If you fancy yourself as something of a forager, then this has to be the perfect time of year for you. Wild mushrooms are to be found in abundance, and this year seems to be yielding a bumper crop.
From Puff Balls to Parasols, Ceps to Flat Field types, edible funghi can be found in woodlands all over the country, just waiting to be picked and thrown into a sizzling pan of butter. It’s hard to think of any other aroma that tickles the taste buds in quite the same way!
In fact, funghi is currently such a foodie craze, filling everything from omelettes to risottos to sauces, that there are serious concerns, particularly in the UK, about over picking, with groups of gatherers operating on an industrial scale.
Mushroom Safety
Of course, for most people, foraging for funghi is just enormous fun. However, it's always absolutely essential to know the precise type of mushroom you’re picking, as some varieties can cause stomach upsets, hallucinogenic effects or even prove to be downright deadly. So be extremely careful at all times!
In recent days, a listener of ours called Timothy Morgan (who seemed to love a spot of foraging occasionally) sent an e-mail to the show to say:
"Back in 1976, I noticed that mushrooms grew in the fields of our farm near Newry after the summer drought that year. I was curious to know if mushrooms were growing this autumn following the drought of the past few months.
"I was walking through a pasture field in north Wexford recently, and lo and behold there were the sporadic white tops of mushrooms in the grass. So, what is it that makes mushrooms grow after a drought?
"There must be something about dry soil of pasture land that, when it becomes moist again after a prolonged dry spell, the mushroom spores seem to be activated..."
Curious to find out more, Derek went to meet Timothy on his farm just outside Arklow. Listen back above.
- Words by Sinead Renshaw
Tune into Mooney Goes Wild every Monday, 10pm-11pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
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