10776 Funghi identification

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Having just arrived from the UK for a couple of weeks and surveying the 'grounds', I have discovered three new funghi I have not seen before. We have always had 'pino' - identified for me by the locals - OK they say but nothing special to eat. Does anyone know a good website for easy identification of funghi - and information on how good they are to eat!! - .......or maybe good recipes[/FONT]

Category
Food & Drink

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:15

Hi,

Just a word of warning, some time ago I was questioning the amount of people killed by snake bites, and someone posted a reply; In the previous year only 1 person died from a viper bite, but 100 died from eating posionous mushrooms.

I bought a very good book (I keep it in Italy, but am in the UK atthe moment), but I wouldn't use it as my only source - it only takes one mistake! I would rather trust a local that has been doing it since they were kids, and are now teaching their grand children......At least you know that the fact they are still wlking in the woods means they know what they are doing!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/26/2008 - 04:59

Rafey is right. We own several funghi books, including Carluccio's but it is not only the look it is the smell and unless you show your mushrooms to a local who knows...don't eat them, with perhaps the exception of field mushrooms that we see in Britain and are easy to recognise here in Italy. The rest could do untold damage to your internal organs, if they didn't kill you first.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 03:29

a while back i posted a link to a site in the Abruzzo section ... which might prove useful for those that wish to look up a mushroom of whatever type... it belongs to our local paint shop man... who outside of this job seems to spend most of his time in the woods and mountains building a very ...to me...technical site regarding fungal growth here... its in Italian... and he is most probably along with his son one of the most knowledgeable people i have met here on the mountains and special places of abruzzo and its natural botanic and animal life

anyway the site is

[url=http://www.funghiteramani.it/]Funghi Teramani di Bruno de Ruvo[/url]

another point which might be of help for the future is that a lot of the comunes and or the provincial seats run courses for people interested in going out and finding fungi to eat... i presume this would be by far the best way to learn... as living examples will generate a much clearer idea of what is edible or not... i posted information on this in the abruzzo section a fair time back and am unable to find the posting...however this type of course would be available i am sure throughout Italy .... best to ask locally...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 09:48

Some Farmacias have an identifying service.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 03:14

[quote=Noble;100851]Rafey is right. We own several funghi books, including Carluccio's but it is not only the look it is the smell and unless you show your mushrooms to a local who knows...don't eat them, with perhaps the exception of field mushrooms that we see in Britain and are easy to recognise here in Italy. The rest could do untold damage to your internal organs, if they didn't kill you first.[/quote]

This cannot be stressed enough.it is advisable to take them to your local AUSL these are the local health offices most of which in rural areas have a service to check wild funghi.Although i've done it myself it is not a hermetic guarantee to take them to a local expert.A man in Ascoli some time ago,who was not only a pharmacist but the president of the local funghi association died along with his family after having eaten mistakenly identified funghi, he was considered the absolute expert on these things.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/30/2008 - 12:53

my tip is not to be at all adventurous!Start by picking only boletus (porchini) and things like giant puffbals which are really easy to idendtify and cannot be confused with other funghi.Stay away from anything growing in grass/fields looking like an ordinary mushroom as these are the easiest to mis-identify!