Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-To-Kitchen Guide (Hardcover)

by David W. Fischer (Author), Alan E. Bessette (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Some new mushroomers will find this single volume all the library they need to harvest and enjoy wild mushrooms for the table. (Mushroom the Journal )

The publication is of excellent quality and print, well edited, authoritative, and provides an excellent introduction to edible and poisonous wild mushrooms. (Mycologia ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
"Some new mushroomers will find this single volume all the library they need to harvest and enjoy wild mushrooms for the table." --Mushroom the Journal "The publication is of excellent quality and print, well edited, authoritative, and provides an excellent introduction to edible and poisonous wild mushrooms." --Mycologia Unusual shapes and colors make many mushrooms alluring to the eye, while the exotic flavors and textures of edible mushrooms are a gourmet delicacy for the palate. Yet many people never venture beyond the supermarket offerings, fearing that all other mushrooms are poisonous. With amateur mushroom hunters especially in mind, David Fischer and Alan Bessette have prepared Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America. This field guide presents more than 100 species of the most delicious mushrooms, along with detailed information on how to find, gather, store, and prepare them for the table. More than 70 savory recipes, ranging from soups and salads to casseroles, canapes, quiches, and even a dessert, are included. Throughout, the authors constantly emphasize the need for correct identification of species for safe eating. Each species is described in detailed, nontechnical language, accompanied by a list of key identifying characteristics that reliably rule out all but the target species. Superb color photographs also aid in identification. Poisonous "lookalikes" are described and illustrated, and the authors also assess the risks of allergic or idiosyncratic reactions to edible species and the possibilities of chemical or bacterial contamination. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr; 1st edition (August 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292720793
• ISBN-13: 978-0292720794
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,147,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited scope, horrible recipes., January 6, 2004

By	Bundita (Arbovale, WV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide (Paperback)

I bought this book many years ago as the first of what is now a fairly large collection on the subject. As the title indicates, it concentrates on the EDIBLE fungi, so the reviewer who was dissappointed because he/she could ID only one of the 13 mushrooms he/she found has unfair expectations out of the scope of this work. That said, only the most popular edibles seem to be listed here, and variants on those species are not covered in much depth. It's ok for those who just want to be able to distinguish a golden chanterelle from a jack-o-lantern, or a morel from a thimble-cap so they can safely gather some edibles. The worst thing about this book, however, is it's unfortunate recipes. Every single recipe I've tried from it completely sucks. Either the cooking method is inappropriate to that particular mushroom (turning delicate specimins to mush, for instance, or inundating absorptive ones with oil), or strong flavors from other ingredients overwhelm the sometimes subtle flavors of the mushrooms themselves. I get much better results by trusting my cooking intuition and experimenting than I do by following these recipes.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent companion book to a good field guide, July 23, 2001

By	J. Hilliard (Norman, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide (Paperback)

For those interested in preparing and eating the more common and easily-recognized species of edible mushrooms, this book is a must-have. In-depth species descriptions, including dangerous look a likes, make positive identifications much easier. Lush recipes (with photos) in the back of the book inspire mycophagists to get out in the woods and hunt their quarry. Buy the book -- you'll love it! Suggest using this book in conjunction with Audubon or other field guide.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners, November 14, 2002

By	Michal L. Jones "geomason" (Shelocta, Pa USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide (Paperback)

For a "first" book on wild mushrooms I found this one to be very good. The pictures show the top, bottom, stems, colors and different parts of each mushroom. There are "warnings" on those that are ediable, but make some people sick, and the NO-NO"s are equally shown and written about. We're just new at this, and for a "starter" book this was just the ticket.