Forty-two pounds of edible fungus
In the wilderness a-growin’
Saved the settlers from starvation.
Helped the founding of this nation.Homer Price, Robert McCloskey
Funny how I can still recite this chorus from Homer Price. I’ve forgotten the story now, but the chorus burrowed its way into long term memory. Actually I’m surprised that I haven’t reread the story to my kids. I believe I’ve ready every other Robert McCloskey book to them. One Morning in Maine is my favorite; Blueberries for Sal is theirs.
One subject for which I feel profound ignorance is mushroom identification. Walking in the woods this afternoon while checking the pigs, I found fungi with a wide assortment of colors and shapes in a variety of habitats. I’ll admit that I’m not as interested in gathering a large body of taxonomic information as much as I’d like to be able to safely identify edible fungus.
My mycological repertoire includes only one edible mushroom: the puffball. I believe that in some parts of the world there are inedible look-alikes, but around here the puffball is unique and impossible to confuse so it is a good rookie mushroom.
Gastronomically, the puffball is not a standout. It is fluffy and absorbent, with a definite mushroom odor but very little flavor. I’m not aware of any preparation that doesn’t involve first browning in oil. The puffball is something I eat because I like the idea of foraging my own mushrooms, not because it is great. It isn’t bad, it’s just not too exciting. Like tofu. No, I take that back. Better than tofu. Tofu is something you eat only if you have a grudge against meat.
6 thoughts on “Forty-two pounds of edible fungus”
The phrase is from an early 50’s humorous science-fiction story about an inquisitive boy and a mad scientist who live in a small town somewhere in middle America. At one time the town was named “Edible Fungus” for the reason given in the verse. The scientist had invented a metallic alloy which he called “furloy” which possessed negative weight. Samples of it had to be strapped to the floor to keep them from flying off straight up.
For whatever reason, that “forty-two pounds of edible fungus” and the idea of an anti-gravity metal are still lurking back there in my Boomer memory.
How could mushrooms save anyone from starvation? They have practically no nutritional value.
I don’t know. I’m just repeating the rhyme I remember from elementary school.
I suppose they must have some vitamins or minerals or some other invisible attribute, but there isn’t much happening in terms of useful fats, proteins, or even carbs. For my personal gastronomy, a mushroom is mostly a vehicle for eating more butter or lard.
That was a big puffball by your chainsaw! Perhaps finding them in recently cut fields has to do with the short grass? I’d have a hard time finding one even as huge as the big guy in your photo without a little help from the cows or machinery to make it more visible.
I loved you closing line to this post. Too true, too true.