Mushrooms are the flesh of the earth

Agaricus litoralis

The fungus is a freak of nature, because it is neither animal nor plant, while its still life reminds us of plants, but it has a chitinous cell wall, which is an animal characteristic. It is simpler to keep it separate and rejoice in the diversity of life on earth, because we have plants, animals and fungi.
My relationship with mushrooms began with a "Champignon" Agaricus bisporus. I was never overwhelmed by its taste, but I was interested in studying the unique-looking vegetable. "Why are mushrooms a vegetable when they're not green, but white?" I asked my mother, who had no answer to the puzzling question. So I set out on my own to learn about mushrooms. The first species of wild mushroom I came across was the shaggy inkcap Coprinus comatus. Its distinctive appearance and relatively large size immediately caught my eye. So I had already learned about two genera of mushrooms. Then came the Amanita species, as unfortunately poisonings occur every year, as they did in my childhood, so I soon became familiar with the death cap Amanita phalloides from a picture. We met in person much later, but I recognised it immediately. I met a many fly agaric Amanita muscaria earlier on an autumn class trip in the Bükk mountain. A plantation of spruce trees was full of them. I was then introduced to the Agaricus mushrooms: field, coastal, macro, yellow stainer. The latter causes vomiting and diarrhoea. However, the smell alone discourages you from eating them.

Marasmius oreades

Then I discovered the extremely fragrant and aromatic fairy ring champignon Marasmius oreades. I never understood how it could be confused with split fibrecap Inocybe rimosa or the fool's funnel Clitocybe rivulosa. They don't smell as good! Then came one of the great loves of my mushrooming life, one autumn day I stumbled across the field blewits Lepista personata. To taste, to smell, an earthy hard hat mushroom. Nothing as sophisticated as the deliciously star-studded penny cep Boletus edulis and its pretzel putty. In its favourite habitat, however, it develops a mass of fruiting bodies and you can eat yourself to death with it. It is one of my favourite dishes as a fried mushroom dish. It is also delicious as a stew. It has a good perky taste, like the unique flavour of beef, and it tantalises the taste buds in a similar way. But I prefer it as a fried hat. My most recent discovery is the slate bolete Leccinum duriusculum. Accustomed to the punchy flavours of field mushrooms, I was surprised to find a more delicate mushroom living in our planted poplar groves. As if fried in butter (I sauteed it in cooking oil), it was so sweet and I detected a slight nutty aroma as it eagerly shovelled its way inside. The flesh was firm when freshly picked, and buttery soft when steamed. The characteristic of being blackened didn't bother me a bit. I loved it, fell in love with it, put it on my "wanted" list.

Leccinum duriusculum

I named the slate bolete the cep of the lowland. If I no longer have a delicious, but good, I'll praise their poor cousin and shovel it in with great reverence. It tastes as good as the delicious one. Although it's true that the Boletus edulis makes the royal relative look better in pictures, a more grateful photo subject. But it would be nice to photograph all the species of the order Boletales for once! One of my dreams is to capture devil's bolete Rubroboletus satanas. A beautiful mushroom. Contrary to its name, it's not devilish at all, it's just stomach upsetting. There are no deadly poisonous species among the Boletales. They have a bad taste, cause stomach cramps, and the small "Xerocomus" species are quickly spoiled by a mould and cause food poisoning. I do not collect these species for this very reason.
Over the years I have got to know about 80 species of mushrooms, and I can talk about them for days. Because mushrooms are wonderful.

P.S.: If you have the patience and inclination, you could help by correcting the English text translated by the online translator.