Country & Coast: Conditions ripe for fungi foraging

You will have to forgive me if I refer to it as Site X, though, because the quantities available for picking are pretty modest and I don’t think I’ve ever managed to get close to the recommended fungi forage of 1.5 kilograms per person on any one visit. There are around 10,000 species of fungi in the UK, and usually a dozen or so of them present in this particular location so far as my identification abilities go. However, most of the ones I recognise are poisonous, or are hard to differentiate between edible and non-edible varieties. I don’t pretend to be anything more than a casual fungi gatherer, my motivation being more culinary than scientific, so I tend to play safe and stick to the ones I have picked for the last 30 years or so without ending up on a hospital drip. Poisonous fungi does not discriminate amongst its victims. The Roman Emperor Claudius died in 54AD after eating the death cap (Amanita phalloides), which I have found growing in some Yorkshire oak woods. A few years ago a 57-year-old woman in Somerset became the latest death cap victim by, tragically, chopping one up and adding it to a can of cream of mushroom soup for extra flavour. Thankfully, there were some tried-and-tested varieties available to me on this fine autumn Sunday morning at Site X, including the reliable field mushroom and the more problematic parasol mushroom. The former, (Agarics campestris), is probably the most commonly picked wild fungi in the UK because it’s so widely distributed. But beware an important health warning: novice fungi foragers should first learn to identify it in the presence of an expert. For those with long memories, this is how shop mushrooms used to taste, and when included in a breakfast fry-up it really is a flavour sensation that’s hard to beat. It is best picked relatively young, since older ones are prone to maggots, so avoid them if they look a bit frayed around the gills. The other fungus I picked, the parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera), requires more inspection - and experience - since it is easily confused with its close relative the Shaggy parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota rhacodes). The reason for the name is perfectly clear when you find them. Whilst some experts say the shaggy variety’s safe to eat, there have been cases of tummy upsets and outbreaks of rashes, which is why caution is required. I always look for a reddish-brown pattern, resembling snakeskin, on the stem to be sure I have got the edible variety. I am expecting a good October for fungi foraging, since September’s high temperatures followed by the recent rainfall and chilly nights will have helped them to produce fruit bodies. By the middle of the month there should be fungi all over the place.