mention growing your own. The couple that owned my house before me told me about the mushrooms they had growing in the yard every year. Evidently her husband spread the spores in a favorable place and the mushrooms spouted up each year when in season, faithfully. That said, I do have a friend that could help me identify them, accurately, but without his help I would never risk it myself. People, children, pets, etc. die every year from eating incorrectly identified mushrooms or just from happenstance.
Home cultivation would be a cool project. Perhaps something like one of these starter kits? https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/best-mushroom-growing-kits/
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I would never eat a mushroom that someone has randomly picked. Some poisonous ones look similar to edible ones.
7 of the World’s Most Poisonous Mushrooms
This Encyclopedia Britannica list features 7 of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world.
www.britannica.com
Ponadr
Newcomer
I have too many favorite mushrooms. Favorite one I've found and eaten? Probably matsutake or hedgehog.
I would never eat a mushroom that someone has randomly picked. Some poisonous ones look similar to edible ones.
7 of the World’s Most Poisonous Mushrooms
This Encyclopedia Britannica list features 7 of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world.www.britannica.com
Every year here in my city someone or someone's pet ingests a death cap mushroom,,,and hence the name, they don't survive the ordeal. So it definitely isn't worth the risk in my humble opinion.
Here's a story not too far from me regarding the death cap. Read Here
That's awful. I don't think that I would take my pet to the woods if there were so many poisonous mushrooms everywhere.
morels are the most overrated mushroom!
Hedgehogs are another favorite of mine.
Really? No one else likes porcini?
I ate amanita once...felt a little sick, nothing trippy. Really gross texture, tasted like decaying forest floor. Not recommended!
Hedgehogs are another favorite of mine.
Really? No one else likes porcini?
I ate amanita once...felt a little sick, nothing trippy. Really gross texture, tasted like decaying forest floor. Not recommended!
Morels occasionally can contain insect larvae that drops out during the drying process. Personally, I love their flavour, but that fact is a bit off-putting as a vegan. For that reason Morels should never be eaten raw.
I'm not sure I would call them overrated, but overpriced without a doubt. Luckily, I've picked many wild morels here where I live. I really love them a lot, although they're not always easy to find. Morels have such a unique and distinctive flavour to me, unlike any other fungi I've ever tried. Fresh ones can fetch anywhere from $50-100 per pound.
And you are not alone...I also love porcini mushrooms. However, I've never had the pleasure of eating them fresh. Have you? I've only had dried porcini in various recipes. I often put them or shiitaki in my mushroom bourguignon. They add both great flavour and texture to the stew.
I also love Hedgehogs. They also grow locally. Even though those and chanterelles are both easy to identify, I still go with an experienced forager. Can you tell I like mushrooms yet?
I worked at a produce stand in Pike Place Market for several years, so I had access to a lot of fresh wild mushrooms, often picked just the day before. We sold lots of truffles too..now those are definitely overpriced.
Oh and I thought I deleted my comment about morels, decided I wanted to keep it positive...oops, know you know how I really feel
Oh and I thought I deleted my comment about morels, decided I wanted to keep it positive...oops, know you know how I really feel
Ponadr
Newcomer
I worked at a produce stand in Pike Place Market for several years, so I had access to a lot of fresh wild mushrooms, often picked just the day before. We sold lots of truffles too..now those are definitely overpriced.
Oh and I thought I deleted my comment about morels, decided I wanted to keep it positive...oops, know you know how I really feel
I hadn't considered truffles being mushrooms but you are right. The only difference is that they grow underground and mushrooms above.
They are very expensive ( difficult to farm and find) but a little goes a long way as they really add a lot of flavour to food. They really are very delicious.
I once bought a tiny piece of truffle for 15 € but would never consider buying them now.
https://www.englishtruffles.co.uk/truffles-about/
Milardo65
Newcomer
FredVegrox
Forum Legend
Do you just not like the taste or texture? The way you put it sounds like there's some kind of philosophical objection. Are you a mushroom rights extremist?
FredVegrox
Forum Legend
I have hated the taste of mushrooms all my life, since my father took me when I was a little boy with him to pick wild mushrooms, which he liked doing, before I had ever tasted them. Talk about a huge disappointment. And I hated other stuff, but I never disliked anything more. Some hated things I learned later to be alright with, but it never changed with mushrooms. With going vegetarian, I gave up meat, and I was alright with that. I went vegan later knowing issues. I found hummus, and never felt need for any animal product or anything made to resemble flesh of animals. Since I didn't want mushrooms either, still, it is easy to stick to real plant-based eating. And I am a believer. I know God gave permissions for what to eat in places. But there was never permission for fungi. I don't believe mushrooms were to provide us for food.
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
I most frequently eat white or Portabella mushrooms like other average people, and I find Lobster mushrooms overrated and overpriced BUT...King Oyster mushrooms are amazing!
I first tried them at an all-vegan authentic ramen place in DTLA and they're worth every single penny.
Im trying to educate myself with local mycology. Maybe after I drop out of grad school Ill have more mental energy to devote to it.
I first tried them at an all-vegan authentic ramen place in DTLA and they're worth every single penny.
Im trying to educate myself with local mycology. Maybe after I drop out of grad school Ill have more mental energy to devote to it.
I might also mention Enoki mushrooms. They're in most grocery stores now. They have a wonderful flavour and are quite inexpensive. They are very easy to prepare/cook. They actually require very little cooking. Dry pan cooking or flash frying is recommended.
Val
Forum Legend
Hello Fred!
It's very interesting what you've said about your "relationships" with mushrooms. Despite that, IMO, it's way better to eat mushrooms than animals, - i have a strong feeling that mushrooms are half-animals in their current hypostasis. Their existence is more ancient than we can think of. The fact that they have a "collective mind" - is out of debate. I, personally, wouldn't allow myself to eat them. Don't get me wrong,- there was a time when i ate tons of mushrooms. I loved their meaty texture, and moreover, it was a very ubiquitous and affordable food: we picked them in the woods next to our summer cottage, at the country. My mom goes to the woods and picks them nowadays too. But something happened to my perception of mushrooms. And it had happened long before i went vegan. I realized that my body refused to digest mushrooms. Gradually, i "developed" weird and scary autoimmune reactions to mushrooms. These reactions were getting more and more severe. Eventually, i ditched mushrooms at all. Once, a few years later, i ate 2 of them (2 tiny honey fungi), and i regretted... I was sick for 5 months,- i thought i would have died. (I know 100% that those honey fungi were edible,- they were on pizza, - i think that it was just a severe autoimmune reaction). Since then, i only managed to accidentally devour a few scruples of mushrooms, but i took extra measures, having taken a LOT of adsorbents and other pills, so luckily, i got away with that.Probably, my "blocky carcass" feels that there's something wrong with eating fungi and trying to tell me? Well, if so,- i got the message. Enough was enough, and i never touched mushrooms again. (They never touched me either. At least, they never took a revenge again, haha).
