100 Edible Mushrooms:
A Book Review
100 Edible Mushroooms
Michael Kuo (with John David Moore, Darvin DeShazer and others)
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Paperback: 329 pages, 269 color photographs, 7 x 10, July 2007
ISBN-9780472031269
Write what you know is a basic guiding principle for many authors. Michael Kuo, author of “100 Edible Mushrooms,” is a knowledgeable Midwestern morel hunter and talented amateur mycologist. Obsessed by all things morel, he turned that passion into his popular and highly engaging first book, “Morels.” But Kuo, for the most part, doesn’t eat wild mushrooms. And nobody, with the possible exception of the late Charles McIlvaine, enjoyably eats 100 species of mushrooms. Coming up with an inflated list of mushrooms that you can eat without fear of poisoning yourself is not the same as providing a practical guide to gathering an array of mouthwatering meals. This premise for the book has created problems for the author in an otherwise fine showing.
Geared to beginners, Kuo’s book has highly readable sections on the safe collection and preparation of edible mushrooms, literally from the ground up: from knowing your collection site and possible sources of soil contamination, to some of the “problematic” species of trees which can act as mushroom substrates. There is useful information on prepping mushrooms for the table, which includes hints on determining mushroom quality, and warnings about mushroom-dwelling wildlife, and a section on how to preserve fresh mushrooms for later use. He even includes common store-bought mushrooms in his edibles discussion, and talks about how to select for quality on the grocery shelf, a topic that is often overlooked. All is written in his breezy and irreverent style, which should especially appeal to those who are just starting out in the mushroom world.
Some of the most serious flaws in this book stem from the need to create edible mushroom quantity rather than quality. This book appears to lack the guiding principle of a man in love with his subject, which in this case is not just the study of but the eating of mushrooms. Kuo presents his material from a rather phobic perspective: eating wild mushrooms as a frightful rather than delightful pursuit. Yes, caution is called for, but one doesn’t hunt mushrooms for the table because they are easy to ID, but rather because they are delicious to eat!
Kuo addresses some of these problems in his introduction, writing a defacto disclaimer that states frankly he doesn’t eat many wild mushrooms. He also admits to being hard pressed to come up with 100 (barely) edible species, and that he would really just like to pique the readers interest in the subject of mushrooms in general. But you can’t have it both ways. As a book purported to teach you about edibles, he confuses the issue with some decidedly non-palatable species. Would you encourage a beginning mycophagist to hunt the gelatinous “Black Urn” mushroom, or, perish the thought, Boletus parasiticus? Better you should send those Urnula craterium to Tom Volk for his current research project, and take photos, not sauté slices, of the parasiticus!
Kuo wisely bolsters his inexperience with edibles in general and Western mushrooms in particular by partnering with Eastern mushroom hunting chef John David Moore and Western ace taxonomist Darvin DeShazer. These two experts in their fields write most of his foraging and cooking information. He also somehow managed to convince various friends and colleagues to actually eat some of these rather less-than-delicious mushrooms, which makes for some amusing reading.
If you can let go of the concept of this being a useful guide to 100 edible mushrooms, the book does contain good descriptions and information on many of the truly fine edibles with which we are all familiar, including such toothsome morsels as Hydnum and Sparassis, Craterellus and Cantharellus. The book is also peppered with beautiful mushroom images, not only from Kuo’s own work, but from a variety of other fine photographers, including Pam Kaminski, Diana Smith, and Hugh Smith (no relation). He also serves up a good bit of science-his real forté- with various “focus points” on taxonomy, ecology and the like, and provides a convenient table to their locations at the beginning of his book.
Kuo emphasizes learning various poisonous look-alike mushrooms before hunting for edibles. He rightly believes that it is just as important (and perhaps more so, in some cases) to know what not to eat. He precedes his edibles sections with thorough treatments of deadly Amanitas and Galerinas, keeping the worst for first. He also covers common toxic mushrooms that could be (and have been) mistaken for common edibles: Omphalotus species for chanterelles, the “Green-Spored Parasol” for the “Shaggy Parasol,” and toxic, phenolic-smelling and yellowing Agaricus species for the delicious but sometimes difficult to ID wild and edible Agaricus species.
But in an otherwise fine treatment of poisonous mushrooms, I took exception to his essay on “Amanita Bravado.” I know of no reputable Society or mushroomer who would “dare” another to eat an unknown amanita. A desire to learn how to safely eat amanitas, coupled with the realization of the dangers of a mistaken ID, are what first caused me to join a mycological society. Many resources are available to safely learn all sorts of complicated and potentially deadly behaviors, from amanita eating to flying jet planes. I appreciate that one way to play it safe is to simply not eat amanitas, but despite Kuo’s claims to the contrary, the many sane, intelligent and knowledgeable people who do hunt amanitas for the table are not cases of arrested development. Amanitas are some of the hands-down best edible mushrooms out there, if you are willing to take the time necessary to learn how to do so safely.
Kuo provides extensive descriptions of how to find, identify and prepare over one hundred edible (and alas, we use the term loosely) mushrooms. Taste is certainly an individual matter, and no book about mushrooms can include every important detail. But Kuo’s choice to break the edibles into segments related to difficulty of ID, ignoring palatability issues, may not correlate well with stimulating an interest in mycophagy. To use a somewhat extreme example, encouraging beginning mushroomers to hunt Strobilomyces or Urnula for the table merely because they are easy to ID may well create a life-long (not to mention tongue-twisting) fungi-phagi-phobe!
Kuo listed way too many bolete species of marginal edibility, many of which seemed difficult to ID. As a West Coast mushroomer, I am unfamiliar with some of the Eastern species that he showcased, and was somewhat bewildered by the colorful array, but I seriously doubt that most are sought as edibles. And certainly, as pictured in several photos, there is nothing appetizing about maggot-filled mushrooms! Ironically enough, Boletus edulis, one of the finest edible species known to humankind, is not included in the “recommended for beginners”/easy to ID section. This may be more correlated with Kuo’s singular culinary interest in edulis, rather than any difficulties related to ID… “That’s right kids, go hunt the black urns! I’ll be over here clearing the ground of these fat and unsightly porcini!”
I do agree with Kuo that the eye-catching and often eye-level “Sulphur Shelf” mushroom is fairly easy to ID, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a good choice for beginners without also cautioning that it must be cooked very well, or it can cause digestive upsets. Kuo did emphasize that the quite tasty to many Chlorophyllum rhacodes, which is perfectly edible to most, can cause gastric upsets in some, a lesson that my poor husband learned firsthand. And for a man who lives, eats and breathes morels, I was surprised that Kuo didn’t mention that morels can be seriously toxic if eaten raw. Although he does caution that all mushrooms should be well cooked, I feel that these particular mushrooms deserve special mention.
Kuo took pains to include many edible Russula and Lactarius species, which are often overlooked by North American pot-hunters. These brittle, crunchy-fleshed mushrooms can have a somewhat off-putting grainy texture when undercooked. When cooked properly, Lactarius deliciosus is well deserving of its latin name. And with the recent collapse of so many of our off-shore fishing industries, it’s great to have Russula xerampelina available as a crisp and delicious shrimp substitute; the pigments leached from its cap can help create a “pretty in pink” sauce, too!
The bizarre “Beefsteak Fungus,” Fistulina hepatica, also merited inclusion as an edible. Fistulina is fun to find, and with its resemblance to a bleeding hunk of raw liver, great to use for grossing-out your friends. It is one of the few mushrooms that, when thinly sliced, can be eaten raw. Despite the usual caveats against eating raw mushrooms (and in general I agree with Kuo on this point), cooking destroys the texture, such as it is.
But why include Gyrodon meruloides as an edible when you admit it tastes “bad” right out of the gate? And speaking of slimy and tasteless recommendations, and despite the fact that many Eastern Europeans do eat and enjoy species of Suillus, it is my impression that enjoyment is not shared by a majority of North American mycophagists. If North Americans are Kuo’s intended audience, then far too many species of this widely scorned genus were included. Again, we come up against the problem of satisfying an arbitrary but perhaps book-selling number, rather than featuring a realistic variety of truly edible and delicious mushrooms.
As befits a Midwestern author who mostly hunts mushrooms East of the Rockies, “100 Edible Mushrooms” primarily showcases Eastern North American species. As a sop to us West Coast readers, Kuo had Darvin DeShazer, Co-Founder of the Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA), include treatments of a number of edible Western mushrooms. But why Gomphidius glutinosus was included is beyond me (or, perhaps see above theory). On the recommendation of a respected California mushroom hunter and former friend, I once naively collected a big bag of these slime coated fungi for the table, while others happily gathered more esculent fungi; that’s what we Westerners call a bum steer. And speaking of cruel jokes, Neolentinus lepideus, Kuo’s putative edible mushroom, is not just a tough and woody “train wrecker,” but a major butter and fuel waster!
On a more succulent note, Kuo and DeShazer gave plenty of press to the gleaming white and famously fragrant Tricholoma magnivelare or “matsutake.” Its uniquely spicy flavor can be an acquired taste. Although DeShazer provides some unique recipes for this mushroom, more traditional ones that emphasize its Asian food affinities might be better. A fine “Matsutake Sukiyaki,” glistening with yam noodles and redolent with Kobe beef and spicy slices of matsutake, rolls off your tongue in more ways than one.
Lactarius rubidus nee fragilis, or the “Candy Cap,” is a common California species with a delightful maple syrup fragrance, and a fine addition to this book. Although “candy caps” are traditionally used in flavoring desserts, they can also enhance various savory dishes, especially those using smoked meats. One final Western edible editorial: although Darvin dismissed as inedible the large and thick-fleshed Catathelesma, these “Cats” are apparently collected and enjoyed as edibles by a number of Oregon mycophagists, not to mention being hugely impressive to find in the field.
So, despite my belief that Kuo has produced and will produce better work, this attractively produced latest volume has many merits. Many of the included recipes sound delicious, although none were tried in my “test kitchen.” His basic information on how to collect and safely identify mushrooms for the table is sound. If during your perusal of this book you select for the “usual edible mushroom suspects” rather than the unpalatable “filler”, then the information is valuable, and it’s fun to read the justifications for and pained reporting on the inclusion of the rest! And here’s a tip for the thrifty-minded: if you order both “Morels” (highly recommended) and “100 Edible Mushrooms” (recommended with caution) at the same time online, you can get a deep discount!
Bon apetit, whatever and wherever you eat.
Debbie Viess © 2009
