Mushroom help

[crappyice]

Can anyone identify these? Edible with my wild leeks from another post?

I did not touch them yet until someone tells me with certainty that I can!

Bottom pic is of the underside. Top pic is the top but its upside down...I suck at this tech stuff!

Edited May 18, 2014 by crappyice

[PREDATE]

That looks to be a Pheasant's Back otherwise known as a Dryad's saddle.

Edible: Yes, although I've never tried it.

    I don't recommend trying any mushroom if you're not 100% sure of what you have. some species have look alikes, so just going by pictures might lead to some gastrointestinal upset.

   Since this is one of the few springtime mushrooms and 1 of the 2 edible springtime fungi, I think we can be pretty sure that's what you have. 

[blackradio]

yes, Dryad's Saddle. They say it tastes ok when very young. Never tried it.

[crappyice]

So I cooked up the pheasant back mushrooms tonight in a pan of butter and olive oil. They were absolutely in edible! I could not chew through them...flavor was pretty good but still hit the bottom of the pail!

[PREDATE]

Awe tough break. Yeah I know a few fungi that are best when picked at just the right stage. One of my favorite bracket fungi the Sulphur shelf (chicken mushroom) is like the Dryads saddle where only the outermost edge is tender enough for the fry pan. In my opinion, the best mushrooms are still a couple months from fruiting.

[Doc]

I've got to say that various articles on wild mushrooms have simply scared me right away from taking advantage of this free food. I have read stories of poisonous "look-alikes", and other cases where people thought they had perfectly safe mushrooms and have wound up terribly wrong. I just don't have the confidence that I will always be right. Can't seem to get by that.

[PREDATE]

When in doubt, throw em out!

Also, just because a mushroom is said to be edible, that may not be the case for everyone. Such is the case for my cousin who had gastrointestinal upset from eating Hen-of-the-woods when the rest of us were fine. Like I've said before, once you're 100% sure of what you have, you should start by eating a small piece and wait a few hours to be sure you're not gonna get a bellyache.

 That said, I personally only harvest and consume about a dozen kinds of shroom just for the fact that they are pretty easy to ID and have minimal look-alikes.

Even the simple puffball that grows on your lawn can have a horrible look alike called Amanitas (death angels) and when in button stage can appear as a puffball

[PREDATE]

A friendly tip-

learn how to ID smooth/golden Chanterelles and Horn-of-plenty/Black trumpet mushrooms(which is pretty simple) and you'll be rushing to the store to pick up some Delmonico's to have with them!