www.mushroomdiary.com is an ongoing diary of my mushrooming forays in South West Brittany, France. Whilst I intend to concentrate primarily on mushrooms, no doubt other topics will creep in.

This site was originally launched in the Autumn of 2006. The following year I became ill and the site has lain idle until now.

I have recently moved a few miles south of my old mushrooming grounds and am looking forward to discovering new “petits coins”, meeting new friends and comparing our baskets (hopefully all full of delicious wild mushrooms!)

All the best

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I’ve recently been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

The Musroom; Edible or Otherwise by Miron Elisha Hard MA was first published in 1908 (more details at This book’s page at The Internet Archive.)

The full title of the book is… The mushroom, edible and otherwise, its habitat and its time of growth, with photographic illustrations of nearly all the common species : a guide to the study of mushrooms, with special reference to the edible and poisonous varieties, with a view of opening up to the student of nature a wide field of useful and interesting knowledge. Now, imagine trying to order that over the telephone!

The book is 630 pages long (almost as long as its full title!) and includes hundreds of black and white photographs.

The book starts with this lovely tale….

WHY STUDY MUSHROOMS.

Some years ago, while in charge of the schools of Salem, Ohio, we had worked up quite a general interest in the study of botany.

It was my practice to go out every day after flowers, especially the rarer ones, of which there were many in this county, and bring in specimens for the classes.

There was in the city a wire nail mill, running day and night, whose proprietors brought over, from time to time, large numbers of Bohemians as workers in the mill.

Very frequently, when driving to the country early in the morning, I found the boys and girls of these Bohemian families searching the woods, fields and pastures at some distance from town, although they had not been in this country more than a week or two and could not speak a word of English.

I soon found that they were gathering mushrooms of various kinds  and taking them home for food material.

They could not tell me how they knew them, but I quickly learned that they knew them from their general characteristics, in fact, they knew them as we know people and flowers.

The recipe section towards the end of the book contains some very relevant and sensible advice about cooking mushrooms.  Such as…The Mushroom Book may be downloaded by right clicking here and choosing to  save as (it might read Save Link As on some browsers.)

I’ve recently been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

Today I have selected was the Studies of American Fungi by George Francis Atkinson and first published in 1901 (more details at This book’s page at The Internet Archive.)

This 448 page guide contains 250 back and white photographs as well as a number of line illustrations.

The recipe section towards the end of the book contains some very relevant and sensible advice about cooking mushrooms.  Such as…

The wild or uncultivated Agaricus campestris, which is usually picked in open fields, will cook in less time than those grown in caves and sold in our markets during the winter and spring.

Cut the stems close to the gills; these may be put aside and used for flavoring sauces or soups.

Wash the mushrooms carefully, keeping the gills down; throw them into a colander until drained.

The section on Selection and Preparation of Mushrooms for the Table is a worthy entry in any mushrooming guide and contains the following timeless advice…

In the selection of mushrooms to eat, great caution should be employed by those who are not reasonably familiar with the means of determination of the species, or those who have not an intimate acquaintance with certain forms.

Rarely should the beginner be encouraged to eat them upon his own determination. It is best at first to consult some one who knows, or to send first specimens away for determination, though in many cases a careful comparison of the plant with the figures and descriptions given in this book will enable a novice to recognize it.

In taking up a species for the first time it would be well to experiment cautiously.

The Mushroom Book may be downloaded by right clicking here and choosing to  save as (it might read Save Link As on some browsers.)

I’ve recently been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

Today I have selected was the The Mushroom Book by Nina L. Marshall and first published in 1901 (more details at This book’s page at The Internet Archive.)

This book (to use its full title…The mushroom book. A popular guide to the identification and study of our commoner fungi, with special emphasis on the edible varieties) is a 276 page book with plenty of illustrative line drawings and mainly black & white photographs.

Read more about… Old Book – The Mushroom Book

I’ve recently been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

Today I have selected was the Some Common Mushrooms and How to Know Them by Vera Katherine Charles and published in 1931 (more details at The Internet Archive.)

This book contains plenty of black and white photographs and, although I believe that some of the coloured drawings in the older books are better for field identification guides, I can also understand the desire, in 1931, to move forward to new technologies.

Read more about… Old Book – Some Common Mushrooms

I’ve recently been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

Today I have selected was the Students Handbook to Mushrooms of America – Edible and Poisonous by Thomas Taylor M.D.  and published in1897 (more details at The Internet Archive.)

This 46 page book contains 6 coloured plates and a simple guide to some of the more common mushrooms that one might come across.

The entry for the Parasol Mushroom (shown in the image to the left) starts like this…

Read more about… Old Book – Students Handbook…..

One of the wonderful things about mushrooming is that, compared to other hobbies and interests, little has changed over the last hundred years or so.

Unlike sailing or mountaineering, there have been few technical innovations and the equipment we use is not so dissimilar to the equipment our grandparents might have used.

And with mushrooming books it is the same.

Sure, nowadays we expect photographs of our prey but, sometimes (and often in my opinion), a well presented drawing is just as good.

I have been looking at some old mushrooming books that are now, due to their age, in the public domain.

These books are freely available for download from The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) but you may also download them from here.

Read more about… Old Mushrooming Books

I’ve been putting off going mushrooming for a while now, as I have an awful lot on with the start of my new business, and anyway, it still seems too warm and dry.

I wasn’t overly confident of finding many mushrooms so I took my smaller basket.

Besides, my large basket is just about at the end of its life having carried, in its time, TONS and TONS of wild mushrooms (perhaps I exaggerate slighlty?)

In the end, the smaller basket was perfect. I found enough to cover the bottom of the basket and I enjoyed a good walk around the back lanes of Cournon.

Read more about… Time for mushrooms

On Monday, I attended a meeting of the BrittanyGardenersClub (www.BrittanyGardenersClub.com) to give a little speech about why I go mushrooming.

I’m not all that used to Public Speaking (and haven’t been since I was an IT manager in the City of London and had to give speeches to people that I was about to make redundant!)

But, you know, it wasn’t so bad – the people were nice and I sort of enjoyed it! So much so that I’ve decided that if you are part of a group who would like to listen to some guy waffle on about mushrooming – give me a call. All I ask is that you are resident in Brittany, France; that’s where I live now – I’m happy there – I’m not keen to travel too far!

forest_01_pd_602×533.jpg This image is in the Public Domain. For details see… Licenses Contributor = Anon

Read more about… The magic of mushrooming

One of the very nice things about mushrooming as a hobby is the low cost of starting out. A basket, a knife, a few guidebooks – that’s about it.

Of all these, perhaps it’s the knife that becomes the most personal of all. Part of the mushroom collector’s “code of honor” is to take the mushroom without disturbing the delicate mycelium, the underground infrastructure of the mushroom.

In order to do this correctly the mushroom collector needs a knife with the right shaped blade. It is also helpful to have a brush to clean the dirt off the mushroom.

Read more about… Mushrooming Knives

I have listed here, videos of some of the mushrooms that I can expect to find on my forays.  Some of the videos are my own, others come from YouTube.

I would like to warn you that the information that follows is only intended to be a rough guide to the species that I watch out for. It, in no way, aims to replace a good Mushrooming Guide Book and years of experience. If I make a mistake and, as a result, end up in a coffin – well, that’ll be my fault and I’ll only have myself to blame! If you are picking mushrooms for consummation, you just need to be so careful!

The Cep (Boletus Edulis) is the most exciting find (for me), in the forest. This is the one that all my neighbours will ask me about. This is the one that is the measure of my mushrooming skill or luck.

Read more about… Boletus Edulis – Videos

The Cep (Boletus Edulus) is the most exciting find (for me), in the forest. This is the one that all my neighbours will ask me about. This is the one that is the measure of my mushrooming skill or luck.

Even people who can’t cook will be able to make something delicious with this mushroom; selling at 25 euros a kilo in the supermarket (when they have got them), a few hours in the forest on an Autumn Sunday morning can be a really profitable exercise.

Those of my friends and neighbours who only go mushrooming once a year will be looking for this mushroom. And for 6 weeks or so, every Autumn, the bars will be full of gossip about who has found what and where, and who’s luck wasn’t so good.

Read more about… Boletus Edulis – Images

The Chanterelle (Cantharellus Cibariuss) is a wonderful find for me.  With a few of these in my basket, I’ll be salivating all the way home from the forest.

One of the most prized and sought after wild mushrooms, Chanterelles taste exquisite and have a beautiful apricot aroma with a slightly peppery taste.

In the kitchen they are suprisingly robust and stand up better to cooking than many other mushrooms; managing to preserve their taste and characteristics over a wide range of cooking treatments.

Read more about… Chanterelle – Images

	Cep		Cepe de Bordeaux
	Steinpilz		Porcino
	Boned Touseg		Spiselig Rorhat

The Cep (Boletus Edulis) is the most exciting find (for me), in the forest. This is the one that all my neighbours will ask me about. This is the one that is the measure of my mushrooming skill or luck.

Even people who can’t cook will be able to make something delicious with this mushroom; selling at 25 euros a kilo in the supermarket (when they have got them), a few hours in the forest on an Autumn Sunday morning can be a really profitable exercise.

Those of my friends and neighbours who only go mushrooming once a year will be looking for this mushroom. And for 6 weeks or so, every Autumn, the bars will be full of gossip about who has found what and where, and who’s luck wasn’t so good.

Read more about… Boletus Edulis

	Chanterelle		Girolle
	Pfifferling		Galletto
	Do you know the name?		Almindelig Kantarel

The Chanterelle (Cantharellus Cibarius) is a wonderful find for me. With a few of these in my basket, I’ll be salivating all the way home from the forest.

One of the most prized and sought after wild mushrooms, Chanterelles taste exquisite and have a beautiful apricot aroma with a slightly peppery taste.

In the kitchen they are suprisingly robust and stand up better to cooking than many other mushrooms; managing to preserve their taste and characteristics over a wide range of cooking treatments.

Read more about… Cantharellus Cibarius

As it was such a beautiful morning, Jill and I decided to go out for a quick walk in the woods.

It would be our first time since we moved here two weeks ago.

Obviously, neither of us expected to find anything but, we took the basket just in case.

One of the nice things about living in Bains sur Oust is our proximity to the forest. Back at Les Croix, it used to take 40 mintues for me to walk into the forest. Now, don’t get me wrong, I used to enjoy the walk but… here I am just 3 minutes walk from the woods. I think that will mean many more mushrooming forays for me!

Read more about… A fruitless foray

It’s strange that I call him a friend, even though I never met him (nor did I ever speak to him, email him or phone him up!)

Still, strange as it may be, I count Peter Jordan as a friend.

You see, when I first moved to France to start my new and simple life, one of the books I brought over with me was The New Guide to Mushrooms by Peter Jordan.

And, as I started to mushroom, it was that book that guided me. It was that book that I read and re-read until I could practically memorise it.

So many times did that book come into the forest with me, I swear it knew its way home better than I did!

Today, as I was working on this site, I had his book on the desk in front of me and I thought that it was about time to email the man and let him know how important his book had become to me.

Read more about… A friend I never knew

Another early morning, the cats can’t understand it. I went into the forest on foot and headed over to the South-East of the forest. I don’t know if they were out visiting or still in bed but, there was no sign of the family of deer

I wasn’t expecting to get many mushrooms as the Eastern side of the forest is not as productive as the Western side. It was, thus, a surprise to come across a Cep almost straight away – a good start!

I like the walk around the Eastern side of the forest; it gives me time to think and, if I get it right, I tend to pop out of the forest on the Western side near the village of Lanouee. Lanouee has 3 bars – it’s strange that I often end up there?

Read more about… Another early start

Well, no trouble getting up, this week. I’ve been looking forward to this so much that I woke up every hour, on the hour, though the night.

It was worth the effort as 3 hours wandering round the North of the forest yielded just over 3 kilos of mixed mushrooms. I put about a kilogram of the best, the Ceps, in a basket for Madam (my landlady) and shall be using some of the rest in a sort of slow cooked risotto that I discovered by accident and then found out that the author (and foodie), Julian Barnes has discovered the same thing himself.

Read more about… An early start

What should have been a great start to the real mushrooming year got off to a bad start on Saturday…. with me oversleeping!  Around this time of the year, you really have to be the first in the forest to get the best of the Ceps. Waking up at 9:30am doesn’t help your chances!

So, instead of finding this parking area clear (as I would usually expect), as you can see, my car (the white van) is at the back of the queue.

And I was also at the back of the queue, in terms of mushrooms. This part of the forest (right at the north) is very popular in the Autumn and usually yields good results. Perhaps it had today for those early birds but not for me.

Read more about… Lost….twice!