Mushroom Identification?
General Topic
Is this fungi edible? Its big, feels like a sponge on bottom...
Thanks for any responses...
Top view, quarter in center for size reference...
If it’s got sponge underneath, you are ok. Gills underneath and it could be a bad one.
Never trust an internet chat room with poison food related inquiries.
They're all edible! Some just make you sick or possibly die. ;-)
Yeah, but if somebody gives a identification name likely get me into related species and can further investigate in books, internet, and such...
Where are you located....that looks like a Boletus. I agree with Bou…..steer clear of ground mushrooms UNLESS you are 100% positive of identification. I stick with easily identified tree grown shrooms.
NE Ohio... I'll look up Boletus.... Thanks
It looks like it could be Boletas, but without seeing underneath there is no way to know. As Treeline said, if it has pores it might be ok, but do not eat it without learning. If you look up Boletas, you will see what they look like. They are common in the mountains, but make sure before you even consider eating it.
Yeah, looks like a Boletas... Thanks so much guys... Found a site to tell good from bad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCfqCUiZ2A
Thanks again...
Looks like a porta Bella... enjoy it in a red wine reduction with a little sprig of rosemary
There’s some very knowledgeable folks regarding mushrooms on the Leatherwall. In fact, there’s a current thread.
Post your picture in that thread and I bet you’ll get the info you want.
I just read the label in the produce section.
There are several kinds of Boletus, some of which are not healthy for you. The King Boletus, however, is very edible and tasty, and safe. This one doesn't look like a 'king'. I have eaten 'kings' right off the ground in Washington state. Delicious. The ones that stain blue I wouldn't touch.
It is NOT a Portabella. Those have gills, this one has pores.
Yeah, am gonna go by the blue stain test when I pick it before sampling in the skillet...
Zbone - I use the blue stain test too. The rest are supposedly pretty good (although I have eaten some that were in sphagnum moss swamps that I wouldn't recommend). The one that you have there is pretty old - cut it in 1/2 and see how many insects/slugs have bored into it. That is the main problem with the boletes - the bugs love them. Poke around the area and see if there are others that are just coming up - they are really good in that stage, but make sure they have the pores and not gills.
I also had some this weekend and I would recommend scraping off the 'pores' before cooking. We ate them both ways (pore intact and pore scraped) and the pores tend to feel mushy - although the taste was fine.
This is not going to end well
Let's see...shrooms don't particularly taste good...shrooms don't provide much nutritional value...the wrong shroom could kill you. Methinks I'll not bother experimenting with wild shrooms.
Considering its size, it probably doesn't matter if safe or not, probably full of bugs, even if not its past its prime. The texture will not be good. A king bolete will stay firm even if large, but that is not a king. I enjoy mushroom hunting but I've been taught from a very young age " If you are not 100% sure, leave it". The bolete family is large and not all are edible. Looking at your photo, and not referencing back any books, I would leave it unless there are 10 smaller ones close by that would make it worth my while to pick and look up my books.
Amoebus - Thanks for the tips....
I'm gonna try to get it picked today, will post pix.... Thanks again all...
There was a series on cable for a while about people getting poisoned by all means from animal stings and bites to attempted murder. Found out about puffer fish poison from than show and how crazy people risk death to eat puffer fish meat as puffer fish poison is very, very deadly. Showed one episode where a family had recently immigrated (legally mind you) from a country in the orient who's name escapes me that found some mushrooms while hiking in a national forest. Picked them, took them home and put them in their home made spaghetti sauce. To their woe it was a rather poisonous mushroom that cooking only intensifies the poisons effect. Don't recall the exact details but at least one family member died possibly two, others lost either their liver or kidney(s) as that particular mushroom's poison attacked the excretory system, and was most damaging to the liver and kidneys.
After that show I never again even considered eating a wild mushroom, or any wild forage for that matter unless I was positive enough of its identification to be willing to literally bet my life on it.
There is a lot of gray area with mushroom ID. For that reason I will leave most everything to the experts with the exception of PUFFBALLS. When it comes to Puffballs, they are the simple to ID and good table fare. Puffballs are white and have no STEM and no GILLS or CAP. Here in Northern Arizona they are golf ball to tennis ball size and pure white. They do get bigger in other regions around the country. They are sliced thin and pan fried in butter and garlic salt till golden brown. The wife and I enjoy them every summer and they are super good on an Elk burger or a fried egg sandwich.
bowbender77, I don't know if they're the same type, but here in IN and IL I've found puffer like mushrooms that were as big as base balls up to bigger than a 16" softball, but these were hollow and dust would erupt if stepped on, I'm guessing the dust was spores that would become future mushrooms?
Enjoy it while watching Clint Eastwood in "The Beguiled"
Getting off subject but these are morel mushrooms very easy to identify growing season is short early spring very delicious mushroom when eating wild mushrooms be careful to mix it with alcohol the effects can be very painful.
This is a chicken of the woods very easy to identify very good mushroom for eating or just looking at.
I usta think that anything that didn't have pink gills and white flesh, and smell good like a store bought mushroom, was a toadstool, and not to be eaten ever. That is changing with some of these new ones becoming familiar to me. I enjoy many kinds now. But I'm DAMN sure of what they are first. You be too.
I understand the warnings, but to the anti mushroom folks, I've been shrooning for morels for many years since a young man, and have ate Pinkies, Chicken of the Woods, Sheepshead, Puffballs, and Chanterelles... Years ago actually had 2 friends end up in the hospital due to mushroom poisoning after misidentifying... Think they were false chickens, or hens, or chanterelle, not sure wasn't there and been awhile since so don't know exactly what they ate... Anyhow, they didn't SMALL sample first before fixing a bunch and digging in... If I try a new wild mushroom, will try to get all the info I can first that's why I brought it up here knowing some of youenz are shrooners too... From what I've read, ALL fungi contain toxins, its just the edible ones have such low levels doesn't affect humans... I'll ALWAYS SMALL SAMPLE first a new type mushroom...
BTW, whats the name of those magic mushrooms that grow atop cow patties in FL?...8^)))
Elite 1 be careful to mix it with Alcohol?SOUNDS LIKE FUN...HURTS LIKE H3LL!
I sliced open the Boletus (I think), no bluing, notice my thumb prints on the stem, looks good... Think I'm gonna try a couple small slivers in olive oil and butter...
Sheepshead? I had to look that one up. I only knew it by Hen of the Woods. (I thought you were talking about Hedgehog, which are also tasty).
Your boletus looks remarkably good. I am amazed. I would scrape off the darker pores but maybe those ones aren't too bad?
The only mushroom that I don't get near is gilled and white and on the ground. Anything that fits those three has the possibility of being a Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa). I read somewhere that, of the people in the US who die from mushrooms, 90% die eating the Destroying Angel. It is the one that destroys your liver and kidneys in about a week.
Zbone, I read somewhere that I’d its bitter that’s an indicator of being poisonous. Before you sauté it and cover the flavors try a little piece and see if it’s bitter before swallowing.
I agree with the above, don't eat if bitter.
I am full blooed Italian with most relatives that still live there. Mushrooming is a big part of my heritage. As a young kid we would go mushrooming as a family every fall. Back then we would fill that back of the jeep with mushrooms. We only picked porchinis which is in the boletus family. Just so you know boletus is the family name and the porchini is the type of mushroom we picked. That is part of the boletus family but you should find out what type of boletus it is.
I just found these porchinis on a job site the other day. Took them home and after cleaning them found out they were fryers. We call them two different things, fryers and dryers. Fryers have no worms in them so you can eat them right off. If they have worms on them, we slice them up 1/4” thick and place them on screens during the day until the dry out and all the worms fall out. These are good for pasta sauce and such.
I would find out what type of boletus it is before you go to far.
Here are some pics of the porchinis i found last week.
After i cleaned them and fried them rolled in flower
Wow LiveOutdoors, them look good...
Ucsdryder and Tody... Standby, gonna go back out in yard and taste a piece of scraps I cut off and threw out to taste raw... Surprisingly, the bottom spore (spongy side) pealed off easily from the white, and I cut the white in small pieces and have marinating in olive oil and melted butter in the fridge... There was no bugs in the white, and just watched a video of where they said boletus/porchinis are one of the few mushrooms can be eaten raw...
I just taste tested raw... No bitter taste, so far so good... If i don't update in the next couple days, youenz will know what happened...8^)
Surprisingly, the bottom spore (spongy side) had a better texture than the white middle, now wish I hadn't tossed it...
I have never heard the 'bitter' test before. Not sure how trustworthy that is.
Boletas are yummy!
We get them in the high country in Colorado in August. The king boletas get huge, but do tend to get a lot of worms. We also get monster puffballs as big as your head.
When I worked at a mine in the high country we had hell with the Europeans in the summer running all over like crazy people gathering up and fighting over mushrooms. They gathered up a lot of different varieties but they all wanted the king boletas.
One of the best fall mushrooms is the Oyster....in N. Illinois and Wisconsin you can find tons in any creek bottom. Usually growing on Box Elders trees. I actually prefer these over Morels. I have a special rigged up pool screen pole to pick them. They`re popping now in S.W/ Cent. Wisconsin.
The oyster that’s what I mixed with a couple of screwdrivers one night. Bad deal was rolling around on deck outside of our camper. Thought I was going to have a baby cramping was intense then the sh..... came party time was over.
Well still here, didn't get sick from my boletus/porchinis taste test, so I cooked them up with a couple steaks today.... Yum, can't believe I've passing by these for years....
BTW, don't make fun of my granddaughter's Dora the Explorer plastic plate...8^)
Now that looks Awful tasty Yum
Oysters and alcy...thanks for the warning. Sorry you had to be the guinea pig. :)
just picked bushel today. If snails/ slugs eat them, then they are good.
Skull, looks like you found some honey mushrooms.
This is an excellent podcast to listen to about wild mushroom harvesting: https://www.outsideonline.com/2265036/dangerously-delicious
