The Little Mushroom Book.
Actually this was written by Rosamond Richardson and published by Piatkus Limited in 1983. A copy of it has been sitting on my desk at work for quite awhile so I finally decided to give it a read. And I'm glad I did. I learned more in its 62 little (4x6) pages than I did in some larger, more popular field guides... yes, I'm looking at you Simon & Schuster's.
A collection of mushroom lore and history including sections on "How the Mushroom Got its Name," and "Helpful Poisons," it also includes information on picking, storing, drying, pickling, and freezing mushrooms. On page 37 the recipes kick in, highlighted by Mushroom-Stuffed Cucumbers, and Mushroom Suet Roll.
Here are some of the items that were new to me:
* Bofists and Bulfists are country names for fungi that "belches" like puffballs. Google actually returned a few results upon inspection.
* The Romans hired mushroom-collectors to prepare boletaria from only the most precious of fungi. Only cutlery fashioned from amber and silver were considered worthy of such delicacies.
* Christ liked to spit. Actually in parts of Europe there exists a tale St. Peter and Christ were walking through the forest when Christ spat. From the ground popped up mushrooms. Unfortunately the Devil was close behind and copied Christ. Up from his spit grew poisonous mushrooms.
* Under Old Wives' Tales - To treat Death Cap poisoning, take a finely chopped mixture of rabbit gut and brain and wash it down with a sugar solution.
* Another Old Wives' Tale (I hope) - Mushrooms in dreams foretell only fleeting happiness, and to dream of gathering them means a lack of attachment on the part of your lover or spouse.
This book may be a little difficult to find. In fact, trying to find a picture of the cover online was futile. I don't ever recall not being able to find a book cover online.
Enjoy!
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