very autumn when the Swiss go out to collect mushrooms, before they return home in the evening to dunk them in fondue, they hand their basket to the Pilzkontrolleur. This mushroom inspector will pluck out any toxic fungi and send them home with what is safe to eat. The fashion for foraging has made it to Australia, but locally there are no Pilzkontrolleuer offices to visit with your harvest. Ecologist Alison Pouliot says that while Indigenous Australians have the “oldest foraging culture in the world”, much of Australian society has traditionally been mycophobic – afraid of mushrooms – thanks to the influence of equally fungal-fearing British forebears. Now, waves of immigration from continental Europe and Asia and, more recently, high end restaurant trends, means mushroom foraging is “increasing whether we agree with it or not”. When foraging goes awry, the consequences can be deadly. In 2020, one man died and at least eight people were hospitalised after eating poisonous mushrooms. A common and potentially lethal species, the death cap, has grown so prolifically in Canberra this year that ACT Health has advised Canberrans to avoid foraging altogether. The dangers are not only mortal, but legal. In Australia, federal, state and local laws vary significantly regarding foraging on public land. Many state forests, like those in New South Wales, allow foragers to pick mushrooms for personal consumption without a permit but in other areas foragers may be subject to hefty fines, and their actions may disrupt delicate ecosystems. With the potential human health and environmental implications of mushroom foraging top of mind, Pouliot has released a book, Wild Mushrooming: A Guide for Foragers, co-written with mycologist Tom May and published by the CSIRO. The aim of the book is to “offer a philosophy and a framework and protocol that minimises the risk of both human and environmental harm”. Pouliot describes this philosophy as “slow mushrooming”. It requires you to focus on a single species at a time, learning where, when and how it grows, alongside “all its diagnostic features” – not just how it looks, but how it feels and smells. This ethos of foraging “consciously and conservatively” is not only to mitigates health risks, but also to limit one’s impact. Pouliot describes this as “the forager’s code” – “to leave no sign of your presence. Tread softly to minimise environmental harm in consideration of other people and animals”. After all, “you can never eat 30 mushrooms!” Finding a Pilzkontrolleuer This mushroom season, which is set to be a bumper crop thanks to recent rains, Pouliot is running 50 fungi and foraging workshops across forests in Victoria, NSW and the ACT. She isn’t the only one. Other professional foragers like Diego Bonetto in NSW, Cameron Russel in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Kate Grigg in South Australia and Moss House in NSW all offer guided harvests. Pouliot says that culinary and land care organisations, as well as many local councils, also offer tours. Learning to forage with the help of an expert guide is the closest thing to a Pilzkontrolleuer Australians have access to, and a tour guide will also ensure foraging only takes place in areas where it is legal. Most of these tours will be taking place in the coming weeks, as many mushroom species typically occur in autumn. Pouliot explains that, as the moisture level increases and the soil temperatures drop, these conditions act as a trigger to stimulate the fruiting of fungi. The best time is often when there has been rain the week or two before. In addition to the expertise on offer through workshops, Pouliot recommends using multiple sources of reliable and evidence-based data including guides, talking to experts and looking up information online. Saffron milk caps, a starter mushroom Abundant and easy to recognise, Pouliot recommends first-time foragers start off looking for the saffron milk cap (lactarius deliciosus), because it possesses several unique “diagnostic features” that make identification mistakes less likely. Here, she shares how to identify one, the “slow mushrooming” way. These mushrooms grow with pine trees, in the ground among the pine needle litter. The Oberon and Belanglo State Forests are the best places to find them in NSW, while in Victoria they can be found in Mount Macedon and the Mornington Peninsula. Diagnostic features The saffron milk cap’s cap starts out convex (like a hump) and then flattens and becomes funnel shaped (concave) Have a look at the stem: the stem itself is not smooth, it’s got little pits in it, which look like a giraffe’s neck Size: it is a big mushroom with an average diameter of 15-20cm (but it can be bigger) If you were to break that stem with your fingers, straight away you’ll notice the stem is hollow. If you break it, it comes apart in little crumbly pieces. This is that’s very different to most mushrooms, which are very fibrous One really good clue to identify saffron milk caps is in the name – if you break the cap or gills, you’ll see droplets of intense saffron orange milk. No other species in Australian pine forests have this feature, so if you’ve got milk, you’ve got a milk cap If you’re still not sure, come back a couple of hours later to look at where you broke the mushroom. Saffron milk caps oxidise and become green in a really obvious way You can also note the smell: this one has a fruity, almost fragrant smell, which is lighter than the heavy earthen smell of most mushrooms. Pouliot says that recognising smells and textures can be an important part of the identification process. But while you shouldn’t be scared to smell and touch a mushroom, it is good practice to wash your hands afterwards. What should you do if you’re unsure of the species? NSW Forestry Corporation’s advice is “ if in doubt, throw it out”. However, you can also check the species through uploading photos on online platforms for identification. The best one is iNaturalist. Another option is sending a specimen into fungimap, but you’ll need to dry the specimen first. If you’re worried you’ve ingested the wrong kind of mushroom, there are two options: If you have any suspicion at all that you’ve eaten a poisonous mushroom, call 000 immediately. If you have mild symptoms and you haven’t been near an oak tree (where death cap mushrooms grow), call the poisons information hotline on 131 126. What should you do with foraged mushrooms? “Always cook wild mushrooms,” advises Pouliot. This is not just for flavour, but for health and hygiene reasons too. “I always think simple is best,” she adds. “Savour the wonderful unique flavours of the mushroom. The classic way is butter and garlic and maybe one herb.” Pouliot’s final piece of advice is to always save one mushroom. “If you do eat mushrooms that you collect, always keep one specimen uneaten. Because if there is the case of misidentification, that specimen will help the doctor figure out what it is.”