Fall 2009
Helen had just received a batch of fresh picked mushrooms as a “thank you” from our neighbor Silvia’s mother. There was quite a variety and because there were many mushrooms Helen was not familiar with, she invited her friends Mia and Juanjo over to help her identify them. This was the first time I met Mia and Juanjo. They come into Helen’s kitchen, preview the mushrooms, and discuss the various types and best ways to eat them. Then they come upon a larger mushroom and immediately a heated discussion starts.
Mia: “Ah, this one, this big one…It is very poisonous, no?” Not really asked as a question but more of a statement.
Juanjo: “No, this one is molto buono! You slice it and fry it.”
Mia: “Yes, if you want to die! It is the blah blah blah mushroom. Very toxic!”
Juanjo: “It is simply a large porcini.”
Mia: “Why would nobody have found it yet and so it would reach this size? See how it is dark? That tells me it is the blah blah blah mushroom”
Juanjo: “You are not sure of yourself this evening. It is perfectly fine. It is just a large one. Nobody found it because it must be from a remote area of the forest, it was hidden to be found now. Or perhaps it is a dark color because the leaves were covering it and this is why it could not be found”
Mia: “I would not eat it or risk death!”
Juanjo: “It will be delicious. I would cook it with a little prezzemolo (parsley) and garlic too, si,si – molto buono!”
And so it went. I did not know who to trust. Who is right? Who knows more about mushrooms? I had just met them so obviously I did not know who was more seasoned in the knowledge of funghi. Who are you going to trust literally with your life? That I left up to Helen. Who fried them all up and we ate them that evening. They were quite tasty.
We are obviously still alive. What would you have done? Would you have eaten the questionable mushrooms? I have to tell you a secret. All that night, any phantom pain that I had, I thought I was suddenly surely dying of mushroom poisoning. What a way to go…a delicious death.
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