# Is it a fungus or is it...



## limr (Oct 1, 2015)

...braaaaaiiiiins?

Good decoy to fool the zombies, I bet. Stock up on yours fast before the apocalypse!




Braaaaaaaiiiiiins by limrodrigues, on Flickr


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## tirediron (Oct 1, 2015)

Freaakkkkkkkkky!


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## unpopular (Oct 1, 2015)

Looks like a Chicken of the Woods. Which is a mushroom I've hunting for for years. If so, while sporadically mildly toxic, it supposed to taste like chicken (i know, right!).

(disclaimer: do not identify mushrooms through some dude on the internet. do not eat any mushroom without properly identifying it yourself)


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## Ron Evers (Oct 1, 2015)

unpopular said:


> Looks like a Chicken of the Woods. Which is a mushroom I've hunting for for years. If so, while sporadically mildly toxic, it supposed to taste like chicken (i know, right!).
> 
> (disclaimer: do not identify mushrooms through some dude on the internet. do not eat any mushroom without properly identifying it yourself)




See here:


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## Raj_55555 (Oct 1, 2015)

limr said:


> ...braaaaaiiiiins?
> 
> Good decoy to fool the zombies, I bet. Stock up on yours fast before the apocalypse!
> 
> ...


Looks a great deal like corals, you sure you aren't underwater? 



unpopular said:


> Looks like a Chicken of the Woods. Which is a mushroom I've hunting for for years. If so, while sporadically mildly toxic, it supposed to taste like chicken (i know, right!).
> 
> (disclaimer: do not identify mushrooms through some dude on the internet. do not eat any mushroom without properly identifying it yourself)


Or just try to eat the shroom, if it tastes like chicken and you get mildly poisoned, it's Chicken of Woods.
If you die however, it's something else!


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## sm4him (Oct 1, 2015)

unpopular said:


> Looks like a Chicken of the Woods. Which is a mushroom I've hunting for for years. If so, while sporadically mildly toxic, it supposed to taste like chicken (i know, right!).
> 
> (disclaimer: do not identify mushrooms through some dude on the internet. do not eat any mushroom without properly identifying it yourself)



Sporadically mildly toxic?!?!  That is Awe. Some.
It would almost be worth trying a taste just to see if you end up sporadically mildly poisoned.
Almost.


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## vintagesnaps (Oct 1, 2015)

Check out the camera (Instamatic?).


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## jaomul (Oct 1, 2015)

That's magic


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## unpopular (Oct 1, 2015)

sm4him said:


> Sporadically mildly toxic?!?!  That is Awe. Some.
> It would almost be worth trying a taste just to see if you end up sporadically mildly poisoned.
> Almost.



But it's a mushroom that tastes like chicken!

Actually, a good number of edible wild mushrooms are inconsistent like this, probable a third of any mushroom books will have these warnings ("Edible With Caution"). It's not unusual for some people to get a reaction while others do not, for toxin concentrations to be normally low but occasionally higher, or absorb toxins from their environment, such as from their host plant. According to wikipedia, with this particular mushroom compounds from a host eucalyptus can accumulate and cause nausaea or headaches. Typically when something is considered "edible" they are normally not toxic, but occasionally mild, non-life threatening symptoms can occur in some situations. Many boletes for example have a slime coating which must be removed, else they will cause you to feel a bit ill.

Aside from a few, I don't know of any such which would typically cause you to actually get "sick" aside from some passing gastrointestinal problems, though in some people it can be a more severe. There are a few which people say things like "ok if you boil three times and discard the water, otherwise you'll die" - but personally, I hardly think any mushroom is worth that much trouble/risk.

In any case, it is never recommended to feed small children any wild mushroom, at least not in a culinary - as opposed to a survival - setting. There are a few where the entire genus is not toxic and it's easily identified, puffballs and certain shaggy inkys and jellies (tree ears, etc), that I wouldn't feel too bad giving my kids, but just to be safe I don't.


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## limr (Oct 1, 2015)

unpopular said:


> Many boletes for example have* a slime coating* which must be removed, else they will cause you to feel a bit ill.



Feeling a bit ill just reading the words "slime coating."


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## unpopular (Oct 1, 2015)

I hate those slippery jims. They're TOTALLY more work than they are woth.


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## limr (Oct 1, 2015)

unpopular said:


> I hate those slippery jims. They're TOTALLY more work than they are woth.



That's how I feel about a lot of mushrooms. The taste is fine but not worth the trouble of dealing with the unpleasant (for me) texture. I'll eat them, but don't really go out of my way to have them, and if there's too many in a dish, I'll start picking them out after I hit my limit. 

There are a few exceptions (and possibly more but I haven't tasted them yet). Morels are delish and are at least easier to deal with chopped up. And truffles...dear god, truffles are like crack for me, and there's no issue with texture because they are usually shaved anyway.


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## unpopular (Oct 1, 2015)

limr said:


> And truffles...dear god, truffles are like crack for me, and there's no issue with texture because they are usually shaved anyway.



Do you know about truffle oil? It's a great way to get truffle into your everyday cooking without, you know, actually buying truffles.


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## limr (Oct 1, 2015)

unpopular said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> > And truffles...dear god, truffles are like crack for me, and there's no issue with texture because they are usually shaved anyway.
> ...



Oh, I know all about truffle oil. Always have a stash   If you haven't tried it already, sprinkle some white truffle oil on popcorn. Heavenly! It's also perfect in risotto.


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## unpopular (Oct 1, 2015)

limr said:


> unpopular said:
> 
> 
> > limr said:
> ...



I don't think I have found anything that doesn't pair well with truffle. It is the most single most versatile seasoning I've come across.


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## 480sparky (Oct 1, 2015)

If zombies only eat brains, I ain't got anything to worry about.


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