If you're keen to try your hand at foraging, wild mushrooms grow throughout the year, but autumn offers the most abundant and varied seasonal eating. From late summer until the first frost, you can gather the likes of penny buns, chanterelles, field mushrooms and dozens of other varieties, many fit for the cooking pot, from Britain's forests and fields.
Mushroom foraging safety tips
Never eat any fungus that you are not absolutely certain has been identified correctly. Use a good field guide, but don't rely absolutely on pictures in books - differences between fungi can be difficult to spot. Go out with an experienced guide.
When collecting fungi, avoid using plastic bags; the lack of air will accelerate the decomposition process and make the mushrooms mushy. Use a basket instead.
When trying any fungus for the first time, only eat it in small amounts to make sure the body can cope with it.
Keep a small fresh portion of any mushroom you eat in the fridge. That way, if there is a reaction, you can easily identify the source.
