Joan Martin, age 12, of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, for her question:
How can you tell a good mushroom from a bad one?
The first breath of spring whispers a signal to members of the fungus family, sleeping soundly underground. It's time for them to arouse and make plans for their next generation. And after a few gentle warm. showers, up pop multitudes of mushrooms and assorted toadstools. Many species are edible and some of these safe ones also taste delicious. Others are mildly upsetting and some are deadly dangerous. On the subject of sampling wild fungi, Andy's advice is a double double DON'T.
Every year a few people who foolishly sample wild mushrooms die from doing so. This year, there may be more casualties so let's be extra careful and coax our friends to be cautious also.
The most dangerous plants to fool with are the mushrooms and toadstools of the fungus family. There are hundreds of different species and some of the most deadly look like tame, innocent mushrooms. Only a qualified specialist in fungus plants can distinguish them. And there is a reason why a sensible expert rarely if ever eats wild mushroom, even when it is known to be safely edible. Mushrooms, as we know, are delicious and many of nature's children agree with us. It is very hard indeed to find a wild mushroom that is not infested with an assortment of insects, their eggs and larvae. Bacteria also enjoy mushrooms.
These are two powerful reasons to ignore the mushroom contest. The species we select may be deadly and even a safely edible species is almost sure to be infested with bugs. Commercial mushrooms are grown under the most finicky conditions. Even so, on rare occasions even these pampered fungi become infected. However, as commercial foods they usually are inspected before, during and after they go to market.
Nothing of course is 100 per cent perfect, but the safest mushrooms are those you buy in a neat and clean vegetable store.. The ones you grow yourself may be almost as safe if you keep all the rules. The domestic species is Agaricus campestris and you grow it from spawn. Rule number one is to purchase your mushroom spawn from a reliable plant nursery, along with the carefully prepared soil they recommend. Growing directions are sure to be included and it's up to you to follow them to the letter.
The mushrooms, you will soon discover, are very choosey about light, temperature and humidity. They insist on a very cool, quiet home in the dark. Their sail must be saturated with their special super rich nutrients. The air must be moist, but not soggy. After several months of intense pampering, a flock of mushroom buttons may pop through the soil. If you have kept the place free of bugs, mice and other small gourmets, you may be fairly sure that your mushrooms are good enough to eat.