Mushroom Picking Anyone?

[Cuban]

Many other people venture out in the early morning for some pick your own?

Very tasty fried with bacon and eggs.

(Posted in Issan as it's more about the picking than cooking/eating them.)

Edited August 19, 2009 by Cuban

[ronthompson]

While I do not pick mushrooms my self u are correct they taste great.

Have u tried fresh picked deep fried mushrooms? They are outstanding a rural American treat.

[angiud]

I used to go for wild mushrooms in my home country. Very nice and relaxing. An very good.

But I must warn you. Beware of many people considering themselves like experts. If you are not 100% sure about what you pick, don't eat!

Easy to be intoxicated and sometime bad liver/kidneys damages, seldom death.

From the first pic I can spot one Amanita, a genus that have some very good edible, but also some very dangerous species.

Pic 2 I don't know.

Pic 3 look like a Russula, usually not dangerous, but low quality.

Pic 4 seems to be a Boletus, rarely poisonous.

Anyway, BE CAREFUL and don't trust so easy people collect and eat mushrooms saying "I know, mai pen rai": in Isaan every year some family dies from mushrooms intoxication

Edited for my bad english

Edited August 19, 2009 by angiud

[rockyysdt]

Many other people venture out in the early morning for some pick your own?

(Posted in Issan as it's more about the picking than cooking/eating them.)

Hi Cuban.

These are the mushrooms I picked in the woods deep in Isaan country.

Alas I no longer have a girlfriend, but when I did she used to refer to the woods as "the jungle".

We would often hunt for bamboo, mushrooms, & other unusual vegetation.

These mushrooms were traditionally stir fried & seasoned with homemade plah rar.

Served with sticky rice & Leo Beer, they were definitely a treat.

Poor as locals are, many eat better than most westerners.

Edited August 21, 2009 by rockyysdt

[jazzbo]

You gents are very adventuresome. I used to pick wild mushrooms in California (Marin/Sonoma) and in Colorado but only things such as chanterelles, boletes, puffballs, oysters, etc. that could not be mistaken for anything else... again, I'll just use the word adventuresome.

[krading]

You blokes are braver than me, I pick mine at the super market. You have to remember not all toadstools have a leprechaun sitting on them.

[Gary A]

The first time my wife came home with a basketful of wild mushrooms, I was skeptical. I told her to feed some to the dog first and then told her to forget it. The dog didn't do anything bad. I told her to eat some herself and if she didn't die, I'd eat them. I have eaten a LOT of mushrooms since then. Once in a while she gets some she is not sure about and takes them to her mother to see if they are safe to eat. My wife is pretty good at knowing the different kinds, but her mother is the expert.

[rockyysdt]

My wife is pretty good at knowing the different kinds, but her mother is the expert.

I also found that the locals seem to know which ones to avoid.

In fact some that I had picked were discarded by the others with an accompanying statement, "no good".

[angiud]

Trust your 'expert' neighbor usually is a good way to go to the hospital...

[bamseA]

friends always listen to the experts

[Sourdough Al]

Many other people venture out in the early morning for some pick your own?

(Posted in Issan as it's more about the picking than cooking/eating them.)

Hi Cuban.

These are the mushrooms I picked in the woods deep in Isaan country.

Alas I no longer have a girlfriend, but when I did she used to refer to the woods as "the jungle".

We would often hunt for bamboo, mushrooms, & other unusual vegetation.

These mushrooms were traditionally stir fried & seasoned with homemade plah rar.

Served with sticky rice & Leo Beer, they were definitely a treat.

Poor as locals are, many eat better than most westerners.

That is a nice collection of mushrooms. Did you personally eat them?

The yellow ones look to me to be a species from the Amanita genus. Most of those buggers are poisonous. The vary from mildly poisonous, hallucinogenic, to the most deadly. I personally would be very cautious eating those guys!

[Cuban]

Indeed, I am guided by my wife (many years exeriance) or family and we normally encounter other villagers out in the jungles (mildly wooded area about 2km from the village) so compare collecting baskets as we pass by.

Pictures of Rocky's basket are indeed impressive, I think our patch does get many people visiting it from 4am with head-torches to get the first grab in the morning, we tend to get there by about 05:15am or so.

The 'bad' mushrooms that I have carefully gathered, only to be told before adding them to the basket that they are best avoided, we tread on. Not sure if this ensures no futher growth or just spreads the spore.

In my picture above, the mushroom top right is particularly flavorsome (it has a distinct mushrom smell), never seen it for sale in markets or shops. I'm told that when people find it they eat it. Local method seems to be dry BBQ on a wire mesh.

[rockyysdt]

That is a nice collection of mushrooms. Did you personally eat them?The yellow ones look to me to be a species from the Amanita genus. Most of those buggers are poisonous. The vary from mildly poisonous, hallucinogenic, to the most deadly. I personally would be very cautious eating those guys!

I ended up eating three helpings.

Freshest & best mushroom dish I've ever had.

I don't know which mushrooms were added as in this part of Thailand cooking is definitely left to the women.

In fact I think the head male of the family would probably starve to death if he had to live on his own.

Here's a shot of the cooking equipment used to stir fry the dishes.

[CMDR]

First Picture : Het Kai

Second one : Het La-Ngok

I am also expert!

[rockyysdt]

Indeed, I am guided by my wife (many years experience) or family and we normally encounter other villagers out in the jungles (mildly wooded area about 2km from the village) so compare collecting baskets as we pass by.

These mushrooms were spotted at a roadside stall.

Being a naive city dweller I never gave a thought to possible dangers when eating wild mushrooms.