Planning to eat mushrooms you have picked yourself?

After reading about the poor apple and cherry harvests at least it is encouraging to read that 2017 is a good year for mushrooms.
 
If you are lured out into colourful woodland in autumn sunshine to search out mushrooms to cook and eat, then you are advised to have what you have found inspected by an expert, as eating a poisonous one could have fatal consequences.

One place you can have them checked is at the Werkhof maintenance depot of the city of Zug at number 7 Göblistrase, where, until the end of October, experts will be on hand on Monday and Wednesday evenings, from 6.30 pm until 8 pm, in addition to between 5pm and 7pm on Saturdays, to tell you if what you have found is safe to eat.
 
Mycologist Michael Schneider (on the right in the photograph) is one of nine experts of the city of Zug. He explained that there is a rich variety of mushrooms and toadstools to be found in the canton, some 5000 different types in fact, though only 10% of them are edible. Not all the remaining 90% are poisonous, many are just unpleasant to eat, but 10% are poisonous. Some, such as death cap toadstools, can have a possible fatal effect, as their name implies.
In the 24 years Schneider has been examining toadstools and mushrooms brought in for inspection, he has seen thousands of them, of course. Indeed, his is a very responsible job, some edible varieties being difficult to distinguish from very similar poisonous ones.
 
Not only does Schneider advise collectors on what is edible or not, he is also on standby to be called out by doctors, including those at hospitals, and members of the general public, in cases where a poisonous toadstool may have been eaten to identify exactly what may have been consumed from any remains. So far this year he has been called out four times to help out in just such emergency cases. Fortunately, he has never encountered a life-threatening situation, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
 
Schneider advises collectors to use a basket, rather than a sack or bag, as this prevents the mushrooms from being squashed. Then it is important the whole mushroom is picked, i.e. the stalk, too, as in some cases it is only with this intact that the species can be identified. Two further tips he offered to collectors were to search in areas above 1,000 metres and in damps valleys.