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But before they kill you, would they taste good with pasta?
Based on this guy’s experience, no.
https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-destroying-angel/
I survived the “Destroying Angel”
I took three home with me. I couldn’t find my Mushroom book, was in a hurry, so I trusted my judgment, fried them up in olive oil, and ate them as a side dish. I should have recognized then that they weren’t inky caps, because inky caps exude a black substance when you fry them.
They honestly did not taste that good, rather bland in my opinion. I thought to myself, “Gee, I don’t think I’ll ever pick and eat these again.” (Little did I know the truth of my thought at the time).
I’m glad that it tries to warn you with its terrible taste
The ones in the comic don’t look like death caps, but those are responsible for 90% of mushroom-related poisonings, so we’ll assume artistic license.
Death caps probably would go well with pasta. Here is an article from The Atlantic with someone who has tasted one.
Britt Bunyard, the founder, publisher, and editor in chief of the mycology journal Fungi, has tasted a death cap. “Very pleasant and mushroomy,” he told me. “A nice flavor, and then you spit it out.”
“There’s nothing in the taste that tells you what you are eating is about to kill you.”
How much of it is needed to kill someone?
The left ginger woman is actually part of the club. You can see the robes in the rubbish bin behind her and she has a ring on in the top picture.
I do some light general foraging in the forest I live in and mushrooms are a seasonal treat. And I often have Shaggy Mane mushrooms growing in my yard, (don’t worry, I do not use fertilizer or herbicides ever). And fresh chanterelle mushrooms are an edible gift from the gods.
Like most things in life, mushroom hunting isn’t super dangerous, (if you mess up the odds are it won’t kill you outright but they will make you wish it had), but it does take some learning and practice.
There’s a few top edible mushrooms that look like nothing else. Good starting point
Chicken of the Woods is another easy, (and VERY tasty), to identify mushroom for beginners once they know what to look for. There are many different types of look a likes, but they are extremely fibrous and chewing and piece of wood would be tastier.
My Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest Guide has a series of top edibles in my region. Morels, Inky Caps, Cauliflower Mushroom, Chicken of the Woods, Oysters Mushrooms, Chanterells, Giant Puffballs, King Bolete, Black Trumpet and Hen of the Woods. All are suppose to be easy to identify without a deadly look alike. I haven’t gotten a chance to try anyone yet but hopefully this year.
I’ve eaten 6 of the ones on your list! Hoping to add morels very soon.
Black staining polypore is also one that is super easy to ID, the very edges are edible, the inside fronds get very tough, but you can cook those up to make a phenomenal goth broth that works well in chicken noodle soup.
I like the idea of goth broth
