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.
Your Knife
A good knife will make your mushrooming trips a pleasure. If possible, it should have a brush on the end so that you can clean the mushrooms before putting them into your basket – this will help keep the other mushrooms clean, as well. I spent 28 Euros on a beautiful knife (seen here, not quite as clean as it should be).
Whether you spend as much, you should ensure that it is a foldable knife (there’s no excuse for carrying a hunting knife), that the blade is sharp and thicker near the handle (but thin at the tip) – mushrooms come in an assortment of shapes and sizes and your knife should be able to handle them all.
I suppose that I should say that your knife will last longer if you keep it clean and sharp but, looking at that photo, it might sound like hypocrisy.
If your knife doesn’t have a brush, you can make one from a small paintbrush – just cut the bristles to about an inch long.
How to choose your knife
This picture shows a Maserin mushrooming knife – probably the best in the world.
My main knife is a cheaper (much cheaper), version of this one.
You should expect a good mushrooming knife, if looked after, to last you all your life.
Of course, you may have to change the blade a couple of times and replace the handle once or twice but,…….. it will last you for ever!
The knife on the right is an Opinel (very popular here in France.)
This is a fine medium price mushrooming knife.
All Opinels need a bit of care to ensure that they don’t rust.
Anatomy of a mushrooming knife
There are two basic functional parts of a mushroom knife.
The first is the blade. This needs to be strong enough to cope with the big Ceps that you are hoping for but, also delicate enough to deal with those Chanterelles that are a bonus on a successful mushrooming foray.
Many mushrooming knives (including my Maserin) include a scraper on the back of the blade. This can be a real bonus if you need to clean mushrooms that are embedded with pine needles.
The second vital part of a mushroom knife is the brush. If your knife doesn’t have a brush, you can always improvise but… you do need to carry something to ensure that you… Always put clean mushrooms into your basket!
For more information on this Opinel knife, either double click on the image or the following link.. Opinel Mushrooming Knife
Whether your knife has a brush or not, it is worth carrying a kitchen mushroom brush like one of these.
Not only will this help you keep your mushrooms clean, by cleaning your mushrooms first, you will also keep your basket clean.
For more information on this brush, either double click on the image or the following link.. More information
Some knives have tweezers. My Maserin does. I find these useful for cleaning the mushrooms I find around coniferous trees. If your knife doesn’t have a pair of tweezers, you might want to add a pair of Makeup tweezers to your kit list (but Gentlemen, if you plan to borrow your wife’s makeup tweezers – please ask first!)
My knife has a 4″ scale on the side. I don’t find myself using this too often but, I dare say that some people find it handy.
Videos about mushrooming knives
Here are a couple of videos that might be of interest. The first shows Ray Mears using his mushrooming knife for the purpose for which it was intended.
The second video shows the knife making process.
Ray Mears Mushrooming Video
Ray Mears Knifemaking Video
Some beautiful mushrooming knives
The sight of these beautiful knives makes my heart quiver and my wallet run for cover! I’ve got absolutely no idea where you can buy these lovely knives and, as far as my bank manager is concerned, that’s a good thing too!
This River Cottage Handbook, `Mushrooms’ by John Wright, is a genuinely funny and hugely informative guide to mushroom and toadstools with some useful cooking tips and recipes too. (Some are even simple enough to try!)
Quite simply – this is the best book of its kind – superb descriptions and pictures – the only book required to correctly identify mushrooms in the UK.
Wild mushrooms can be difficult to identify, and many poisonous species look similar to edible ones. An identification guide must therefore leave nothing to doubt, and this book uses both photographs and drawings to present all the essential details
This handy, practical guide offers a quick way for beginners to identify mushrooms and toadstools Collins Gem Mushrooms describes almost 240 species of mushrooms and toadstools to be commonly found in Britain. Portable and clear, it is the ideal guide for those out foraging for fungi!
This handy pocket-sized guide provides quick, accurate and easy identification of over 200 European fungi species. Identifying colours and symbols, it classifies the species according to shape. It contains 320 colour photos that show each species with its characteristic features in its natural habitat. It also features 320 graphics that highlight the typical identifying features of each species, and a calendar wheel, which helps identify the time of year when each species can be found.
Collins Complete Guide to British Muchrooms and Toadstools allows everyone to identify mushrooms found in Britain and Ireland. The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs throughout, featuring the species you are most likely to see. By only covering Britain and Ireland, fewer species are included than in many broader European guides, making it quicker and easier for the reader to accurately identify what they have found.
There are not many people who have been collecting, cooking and devising recipes for mushrooms for over 60 years, but Antonio Carluccio is one. Known as the ‘mushroom man’, Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant in London’s Covent Garden is a mecca for mushroom and truffle lovers from all over the world. Carluccio’s expertise is unrivalled and this book, with over 100 recipes that make the most of readily available mushrooms in dishes ranging from classic to contemporary via oriental and Eastern European, will not disappoint.
Fully illustrated throughout, this practical guide to identifying edible mushrooms gives you all the details you need to enjoy the adventure of locating and collecting wild mushrooms. The book features all edible species of mushroom, together with those with which they may be confused. Organised by habitat for easy reference, it is beautifully illustrated and includes the best ways to cook and eat the mushrooms you collect.
This one-stop practical guide will show you how to identify, pick and cook edible mushrooms. To make your progress easier, it comes in a handy format with colour photos and expert advice throughout. From identifying and picking edible mushrooms to growing your own mushrooms, from recipes for seasonal dishes to important information on poisonous species, this book provides all the helpful information you need to relish the exhilarating experience of collecting wild mushrooms.
This is the most comprehensive photographic handbook for the dedicated mycologist, general naturalist or mushroom hunter collecting for the cooking pot. It features 1,000 species of higher fungi found in the British Isles and northern Europe, from the most common to the rarest – including some never hitherto published photographically.
‘When all’s said and written, there’s nothing better than field mushrooms that you have gathered yourself, on toast, for breakfast.’ Jane Grigson, The Mushroom Feast The Mushroom Feast is an indispensable classic for all those who love mushrooms. It is a fine, timeless, literary cookbook. Truffles…ceps…morels, they all conjure visions of one of the most intriguing and subtle of all gastronomic treats.
Discover the delicacies that hide in your garden, local woodlands or fields with this fully-illustrated A-Z guide. Learn the identifying features and habits of the most popular edible mushrooms, and try the suggestions for storing and cooking your bounty. Also included is a section on inedible mushrooms, clearly illustrating the poisonous species that you are most likely to come across.
Gathering edible wild food is a wonderful way to forge a connection to the earth. Mushrooms are the ultimate local food source; they grow literally everywhere, from Central Park to your own backyard. The Complete Mushroom Hunter invites readers to connect with a hobby that will enrich their understanding of the natural world and build an appreciation for an ancient, but relevant, body of knowledge.
Mushroom collecting is becoming increasingly popular, and while a comprehensive identification guide is essential, the folklore, facts and fables, recipes and stories that have accumulated since ancient times create part of the charm of these strange organisms. Oddly, these facts have never been compiled in one book.
Field Guide Edible Mushrooms of Britain and Europe
The fields, woods and gardens of Britain and Europe are home to a wide range of edible mushrooms, a number of which are not simply good but truly excellent to eat. This book is a practical, user-friendly guide to collecting edible wild fungi species across Britain and Europe.
This indispensable guide to the Mushrooms of Britain and Europe is part of the new Black’s Nature Guide series. Over 450 species of mushroom are covered, each beautifully illustrated with detailed paintings and clear photographs.
Explores the world of edible mushrooms from the field to kitchen. Focuses on the best edible fungi, providing failsafe identification notes for over 50 choice varieties, and offers over 50 delicious everyday recipes using specific mushrooms and mixed mushrooms. Ideal for the forager and the foodie.
This guide offers information on observing and identifying 150 of the most commonly encountered fungi species in Britain and Europe, all of which can be recognized without the use of a microscope. A concise description details the main features of each species, which is illustrated by a colour painting. The guide explains how fungi grow, what to look for in each family division and how to make a safe identification.
Clear, highly accessible guide – it cuts out all the mushrooms with gills and reduces the field to a group of readily identifiable, edible mushrooms. It includes clear guidelines, encouraging the reader to read the book twice before going out so that they are confident about the principles it explains.
Ray Mears has travelled the world discovering how native people manage to live on just what nature provides. Whats always frustrated him is not knowing how our own ancestors fed themselves and what we could learn about our own diet. We know they were hunter-gatherers, but no-one has been able to tell what they ate day to day. How did they find their calories, week in week out throughout the year? In this book he travels back ten thousand years to a time before farming to learn how our ancestors found, prepared and cooked their food.
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