The lives of fungi

I was fortunate to have learned about mushrooms from my parents. As a kid, I was able to collect them with supervision of my mom and dad. When I was big enough to carry my own basket, that’s when my training began. I was trained to correctly identify them for safe harvesting, paying attention to each mushroom’s characteristics and the differences between each species. From a cook’s point of view, mushrooms are an irresistible source of flavour, texture and aroma. But the real thrill of mushroom hunting is collecting them and then cooking them fresh from the basket.

Remember that identifying mushrooms is essential. If in doubt DO NOT COLLECT a mushroom and never, ever, eat anything you cannot identify with certainty.