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The Fungus Among Us: Mushrooms Make Meals (and/or Living Spaces) Mahvelous! 🍄🍄🟫
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items I'm not a mycologist, and I've never foraged for them, but mushrooms fascinate me with their shapes, colors, and sizes. In some cases, their tastiness, too. They seem so otherworldly, and they are celebrated worldwide and for hundreds and thousands o...
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no extra charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links.
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no extra charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links.
Sections
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Edible Fungi
Non-Edible (or Poisonous!) Fungi
Fungi Cookbooks, Extracts, and Mashups
Fungi Decor, Journals, & More
Fungi Resources
Edible Fungi
My journey began with the humble white button mushrooms of supermarket fame. Here are some mushrooms that have snagged my eye and my palate. Before you wander down this path, do your due diligence and ALWAYS make sure that the mushrooms you buy for e...
Truffles are the saffron of the mushroom world. Yes, those round and bumpy rocks have a taste and aroma like no other, possess a short shelf life, and can't be commercially grown. No wonder they command such steep prices.
Black Italian Truffles (tuber melanosporum)
Here comes the blushing … mushroom? If there was ever a mushroom that could be called feminine *and* flavorful, it's this one!
Bridal Veil Stinkhorn/Veiled Lady (gastro obscura)
Pinch me! I have yet to eat (or encounter) these beautiful mushrooms, despite their popularity with many a palate and nose. I guess I'm just not seeing them in the supermarkets that I frequent!
Chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius)
With a taste that resembles chickens, I can see why Chicken of the Woods is so named (although the similarly-named tuna aka Chicken of the Sea doesn't taste like chicken to me).
Chicken of the Woods (laetiporus sulphureus)
Another kind of mushroom that I had in my youth. The things I had (albeit on a very infrequent basis), in the name of health! I can't say that I recall the taste, since I had it served in chicken bone broth soup, seasoned with some other Asian herbs.
Had I known that it grew on insect larvae, I might have said no (but the Internet didn't exist then). But perfume is made from ambergris, so … 😉
Had I known that it grew on insect larvae, I might have said no (but the Internet didn't exist then). But perfume is made from ambergris, so … 😉
Cordyceps sinensis
Blueberries aside, it is rare to find truly blue things occurring in the natural world. It was love at first sight when I first encountered these blue mushrooms (online, that is; unfortunately, despite their having carved out a (recent) home in the P...
Indigo Milk Cap (lactarius indigo)
One look at the majestic appearance of this cold hardy tooth fungus, and you'll understand why these large mushrooms are called Lion's Mane. They remind me of Niagara Falls when frozen in winter, and cavern stalactites/stalagmites!
They have a (reputed) nutritional/medicinal profile to match their stunningly regal looks!
They have a (reputed) nutritional/medicinal profile to match their stunningly regal looks!
Lion's Mane/Bearded Hedgehog/Yamabushitake (hericium erinaceus)
Also known as sheep's head, maitake ("dancing mushroom") is a bracket fungi that grows on trees, and has been prized for hundreds of years in Chinese and Japanese cooking. They can reach weights of more than 100 lbs!
Maitake / Hen of the Woods (grifola frondosa)
This tasty (spicy) and aromatic mushroom can develop caps that are more than a foot wide! They are especially prized (by humans as well as animals), and command a premium range of prices, depending on season and availability.
Matsutake Mushrooms (tricholoma murrillianum)
Please, sir, I want more ‘L’. ;)
Their heads resemble stretched and shrunken sponges, which explains one of their other aliases – sponge morel. While they are highly prized as edible mushrooms, morels should be thoroughly cooked to enjoy them safely.
Their heads resemble stretched and shrunken sponges, which explains one of their other aliases – sponge morel. While they are highly prized as edible mushrooms, morels should be thoroughly cooked to enjoy them safely.
Morel (morchella esculenta)
The pink oyster defies the oyster mushroom mould (ha!) with its striking rubescence, short shelf life (which is why you are not likely to find fresh pink oyster mushrooms at your local grocer), and an interesting taste that has been compared to fish ...
Pink Oyster (pleurotus djamor)
Also known rather endearingly as the penny bun, porcini is as tasty and prized as its Italian name is suave. Fun fact: caps can grow to diameters of 1 foot and weigh more than 6 lbs (that's more than I was as a newborn!)
Porcini (boletus edulis)
I love portobello mushrooms (and the mini portobellos, too). These massive mushrooms have a deliciously meaty taste that reduces my need for, well, meat! :)
Portobello
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Reishi is one of the darlings of the medicinal mushroom world, and has long been used in Asian cooking.
Lacquered is the correct descriptor for reishi. The caps of these varnished conks look like they've been buffed to a serious shine!
Lacquered is the correct descriptor for reishi. The caps of these varnished conks look like they've been buffed to a serious shine!
Reishi/Lacquered Bracket (Ganoderma lucidum)
Shiitake mushrooms are my favorite for their thick and juicy caps. They take on the taste of the sauces they are cooked in. My preferred form for them is dried (they require rehydration, but I am willing to wait – because I've never really glommed to...
Shiitake
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I grew up eating these (we called these cream-colored pompoms “white fungus” – and now I know its proper name) and I still do! As with many mushrooms and fungi, they don't have a flavor of their own, but take on those of sauces that they're cooked or...
Snow Fungus (tremella fuciformis)
It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I finally laid my eyes and tastebuds on oyster mushrooms. Although I don't find that quite as delectable as shiitake or portobello, there is a pleasing symmetry to the underside of a colony of flourishing oyster...
Tarragon Oyster (pleurotus eunosmus)
Looking very much like the larger cousin of enoki, velvet pioppini are tasty additions to Asian dishes like stir fries, hotpot’s, soups, and stews.
Tea Tree (agrocybe aegerila)
These look very much like the bracket fungi that I encounter in my walks through the woods in the Pacific Northwest!
Turkey Tail
I don't imbibe, but even if I did, you'll excuse me if I don't want to have a glass of Chardonnay in a wine glass fungus (even though it looks. so. cool).
Wine Glass Fungus (podoscypha petalodes)
Another quasi-staple of my youth, I often had wood ear mushrooms boiled in soup infused with coriander seeds and shiitake mushrooms! Talk about a fungi-fest!
Wood Ear/Black Pearl
Non-Edible (or Poisonous!) Fungi
Warning! Warning! Sound the klaxons! Look, but don't touch (and don't eat). Those bright colors and fascinating shapes aren't just there to astound you; they may warn of toxic overloads. At the same time, they may also resemble some nondescript, inno...
I'm surprised that no one has ever dressed up as these jelly mushrooms for Halloween. They are frightful to look at (picture the Mother Horta from Star Trek, minus all her colors). The name is sooo marketable!!!
Black Witches' Butter (exidia glandulosa)
You've just entered fairy territory with this delicate New Zealand mushroom!
Blue Pinkgill (entoloma hochstetteri)
Toxic if eaten raw, false morels look like sagittal slices of a damaged brain!
Brain Mushroom/False Morel (gyromitra esculenta)
These gorgeous bioluminescent mushrooms will melt even the most ardent non-fans of mushrooms! They're non-toxic and non-edible – but who would want to consume something that delivers such a striking light show at night, anyway? :)
Bitter Oyster (panellus stipticus)
They look so unassuming – and it's that innocuousness that fools you (they also resemble the edible Caesar's and straw mushrooms). Death caps are the most poisonous mushrooms known to us. Their imperviousness to heat and cold means that their toxic n...
Deathcap (amanita phalloides)
Reputed to be the rarest fungi in the world, Devil's Cigar resembles flowers more than fungi. Curiously, they are only found in Texas and Japan.
Devil's Cigar (chorioactis geaster)
Did I just awaken the kraken? They're not just stinky fungi – with their tentacle-like structures, these Australian and New Zealand natives have striking visuals that put “monster” in the minds of its viewers!
Devil's Fingers (clathrus archeri)
It's not a complimentary name, but very descriptive. If you've ever heard of the dung beetle, where the dung cannon mushroom lives (and how it reproduces) shouldn't come as any surprise to you. :)
Dung Cannon (pilobolus crystallinus)
Nintendo helped popularize the fly agaric with its beloved character, Toad (short for ToadStool), but, let's face it; those bright red caps and white spots market this mushroom very well on their own! Amanita muscari has poisonous and hallucogenic pr...
Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria)
Now this has to be the most odd-looking fungus (in my books) – these mushrooms resemble sunny side up eggs! I have stumbled upon these a few years ago – but the top side of the caps were tinged a faint blue.
I have NO idea of their edibility, and in scouring the WWW, I have yet to come up with ANY confirmation on their identity … puffball? Stinkhorn?
Any mycologists out there who would like to hazard a guess?
I have NO idea of their edibility, and in scouring the WWW, I have yet to come up with ANY confirmation on their identity … puffball? Stinkhorn?
Any mycologists out there who would like to hazard a guess?
Fried Egg
Pretty but poisonous: these bioluminescent, chanterelle lookalikes should only be admired.
Jack O' Lantern Mushrooms (omphalotus olearius/omphalotus illudens)
There's a certain aesthetic appeal to the ugliness of the latticed stinkhorn, another member of the stinkhorn family whose odoriferous qualities should deter you from consuming it.
Latticed Stinkhorn (clathrus ruber)
I may have had a few of these shrooms pop up on my lawn several years ago – but the only partaking of them I did was of a photographic nature!
Magic Mushrooms (psilocybin and psilocin)
I wouldn't be the first person to wonder if these invasive funguses should be inhabiting the oceans instead of the forest floors. They're so pretty that they don't look real! Edibility unknown.
Orange Poreconch (favolaschia calocera)
So named for their shape, stag's horn fungi is tough and frankly, there's just not enough of it to justify using your chompers. They are lovely to behold, though, and I spotted my first (and only) colony of them whilst tramping through a boggy, peaty...
Stag's Horn/Candlesnuff (xylaria hopoxylon)
Fungi Cookbooks, Extracts, and Mashups
Merch dedicated to the documentation of fungus (and/or the cooking of the same), plus some food homages and witty pairings.
Now that title is a (tasty) mouthful! And I do have a fondness for both fungi and avocadoes.
1979 Mushrooms in the Bath and Avocados in Bed, Marie-Theresa Colonna & Bronnie Fisher
The Bristol Fungarium is a U.K.-based maker and grower of organic mushroom extracts.
Bristol Fungarium
The tasty Polish and Eastern European way to enjoy your mushrooms.
Cooking with Mushrooms: Polish Recipe Collection (Paperback)
A trail mix (ha!) of dried forest mushrooms. Just in case you have a hankering for a variety of shrooms.
Forest Blend Dried Mushrooms, Gourmet Chef Foodie Gift (1 oz Kraft Bag)
I've always wondered if mushrooms and chocolate could ever go together, and the answer is a resounding YES!
Sacred Mushrooms Cacao™® Sea Salt and Ginger Blend
Oh my my my! A vintage and rare hardback find from the 1930s, this is mushroom cookery arcana at its best!
Some Edible Mushrooms and How To Cook Them, 1964 Hardback by Nina Lane Faubion
Another vintage tome, with over 250 recipes on how to enjoy edible mushrooms in their cultivated, wild, and dried glory.
The Mushroom Feast Cookbook Jane Grigson 1975
Yum!! While there are no actual mushroom-y ingredients in these tasty macaroons, the fun funghal illustrations are eye candy all the same!
Wild Mushroom Macaron Gift Box
Fungi Decor, Journals, & More
Celebrating these organisms in art and humor, with lamps, bathroom doodads, and more.
You'll be spellbound with this magic-inspired and vintage-style mushroom-themed leatherbound journal.
400-Page Large Grimoire Vintage Mushroom Leather Journal
Love mushroomcore, cottagecore, or fairycore? These mushroom lamps take popularity to a whole 'nother level!
Blue Handmade Mushroom Lamp Cottagecore
These aren't your grandma's cooking utensils!
Mushroom Design Beechwood Engraved Kitchen Utensils
A slightly naughty acronym for fungi!
Mushrooms I'd Like To Forage Vinyl Sticker
If you like to extend your personality to the place where you pee, whimsical toilet decor is a necessity! These fly agaric ceramic toilet floor bolt covers are my favorite and particularly apropos, because we all know that mushrooms love to grow in m...
Red Mushrooms Toilet Bolt Cap Cover
A whimsical accessory for your windows that's sure to bring a smile to your face – especially on a rainy (or snowy!) day.
Stained Glass Orange Mushrooms Suncatcher
Perfect for mycologists and fun guys and girls who like to forage for mushrooms.
up&up™ 6"x8" EZ-Grip Spiral-Bound Mushrooms Notebook
Now you’re bookin’! Talk about being engrossed in what you’re doing. Guinea pigs reading books under big red mushrooms … oh Alice, we've really fallen down the rabbit hole!
W2A Guinea Pigs Reading Under Red Mushrooms Drawstring Bag
You'll go ga-ga over this mushroom mug. It's almost TOO pretty to use, and would do well as a cottagecore display piece, instead!
Wild Mushroom Mug, Stained Glass Print Coffee Cup
This apron really puts the rustic and cozy in kitchen apparel.
Woodland Kitchen Apron - Animal Apron Mushrooms Enchanted Forest Kitchen Decor Holiday Gift Ideas Moth Moon and Stars
Fungi Resources
Here are some resources on how to identify mushrooms and learn what's tasty and what's deadly.
The Book of Mushrooms app puts a wealth of information on 300+ mushroom species at your fingertips, accompanied by descriptions, photos, notes, and seasonality charts. Free to download and use. For Android users only.
Book of Mushrooms App (Google Play)
Stumped for the proper identification of a colony you're foraging for in the forest? ShroomID is there to help.
ShroomID