Tuesday 26 August 2008

Mushroom forces plane to make emergency landing

A Ryanair flight from Budapest to Dublin had to make an emergency landing in Germany after mushroom soup in a passenger’s bag spilled out and leaked onto another passenger. The passenger suffered a severe allergic reaction to the mushroom soup causing him to experience swelling and breathing difficulties.

The pilot and air crew made the decision that the man needed immediate medical treatment and the Boeing 737 was forced to divert to Frankfurt Hahn Airport where the man received medical treatment.

The plane was delayed for two hours before being allowed to continue its journey to Dublin.

The owner of the mushroom soup has not been identified and is yet to come forward.

Monday 18 August 2008

Unearthing gold

A tree surgeon struck the garden equivalent of gold when he dug up truffles in a garden in Plymouth. Chris Hunt a 47 year old gardener and tree surgeon was working on the garden of Elaine Keith-Hill when he unearthed the delicacy.

Mr Hunt was clearing undergrowth around mature beech and oak trees at Mrs Keith-Hill's property when he unearthed the truffles.

Truffles are normally found in France and Italy and are gathered between November and May, using specially-trained dogs or boars who locate the fungi by smell. They grow around tree roots - normally oak - by providing and taking vital nutrients from the roots.

In total Chris found 10 truffles weighing about 2 kilos and thought to be worth about £1,000, the honest gardener handed them over to the gardens owner who is now considering selling them.

Monday 11 August 2008

Giant puffball

A giant puffball mushroom has been found growing in the garden of a bar in Woonsocket, America. The giant mushroom measuring 1.3 feet tall and 10 inches wide was found by the bar owners son, growing underneath an oak tree.

The bars owner Judy Pelletier said “She was shocked by the size of the mushroom specially considering that this is the first mushroom she has every seen growing in her garden.”

The mushroom is proving something of a hit with patrons and visitors alike who are flocking to the small bar to see the mushroom.


All members of the puffball mushroom family are edible but the bars owner has no plans to eat the mushroom commenting “I will probably throw it out after everyone has looked at it.”

Puffball mushrooms grow to an average of 4 to 28 inches in diameter and can reach diameters of nearly four feet. They can be found growing in meadows and forests in late summer and autumn.

Monday 4 August 2008

Foraging for wild mushrooms

I get a lot of e-mails from people new to mushroom foraging asking for advice on how to go about it. So I thought it was about time I put something up on the blog. So here we go.


Wild mushrooms grow throughout the year, but autumn offers the most abundant and varied seasonal eating. From late summer until the first frost, you can gather the likes of penny buns, chanterelles, field mushrooms and dozens of other varieties.

It is only a minority of mushrooms that are good to eat, and there are several varieties that are potentially deadly. Some of the most deadly to be found in the UK are among the Amanita genus with names like “death cap” and “destroying angel” and these can easily be confused for edible varieties.

When collecting fungi, avoid using plastic bags; the lack of air will accelerate the decomposition process and make the mushrooms mushy. Use a basket instead.
Never eat any fungus that you are not absolutely certain has been identified correctly.

When trying any fungus for the first time, only eat it in small amounts to make sure the body can cope with it.

Use a good field guide, but don't rely absolutely on pictures in books - differences between fungi can be difficult to spot. Go out with an experienced guide.

Keep a small fresh portion of any mushroom you eat in the fridge. That way, if there is a reaction, you can easily identify the source.