collecting mushrooms is not so easy and it needs deep knowledge about the various varieties of mushrooms.
Wild food enthusiasts are known for their passion for mycology. Mycology, deals with fungi kingdom which includes several edible foods. Mushroom is famous in this plant kingdom among wild food lovers. People conduct mushroom conventions to explore mushroom dishes, all over the world, especially in US. People come from different places to participate in these mushroom conventions.
In biology, mushroom fall in a special class and not consider them as plants. Mushroom's life cycle is so fascinating, which is very different from plants. Chemistry of mushrooms is too complex that still under research in Phytochemistry. All mushrooms are not edible and some varieties can cause serious damage to our body.
In fact, some mushrooms can cause for the death of the user. They are so toxic that eating without washing them can poison the user. There are also some mushrooms which can pass poison with a mere touch.
I don't mean to be frightened about mushrooms. You can harvest them like any other wild food. But you need to have some knowledge about mushrooms. Training under an expert can help you in this matter.
We can't identify some mushroom species easily. Some poisonous varieties just look like edible mushrooms. You can only identify such mushrooms by spore prints and microscopic examination.
Do you ever heard about magic mushrooms? Magic mushrooms are having drug effects with brains out feel. Magic mushrooms are used by certain communities traditionally for seeing the spirit world. Even today, mycologists are so fascinate about magic mushrooms. It is used as an alternate for other drugs like opium, cocaine etc. In my opinion, this drug effect is a result of poison contained in magic mushrooms.
I always seek help of a mushroom expert to avoid wild mushrooms on the menu of my workshops and I don't allow even morels for diet. My mushroom expert says that majority of the people can eat morels safely. Only some people have problems after eating morels, and such cases are very rare. I know one person who knows everything about morels. He only haunts morels and never dare to eat them.
I love all wild foods except mushrooms. I can take them for other person, that's my relation with mushrooms. If we say about nutrition, mushrooms have a lot to offer. They are rich in minerals and vitamins. They don't have cholesterol, fat and sodium. Mushrooms are also used as medicine by some folks, to enhance immunity. Even some herbal products containing mushrooms are available in market.
If you are a newbie to mushrooms, start with dishes contain small amount of mushrooms. It is always remember the adage ''when in doubt, throw it out''. If you have only a little knowledge about mushrooms, don't go to search them in wild. For such people, edible mushrooms are available in grocery markets.
Mushroom recipes are considering as five star recipes. The facts behind each mushroom dish are caution and common sense. There is only a slight difference for poisonous and edible mushrooms. So getting them from wild is a job which needs experience of years.