Don't poison yourself this mushroom foraging season, and even more importantly, don't poison anyone else!
Toxic or treat? There are two species of mushroom on this table. If you can't tell the diffence, don't eat either of them.*
Poisonings from ingesting toxic mushrooms are on the increase in France. The reasons seem to be threefold.
Red-capped scaber stalk Leccinum aurantiacum (Fr. Bolet orangé des chênes), edible if well cooked. Often abundant it is used to bulk out the more prized ceps, and is usually a major component of commercial dried wild forest mushrooms mixes.
First, weather conditions. After a series of dry summers and autumns, we had a couple of wet autumns. This resulted in an abundance of mushrooms and a longer picking season, so people had more opportunities for misidentifying the mushrooms they had foraged and poisoning themselves and their friends.
Bay Bolete Imleria badia (Fr. Bolet bai), nearly as good as a cep, except for its unappetising staining on the sponge (but most people discard that anyway).
Second, there has been a resurgence of interest in mushroom foraging because people are interested in traditional activities, because they like the idea of free food, and because they like the idea of providing for themselves in a sort of self sufficient and independent way. So many people out there are beginners, and from my observations, absolutely clueless and in some cases hubristic. A lot of these people are not using tried and true methods of learning how to identify mushrooms, partly because they don't know how or where to access them. They don't know how to use a field guide and they don't know anyone who can mentor them through learning how to identify mushrooms. Last year a group of three or four experienced mushroomers set up the Facebook group Champignons du 37, concentrating on the art of gathering edible mushrooms in the Tourangelle forests (mainly Loches and Chinon). Within weeks they had 4000 members, and after 6 months there were 7400 members, which took them and me by surprise. I was expecting more like 400 people to sign up. Reading the posts it became painfully obvious that the majority of members were absolutely clueless. But they did at least want to learn. I imagine it came as quite a shock for them to find out just how much there was to learn.
The lovely but inedible velvetiness of Tripe fungus Auricularia mesenterica (Fr. Auriculaire poilu).
And that brings me to the third reason poisonings are increasing. The use of identification apps, which do little more than picture match. Please, if you are foraging for mushrooms for the table, I cannot stress enough that THERE ARE NO GOOD IDENTIFICATION APPS FOR FUNGI!! DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES RELY ON THEM IF YOU ARE GOING TO EAT THE MUSHROOMS. Identifying a mushroom takes more than just matching a single photo taken from the top or the side. In many cases mushrooms cannot be accurately identified from photographs no matter how experienced you are. There are just too many lookalikes, too many variables, and identification requires your sense of smell and touch in some cases, even occasionally your hearing, as well as being able to see all parts of the mushroom, including the whole stem (not cut off), underneath the cap, and a cross section (cut the mushroom in half from top to bottom).
An old Earthstar Geastrum sp (Fr. Géastre) in really poor condition. NEVER eat any mushroom in this condition, even if you think it is an edible species (which earthstars are not anyway).
There is a widespread belief in France that your pharmacist can identify any mushrooms you bring in. This was once the case, but is no longer true. Ask your pharmacist by all means, but you will likely find that they do not offer this service. If you are lucky, as we have been until recently in Loches, they will offer their professional opinion. If you are even luckier they will lead outings in the forest so you can learn about mushrooms. Be prepared for it to take years to feel confident in your own level of expertise, even with a good mentor and a good field guide.
False Turkey Tail Stereum hirsutum (Fr. Stérée hirsute) being consumed by Golden Ear Tremella aurantia (Fr. Tremelle orangée). So the Stereum is eating the wood, and the Tremella is eating the Stereum.
Even when you are confident of the identification, if the mushrooms are old or in poor condition, don't eat them. Mushrooms that are past their best or poorly preserved may develop toxins even if they are normally considered edible. Make sure they are well cooked too. Cooking can destroy some toxins, but not all. Do not eat wild mushrooms more than once a week and do not give them to children under the age of seven.
This is a delicious and prized Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris (Fr. Rosé-des-prés), but there is a common lookalike that won't kill you, but will send you to Accident and Emergency with severe stomach cramps. Do you know how to tell the difference? **
In summary:
*In the first photo, roughly speaking, there are Blushers Amanita rubescens (edible if well cooked) on the left, and Panthercaps A. pantherina (toxic) on the right.
**Always check Agaricus mushrooms by scratching their stems. If they stain yellow you have the toxic Yellow Stainer A. xanthodermus (Fr. Agaric jaunissant).
The other day I walked 7 kilometres with les Galoches along the flood plain of the Creuse River from Yzeures.
A quince tree in a garden.
The Creuse River.
An intriguing inscription which refers to a tremendous flood in the mid-19th century as 'a scourge sent by God'.
Wooden dividing wall in a barn.
Sorghum (Fr. sorgho) crop.
Big Sheath Mushroom Volvopluteus glioicephalus (Fr. Volvaire gluante) growing in the horse manure and straw left after a weekend event which included gypsy caravan rides.
The Creuse River.
The other day I photographed a magnificent horse fly on our barn wall. I'm a big fan of horse flies, so anyone who wants to carry on about how they bite can scroll on.
This one is a female Giant Dark Horse Fly Tabanus sudeticus (Fr. Taon des Sudètes). The species is supposedly the heaviest fly in Europe and females are about 25 mm in length. You can encounter adults on the wing throughout the summer, in dry pasture or woodland clearings. The larvae on the other hand are aquatic and eggs are laid on waterside plants.
Giant Dark Horse Fly females may bite you if you are wearing dark clothing, breathing heavily and warm and sweaty. But really they are more interested in getting their obligate blood meal from a cow or a horse. Without the nutrients they gain from biting a large mammal and sucking some blood they cannot lay viable eggs. If you are unlucky enough to be bitten, disinfect the wound immediately and take an antihistamine. You'll be fine unless you are unusually sensitive, in which case it may develop into a hard red lump about 10 cm across. Don't scratch the bite because it will get it infected.
I was so delighted to have a cooperative horse fly to photograph that I didn't even notice the ants until I was processing the photos. I didn't recognise them so I did what everyone does these days -- asked in the appropriate group on Facebook. A local entomologist got back to me to tell me they are Temnothorax sp.
Temnothorax ants are only 2 or 3 mm long, and live in small colonies of a couple of hundred individuals in dry dead wood or small cavities in rocks. There are at least 25 species in France and they occur throughout the country.
Last week our neighbour Edouard knocked on the door and presented me with a basket of vine peaches (Fr. pêches des vignes). He had decided to strip the tree as storms were predicted. He's allergic to fresh peaches, and there's only so much jam his wife can make, so he thought of me. He also told me he's had a number of thefts from his potager. The usual stuff like tomatoes, but this year someone stripped half his quince tree! We both thought that was quite odd.
Anyway, I was very grateful for these lovely peaches, which were all perfectly ripe and delicious. I had baked some biscuits only an hour before so I was very pleased to be able to exchange the peaches for some biscuits. I immediately blanched a couple of kilos of peaches and sliced them to make a cobbler, and the rest I halved and poached in heavy vanilla syrup. The latter will get used for Peach Melba or served with Greek yoghurt/fromage frais battu and such like.
Ingredients
1.5 kg peaches (vine peaches are small so this is about 16 peaches)
¼ cup soft brown sugar
Juice of a lemon
1 tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp ground cinnamon + a pinch for sprinkling on top
Pinch of nutmeg
1.5 cups plain flour
1/3 cup sugar + 1 tbsp for sprinkling on top
1.5 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
85 g butter, cold and cut into centimetre cubes
¼ cup milk
Method
Best served on the day of baking. It will hold in the fridge overnight before baking, so you can prepare it well in advance. After baking it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but beyond that the topping goes unpleasantly soggy. An uncovered reheat in the oven can help.
Eleanor of Aquitaine had the Great Hall of the Palace of the Dukes of Aquitaine in Poitiers built some time after 1160. It replaced an older great hall. The sculptors who worked on it also worked on the nearby Cathedral. Eleanor's Hall features a new entry, aligned with the Roman bridge, and including an impressive flight of stairs.
The grand entrance to the Hall.
In modern times the Hall has mostly been referred to as the Salle des pas perdu (the room of lost steps). This is by virtue of its function as a vestibule for the courthouse (palais de justice). Large rooms such as this which are spaces where the public can gather outside of the tribunal are known by this rather curious term. The etymology is very uncertain, with several dubious anecdotes commonly told to explain the expression. The term has been used since at least the 17th century.
Eleanor, I assume.
Simon starts seven weeks of radiotherapy today. As part of his preparation he has to be able to retain 350 ml of urine in his bladder while the machine delivers the dose over 15 minutes. This has meant he has been diligently recording his intake and output times and quantities so he can establish a pattern and arrive at hospital in just the right state. It's much harder than it sounds as it's over an hour from home to the hospital.
Banned.
He is also not allowed to have intestinal gas. We've been given a diet sheet, which is a list of foods to avoid and a list of foods that are encouraged. It has meant a quite radical change in our diet and a lot of thinking on my part.
Banned.
Number one on the banned list is anything in the onion family, so I've made batches of chicken and vegetable stock with celery, parsley and carrots, no leeks, no onions. So far he has enjoyed my special chicken noodle soup, and there is vegetable, and tomato to come.
Banned.
Number two on the banned list is green vegetables, mostly anything Brassicae, but also chard and spinach, green beans and peas. Zucchini seems to be fine, and soft lettuce such as oak leaf is positively encouraged. Green asparagus is allowed too, but a) he doesn't like it, and b) it is out of season.
Banned.
The only truly safe vegetables that he can eat and likes are carrots and potatoes, so long as they are peeled and cooked. I am going to be so sick of them by November, and sick of peeling them.
Banned.
Other banned veggies are peppers, most root vegetables (cooked carrots and beetroot are the exceptions), cucumber and white asparagus. I'm taking the view that as tomatoes and aubergines are not mentioned they must be okay.
Okay.
Naturally the other big group of banned foods are pulses (leguminous veggies such as dried beans, chickpeas and lentils). This is a food group that we would normally eat several times a week!
Okay.
He can eat hard cheeses but needs to avoid soft cheeses and blue cheeses. Yoghurt is okay, and desserts such as rice pudding. I've been doing him stewed fruit to have with yoghurt, and he can eat all sorts of plain cakes and biscuits. Toasted white ham and cheese sandwiches are okay and now a mainstay. He's encouraged to eat honey, but he doesn't like it.
Okay.
The herbs and spices he can have are limited and I've been doing my best to liven some bland dishes up. He can have cumin, dill, fennel, cardamon, basil and turmeric. Saturday night I did a sort of pretend white chilli, with turkey, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and just about all of the allowed herbs and spices.
Banned.
Meat is restricted to chicken, turkey and white fish. I've no doubt he could have rabbit too, but he doesn't like it. Luckily we have a good new fishmonger at SuperU in la Roche Posay so I can get good fish easily.
Banned.
Considering that we are a household that easily reaches the recommended 30 plant species per week in our normal diet, and usually manages double that, this is going to be challenging. I've been scouring the Monash University FODMAP recipes for inspiration, but even they are not always suitable. They were designed to help people with IBS and a couple of other bowel problems though, so they are a good starting point.
Okay.
Further reading: the Monash University FODMAP website https://www.monashfodmap.com/about-fodmap-and-ibs/
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