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I love wild mushrooms. I eat them fried, stuffed, in pasta, on pizza...!
But I always play it smart, and only eat the mushrooms I know are safe.
Some of Missouri's wild mushrooms are edible,
some can make you sick and some can kill you.
One reason morel mushrooms are so popular...
besides being delicious...is that they are easily identified.
No other mushroom looks like a morel.
But most other varieties aren't that easy...
so here are a few tips on picking a safe mushroom:
Take notes. Did you find the mushroom growing on wood,
soil or moss...alone or in a cluster.
Write down the color of the cap, gills and stem.
Then collect the entire mushroom, including the base
and wrap each type separately in wax paper along with your notes.
When you get home...before you cook it up, look it up.
These jelly mushrooms are often used in salads.
On the other hand, this variety is called "devil's urns."
You'd probably avoid it just because of the name...and you would be right.
And a parasol-shaped mushroom with white gills means real trouble.
Amanitas vary in shape and color, and contain
one of the deadliest poisons found in nature.
So don't eat a mushroom you can't positively identify.
When in doubt...throw it out.