It’s the foraging season for mushrooms, one of the greatest seasonal delights for any foodie. But there is a dark side. Britain’s mushroom hunter-gatherers are falling sick like never before. The reason is that the popularity of television programmes encouraging mushroom picking has sent wannabe foodies into the wilds with not enough knowledge to know the difference between a edible mushroom and a toxic one.
Cases of mushroom poisoning, which can range from cramps to dizziness and hallucinations, have jumped with over 84 cases reported in the last month alone. There are thousands of species of fungi, a lot of them potentially harmful. Our advice is to get better informed, and preferably attend a class run by an expert, before rushing out into the wild with just some photo’s from a cookbook.
The bottom line is (we shouldn't have to repeat this): Never eat anything unless you're 100% sure what it is. Some help:
