I ate wild mushrooms and I'm still alive!

[sbhikes]

I was hiking with my boyfriend. We found some mushrooms and decided to take a couple of them home. We searched online and were able to positively identify them as California golden chanterelles. More precisely, we were not able to find anything about them to identify them as anything else or to give us any doubt. The mushrooms we found met every criteria for chanterelles. So I sauted them with butter and garlic and we had them for dinner. 15 minutes went by and we felt okay. Then an hour. Then two hours. Still no cramps or vomiting. We woke up this morning healthy as ever. They were delicious and now we know how and where to find them! This is one of the most adventurous things I've done. I'm happy I lived through it. Here's dinner!

[Carbo]

Based on their appearance when cooked, I am certain they are the Inocybe Erubesuens commonly confused with the edible Calcybe Gambosa. The ones you ate typically take 72 hours before the central nervous system is affected by a strong aphrodisiac. You and your boyfriend better humker down and BE PREPARED!

[Carbo]

Kidding.....!

[Luddite]

mmm looks good. You gotta be careful with mushrooms,though. I guess Chanterelles are pretty distinct looking.

[Pedaling Fool]

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar...al/me-poison12

[Boothill]

wild mushrooms are something you probably don't want to mess with unless you are sure of what you have, it's just not worth the risk, and there are so many poisonous species that look exactly alike their edible counterparts, i pick shrooms every year and can tell you, i can even get fooled at times in the field, so i go through them again at home and have found some poisonous ones that i picked by accident

they're yummy but you should be very careful

boot

[The Snowman]

all I will say about this is "there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters but there are no bold old mushroom hunters". If your intrestered in wild mushrooms join a local club and learn to pick safely.

[ChinMusic]

"there are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters but there are no bold old mushroom hunters".

Excellent.

I stick to morel mushrooms. They are distinct enough and very seasonal, so I feel safe.

[Rocket Jones]

I find that I can saute pencil erasers in butter and garlic and get the same dish. Works for calimari too.

[Carbo]

I find that I can saute pencil erasers in butter and garlic and get the same dish. Works for calimari too.

Hahah, yeah that calamari reminds me of rubber bands. The butter and garlic can even make old socks tast good!

[4eyedbuzzard]

Calamari is funny, you have to cook it either very quickly at high heat - perhaps two or three minutes for those little rings in a deep fryer or pan, or cook it for an hour or so in a casserole with other ingredients. Anything in between will be rubber bands. Has to do with the proteins in the squid flesh. Clams are similar, overcook = rubber.

[GeneralLee10]

I find that I can saute pencil erasers in butter and garlic and get the same dish. Works for calimari too.

To funny

[AndyBees]

I find that I can saute pencil erasers in butter and garlic and get the same dish. Works for calimari too.

Rocket Jones......... I agree with you 1000%. Cardboard chopped, sauted in any funky butter or immitation thereof and Garlic get the same taste.......

Mushrooms are a great delicacy....... why destroy their awesome flavor with Garlic?

Garlic is for the Chef who cannot COOK. So, he/she masks everything with a ton of Garlic.

Here in the east we consume Morel mushrooms from the wild.....there's lots of recipes (no garlic) that bring out the awesome flavor of the Morel.

Sure, I'm being somewhat facetious, but most high end restaurants these days don't offer mashed potatoes that are not loaded with Garlic and BUTTER.......... and, 'ell they're too lazy to remove the jackets...LOL

Lastly, garlic or no garlic, be sure you know what you are eating when it comes to mushrooms from the wild!

Trail on!

[sbhikes]

These were definitely chanterelles. The false chanterelles won't kill you and they don't taste good. The Jack o' lanterns won't kill you either, but they are poisonous. We found the Jack o' lanterns once and these did not look anything like them. We got a friend to ID the chanterelles and he was 100% positive. We had already eaten one by then.

I wouldn't try this with other mushrooms that do have fatal look-alikes. But in this case since the look-alikes would at most make us very sick and at the least just taste bad, it seemed worth a try.

[kayak karl]

met a Princeton professor from Italy in the woods. he said there is a saying, "there are bold mushroom gathers, there are old mushroom gathers, but there are no old bold mushroom gathers"

[trailangelbronco]

Yeah, I love Morel Mushrooms. I pick em every year and hike when they are sprouting up in a old burn area that I know.

[Smile]

You are very lucky.

[4eyedbuzzard]

You are very lucky.

Definitely. I'll bet they were wearing cotton when they picked them too.

[Smile]

Definitely. I'll bet they were wearing cotton when they picked them too.

and in the rain, on the north side of a mountain.

[sbhikes]

and in the rain, on the north side of a mountain.

Shoosh! You are giving too much away. I'll never tell you where I was. I was most definitely not wearing cotton, but I did not have a compass or map. Caution to the wind, baby!