6 ms·

I recently had the opportunity during the lock down to make use of around kg of saffron milk-cap saffron (aka, red pine mushroom, or Lactarius deliciosus), and

I recently had the opportunity during the lock down to make use of around kg of saffron milk-cap saffron (aka, red pine mushroom, or Lactarius deliciosus), and it utterly changed my concept of what mushrooms could be. Until that point, I would have told you that I hated mushrooms - that they tasted like mold, or at best, slightly wet rubber - but the saffron milk-caps were completely different, nutty - almost meaty, with a proper texture. Since then I've been on the look out for more interesting mushrooms in my various local grocers, and look out for recipes that make them shine, rather than just using them as filler.

vidarh 5y ago
I picked a lot of mushrooms as a child, to the point I'd sometimes take classmates on detours through the forest near school to pick mushrooms on the way home. The sheer amount of different tastes and textures is astonishing, despite having always been very cautious about avoiding picking any of the ones that can easily be confused with poisonous ones[1], which meant I also avoided plenty of edible species. But as a child I hated Agaricus bisporus. I'd pick them off pizzas, and refuse to eat them in other foods. I tolerate them now, in small quantities, but your description is fitting. I think the only reason they remain so popular is that they're "easy" to grow, while for a lot of other mushrooms cultivation is still an ongoing challenge to do at scale. [1] a caution here to anyone considering picking: pick up a book for beginners; find one that deals with your country and that lists common mistakes local to you and how to recognise them - e.g. people sometimes think they're recognising Agaricus bisporus or related edible Agaricus mushrooms, but are instead accidentally picking a young Amanita virosa, one of the most lethal mushrooms known. It's easy to do safely with a proper book, so I don't want to scare anyone off from doing it, as most places will have plenty of great edible mushrooms that there are no plausible local poisonous ones to confuse them with.

vidarh 5y ago

I picked a lot of mushrooms as a child, to the point I'd sometimes take classmates on detours through the forest near school to pick mushrooms on the way home. The sheer amount of different tastes and textures is astonishing, despite having always been very cautious about avoiding picking any of the ones that can easily be confused with poisonous ones[1], which meant I also avoided plenty of edible species. But as a child I hated Agaricus bisporus. I'd pick them off pizzas, and refuse to eat them in other foods. I tolerate them now, in small quantities, but your description is fitting. I think the only reason they remain so popular is that they're "easy" to grow, while for a lot of other mushrooms cultivation is still an ongoing challenge to do at scale. [1] a caution here to anyone considering picking: pick up a book for beginners; find one that deals with your country and that lists common mistakes local to you and how to recognise them - e.g. people sometimes think they're recognising Agaricus bisporus or related edible Agaricus mushrooms, but are instead accidentally picking a young Amanita virosa, one of the most lethal mushrooms known. It's easy to do safely with a proper book, so I don't want to scare anyone off from doing it, as most places will have plenty of great edible mushrooms that there are no plausible local poisonous ones to confuse them with.