Agaricus campestris · Agaricaceae
Also called Meadow Mushroom
The classic mushroom of unimproved pasture: white cap, pink gills darkening to brown, and a clean mushroomy smell.
Edible. Always cut the mushroom out with the base intact and check for a volva, and always check that mature gills are pink to brown, never white.
Read the full foraging safety guidance.
May to November
Yellow Stainer bruises chrome yellow at the stem base and smells of ink or carbolic. Young Death Caps and Destroying Angels have WHITE gills and a bag-like volva at the base.
Grill whole with butter, or slice into a breakfast pan. Best eaten the day it is picked.
Wild Mushrooms on Toast
The honest test of any wild mushroom. Butter, a hot pan, good bread and nothing to hide behind.
Cheat's wild mushroom risotto
The original oven-baked risotto from the old Wild Mushrooms Online recipe pages. No standing over the pan stirring for half an hour - the oven does the work while you lay the table. Dried ceps give the depth, fresh wild mushrooms give the texture.
Rich wild woodland mushroom soup
A thick, dark, thoroughly old-fashioned soup thickened with stale bread rather than flour. It was written for a big autumn haul of mixed woodland mushrooms and it is still the best way to use a basket of odds and ends.
Calocybe gambosa
A solid white spring mushroom of grassland, traditionally appearing around St Georges Day.
Boletus edulis
The most sought-after wild mushroom in Britain: nutty, firm and richly scented, with a pale bun-like cap and a fat netted stem.
Cantharellus cibarius
Egg-yolk yellow, trumpet-shaped and smelling faintly of apricots. One of the safest and finest edibles once learned.
