Sunday, October 05, 2008

Parasol Mushrooms

On Friday we went for a walk in the late afternoon. It was damp, grey and a little cold, so there were not many people out, not even dog walkers or joggers. I was thinking of how I had seen some gigantic mushrooms the previous week but not dared picking them because I was not sure what they were, edible or poisonous. After that I had spoken to my mother who suggested they were Parasol Mushrooms (Riesenschirmling in German, Stolt Fjällskivling in Swedish). I then looked them up on the net and found they were more than edible; they were in fact very desirable, and had a nutty flavour. Since they are normally not sold in shops, the only way of getting some is to pick them yourself.

When we came to the field where I had seen these mushrooms, which obviously had been picked by somebody with a greater fungi knowledge than yours truly, I kept my eyes open for more of these massive mushrooms. Only a visually impaired person could have missed them; there was a group of new delicious ones waiting to be picked, and despite the fact that we had just set out on our walk, I promptly picked five of them and held them like a bouquet in my hand for the rest of the hour-long exercise. I did not want to miss out on them yet again.

When we got back I did another search on the net to establish the identity of the fungi five and was in the end happy they were not poisonous. I first used them as a starter, just frying them with some salt and pepper, and then to make the sauce for the main course as well. They were absolutely gorgeous! Next time we go for a walk, I think I will carry a basket or a bag because my hand was completely rigid from holding those mushrooms for an hour. I have been smitten with mushroom mania!

Parasol Mushroom

9 comments:

oreneta said...

Basket always I am told...if you must use a bag, a paper bag...never never never plastic. Better to remove your shirt and wrap them in that, as my mushroom loving brother in law once did when we found some one day.

For the Catalans, ALWAYS a basket.

Miss Kim said...

Wow... what awesome mushrooms!

swenglishexpat said...

Oreneta - I'm not sure about the shirt, might catch a cold!
T1 - They were delicious and did not cost a cent!

Matthew Rees said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matthew Rees said...

I leave fungi well alone! I saw lots of different small ones on a walk recently (http://hamphotos.blogspot.com/2008/09/fungi.html) but was not tempted to look them up on willthesefungikillme.com!

A country lady I met recently carrying large bulbous mushrooms said she always tested them out on her husband first :-/

CanadianSwiss said...

Wow! Those look delicious - not to mention humungous. One of them must make for a whole meal!

In Switzerland you can bring all the mushroom you pick (during season, of couse) to a specialist, and he/she will tell you whether they're edible or not. I'd rather play it the safe way. :)

Diane Mandy said...

Wow. THey really look like little umbrellas, huh?

Eric Valentine said...

Those look absolutely delicious Swen. Great post...

I got hooked on mushrooms out west in British Columbia Cda. Cooked in butter and eat them while quite hot. mmmmmmm yummy...

Now you made me hungry!

swenglishexpat said...

Matthew - But I am the husband!
CS - Yes, I did get one serving out of each mushroom. Good idea with a specialist, but I went on several trustworthy sites and also compared many photos.
Diane - The English name is very fitting, as is the German one. The first part of the Swedish name means 'proud', as in standing proud!
Eric - I agree, it's so easy to cook them, you don't need to be a kitchen wizard. They were yummy!