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Janet

In article >,
says...
>
> Author Nicholas Evans (and as I recall, some family member(s)) ate some misidentified
> mushrooms, I believe on an estate in Scotland, and either died or nearly died (In Nicholas' case).
> Evans is author of The Horse Whisperer.

He picked cooked and fed the mushrooms to the family, without
bothering to identify them in the fungi bible. He admits that. He only
looked them up next day after four people started to feel ill; saw that
what they had eaten was clearly labelled very toxic and sent for
medical help. Too late the damage was done. He his wife and BIL
suffered permanent kidney failure and spent years on dialysis. Evans
eventually got a kidney transplant, don't know about the others.

IOW, the poisoning was down to him being stupidly sloppy.

This past weekend we've picked cooked and eaten loads of different
wild mushrooms, 7 or 8 varieties, absolutely delicious. I have a rack
full sliced and drying to store for winter.

My son and DIL were trained to identify them correctly in Sweden by a
professional mushroom picker who has picked wild fungi and exported for
decades. Even so, when we get the haul home we ALWAYS double check every
single mushroom against its photo and other characteristics. If there's
even the tiniets doubt, we don't eat it.

Janet UK