Mycology is a complicated field

I do some light general foraging in the forest I live in and mushrooms are a seasonal treat. And I often have Shaggy Mane mushrooms growing in my yard, (don't worry, I do not use fertilizer or herbicides ever). And fresh chanterelle mushrooms are an edible gift from the gods.

Like most things in life, mushroom hunting isn't super dangerous, (if you mess up the odds are it won't kill you outright but they will make you wish it had), but it does take some learning and practice.

::: spoiler Hey, Paul, should I eat this mushroom I found?

:::

Still. I enjoyed the detail I never would have discovered!

Aminita Muscaria can be eaten. There was either a vice article, or video about it. I recall thin slices and frying them was part of the technique.

I imagine it's a stomach cramps and vomiting kind of high like poorly prepared peyote/mescaline.

Erowid should have articles/instructions for preparing Aminita Muscaria, just read some trip reports there. They often include basic steps.

Best way to learn is to tag along with a seasoned mushroom picker and just go with the easier ones that don't have deathly look-alikes.

Mushrooms are delicious as all hell. Golden chanterelle for example is damn good and easy to recognize.

Where I live mushrooms from the market are ridiculously expensive. That's why it's so common to go mushroom picking yourself. It's a nice outdoors-y way to spend your time and it's not that difficult if you get a primer from someone seasoned at it. And some mushrooms you'll just find a ton without much effort.

They could be the best tasting thing in the world and it wouldn’t be worth it

poorly prepared peyote/mescaline

Wait, there’s a way to not destroy your stomach?

You can trip, fall and die just walking to the bathroom. But more chanterelle for me then heh

Yeah if I don’t shit I’ll also die though lol. More power to you if that’s what you enjoy though

There are moments where hunting mushrooms in the wild can be very dangerous.

I’m glad that it tries to warn you with its terrible taste

Yes I'm allergic to all mushrooms I've tried - my allergy report just says "mushrooms" so I'd imagine that means all of them. Not anaphylactic but pretty severe bodily evacuation. I did know someone who was deadly allergic to them though, and he said the doctor told him that magic mushrooms would also kill him.

Are there mushrooms in beer? Beer gives me the runs but I always assumed that was because I also have a wheat intolerance.

That's okay, I'm used to questions. I'm also allergic to a ton of raw fruits (mainly apples which actually cause anaphylaxis) and raw veggies. Fine when they're cooked but just not raw ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You don't have to shit in the bathroom though. But we all do our own risk/benefit assessment and it can be very different in different places. Here in Finland it's easy to pick good mushrooms and it's a common pastime, I think that's not the case everywhere.

I've tasted Phalloides, it tastes soft and nutty

Don't those all use a normal phone camera?

the risk/reward is just insane.

I find this take ridiculous, there are poisonous fruits and vegetables would you never eat an apple just because there are poisonous fruits out there?

I mean are there fruits that will kill me if I eat one that look like apples? And generally I wouldn’t eat any random fruit I found in the wild either unless I really had to.

I mean are there fruits that will kill me if I eat one that look like apples?

Yes, there are they are called Manchineel. But that's beside the point.

You can pick mushrooms your whole life and never be in any risk, you stick to the beginner friendly species and I would bet you need to be drunk and/or legally blind to make a mistake.

How much of it is needed to kill someone?