backwoods menu/Wild tea.

[Nativedude]

Yes 'shrooms have nutritional value but, if you don't know what you are doing in the woods you shouldn't pick them. There are many poisonous 'shrooms that look like their non-poisonous cousins, but you can die from a poisonous 'shroom. Be cautious, VERY CAUTIOUS, when picking wild 'shrooms!!

[Sarge47]

Yes 'shrooms have nutritional value but, if you don't know what you are doing in the woods you shouldn't pick them. There are many poisonous 'shrooms that look like their non-poisonous cousins, but you can die from a poisonous 'shroom. Be cautious, VERY CAUTIOUS, when picking wild 'shrooms!!

Dawg you're 100% on the 'shroom danger. Tell you what, you find any Morels and you're not sure send 'em to me and I'll check 'em for ya!

[HOP]

Mushrooms don't just hop into your pan in the bush there would hardly be a very good exchange of calories for energy expent searching for them , a month suplpy of one a day vitamins takes up as much room as one good size mushroom and the healthy effect from mushrooms would not really have a positive impact on short term survival where energy is the prime concern , I under stand many people like mushrooms if nutritional vitamin content was the prime need in a survival a bottle of multies would be all you need . In the wild you don't eat fat you going to die if you spend all your time foraging for mushrooms you die , you may die healthy but you still die.

[Chris]

HOP makes a point, in a true survival situation you'll probably expend more calories looking for them than they're worth, as such they'd probably be considered a food of opportunity and nothing more. If you find them, great, but finding them shouldn't be your main focus.

Of course in a true survival situation most foods will be foods of opportunity.

[SemperParatus]

I'd view mushrooms in much the same way I'd view spices. Not so much for nutritional value but rather as an enhancement to make the food taste better.

Still, a news item from several years back comes to mind any time I consider "wild" mushrooms. Seems there was a family camping in Mississippi who decided to add some "wild" mushrooms to their meal. IIRC it was a man and his wife and either one or two very small children. Supposedly the man knew how to identify mushrooms (or thought he did). Several days later they all became ill. Turned out that the mushrooms had done permanent, chronic and irreversible liver damage and they all died from it. For me the risks far outweigh the benefits.
OTOH, as I understand it morels are safe and have no look alikes or even near look alikes that are not safe. I could be wrong about that too.

[Sarge47]

I'd view mushrooms in much the same way I'd view spices. Not so much for nutritional value but rather as an enhancement to make the food taste better.

Still, a news item from several years back comes to mind any time I consider "wild" mushrooms. Seems there was a family camping in Mississippi who decided to add some "wild" mushrooms to their meal. IIRC it was a man and his wife and either one or two very small children. Supposedly the man knew how to identify mushrooms (or thought he did). Several days later they all became ill. Turned out that the mushrooms had done permanent, chronic and irreversible liver damage and they all died from it. For me the risks far outweigh the benefits.
OTOH, as I understand it morels are safe and have no look alikes or even near look alikes that are not safe. I could be wrong about that too.

There is a "False Morel", but they're pretty easy to identify. I'm not a regular "mushroom hunter" and don't pick anything but the regular Morels. They don't have a very long life-span. If I was in a "survival" situation during their season and found a bunch without too much difficulty they're on the menu. Otherwise wisdom dictates that I keep over-exertion down to a minnimum.

[MCBushbaby]

If I were in a survival situation, I'd not eat mushrooms at all. Risks outweigh benefits, IMO

[HOP]

I don't know anything about he growth cycle and season but would think that the would not be a constant sorce of food regardless of value I don't find them particular and besides I coulda had a V8.

[owl_girl]

Mushrooms don't just hop into your pan in the bush there would hardly be a very good exchange of calories for energy expent searching for them , a month suplpy of one a day vitamins takes up as much room as one good size mushroom and the healthy effect from mushrooms would not really have a positive impact on short term survival where energy is the prime concern , I under stand many people like mushrooms if nutritional vitamin content was the prime need in a survival a bottle of multies would be all you need . In the wild you don't eat fat you going to die if you spend all your time foraging for mushrooms you die , you may die healthy but you still die.

Well obviously you are going to die if you don’t eat calories and fat, that was never a disagreement. And it’s kind of hard to come by vitamin supplements in the woods lol. And not everybody carries them around everywhere. When people are foraging for food in a survival situation they don’t normally limit their search for one specific type of food but instead pick as much of whatever they find and if they come across some edible mushrooms while foraging it would be beneficial to include them in their meal. In modern life mushrooms are a very valuable source of nutrition just like apples for example are low in calories and have no fat but people know they’re nutritious. I wouldn’t recommend relying only on mushrooms for vitamins either as your body need a variety. Considering mushrooms as a source of vitamins and minerals only expands your options but there are may other sources to be considered as well. I’m not saying you can live off them but they do have nutritional value.

[owl_girl]

Thought you guys might find this interesting about milk thistle seeds and the effects it has on treating your liver for mushroom poisoning.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/m...tle-000266.htm

http://www.vitaminstuff.com/herbs-milk-thistle.html

This info wouldn’t make me any less cautious though.
I have picked morels once or twice with a friend but other than that I don’t pick wild mushrooms because I don’t have that kind of knowledge yet.

[Rifleman]

Morels are around here. Those would be the only ones I would pick. They can grow in some weird and unlikely places, so I don't think it would be worth looking for them alone. Like someone said it would be a food of opportunity, but I would load up on them if i saw them.

[trax]

There are still mushrooms out there that I'm interested in more for their esoteric value than their nutritional value....could someone point those ones out to me?

[Rick]

I could point you to a dictionary to look up esoteric.

[HOP]

Every post I have seen here and other forums when some one says that mushrooms have little food value thats what they mean and any other values mean little if you don't have food that creates energy. you can put a 180 day suply of viatimins in an 6 or 8 oz bottle and probably should cary some with your bugout supplies fouraging is both a seasonal and geographic isue got to take what you find or bring with you the benifits other than taste of mushrooms is zip.

[owl_girl]

Every post I have seen here and other forums when some one says that mushrooms have little food value thats what they mean and any other values mean little if you don't have food that creates energy. you can put a 180 day suply of viatimins in an 6 or 8 oz bottle and probably should cary some with your bugout supplies fouraging is both a seasonal and geographic isue got to take what you find or bring with you the benifits other than taste of mushrooms is zip.

Yes you can get nutrients from supplements but what dos that have to do with rather or not mushrooms have nutrients? Why would you go only to forums for that info? If it’s a common myth obviously that’s what most of them will say. Go to a site with scientific backup and professionals. You said they said “mushrooms have little food value” Well I specifically stated “nutritional value” I’m not debating how much food value/ fat and calories mushrooms have since I’ve always known they don’t have much and I have no disagreement about that. I know your body needs fuel for energy but without the proper nutrients it won’t be able to use that fuel efficiently. I can understand saying there are easier to find sources of nutrition but I can’t understand saying mushrooms are not nutritious at all.

Questions.
1.Do you think apples have no nutritional value?
2.Do you not believe mushrooms contain Folate, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B6, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium and Zinc?
3.Do you believe the above listed vitamins and minerals are not nutritious?
4.Can you show me a reliable nutrition site (not a forum) where you got your information?

[Chris]

What vitamins do you really need for survival? Obviously we all want to fight cancer and heart disease, but we're not talking about 80 year survival here, more short term, what is really needed?

Vitamin C can be found in anything green, and of course fruit and berries.

Vitamin D can be gained from sunlight (though mostly in the summer in warmer climes), not really much risk of running low on that if you're stuck outdoors.

I don't know if I've ever really heard of major deficiencies of anything else.

Of course your B vitamins, iron, other minerals, can be gotten from meat.

[Sarge47]

The Morel is named to mean "Morale"; it raises the morale 'cause it tastes good. Again, actively searching for these can be a major pain in the butt, so I would have to trip over them to get any.

[owl_girl]

Ok so now the question turns to how important are those nutrients not rather mushrooms do or don’t have them.

No I wasn’t thinking 80 years when I said long-term lol more like 1 or 2.
The functions of those vitamins and minerals are listed and though you could probably do without for a while they are still very beneficial and why go without if you have the opportunity not to? Vitamins do affect your energy level.

It’s a good question. I personally think that vitamins and minerals of many kinds are important for everyday living but that’s just my opinion and I’d have to do research to get all the information I need to support it. I’m not sure I care enough to bother but if someone wants to debate it I’d like to see information that supports their statement as well. Fair?

[Sarge47]

Ok so now the question turns to how important are those nutrients not rather mushrooms do or don’t have them.

No I wasn’t thinking 80 years when I said long-term lol more like 1 or 2.
The functions of those vitamins and minerals are listed and though you could probably do without for a while they are still very beneficial and why go without if you have the opportunity not to? Vitamins do affect your energy level.

It’s a good question. I personally think that vitamins and minerals of many kinds are impotent for everyday living but that’s just my opinion and I’d have to do research to get all the information I need to support it. I’m not sure I care enough to bother but if someone wants to debate it I’d like to see information that supports their statement as well. Fair?

I'm wit' cha Owl Girl. I'm here for "Morel" support! (That's a "play on words", get it? "Morel support"? Well...um..cough, cough.)

[owl_girl]

lol pretty good