fricassee it with any sort of meat, or in a _vol-au-vent_, the flavour of
which it greatly improves; or simply prepared with salt, pepper, and a
small piece of bacon, lard, or butter, to prevent burning, it constitutes
of itself a most excellent dish. It has the great advantage of appearing
in spring, at a season the common mushroom never occurs. I have placed
it first in the series of Plates, as being the most savoury fungus with
which I am acquainted.[156]
When eaten alone, Sterbeck’s white mustard will be found an excellent
condiment for it; this is prepared as follows:—Bruise in a mortar some
sweet almonds with a little water, then add salt, pepper, and some
lemon-juice, rub together till the whole is of the consistence of common
mustard.
AGARICUS PROCERUS, _Scop._
PLATE II.
Subgenus LEPIOTA, _Fries_.
“Elle est d’une saveur très-agréable et d’une chair tendre,
très-délicate et très-bonne à manger. Les amateurs la préfèrent
même au champignon de couche, comme ayant une chair plus fine
et étant beaucoup plus légère sur l’estomac.”—_Paulet._
This, which is one of the most delicate funguses, fortunately is not rare
in England. In Italy it is in equal request with the _Amanita Cæsarea_;
in France it is also in high esteem,—“servie sur toutes les tables, elle
est bonne à toute sauce” (_Thore_); and were its excellent qualities
better known here, they could not fail to secure it a general reception
into our best kitchens, and a frequent place among our side-dishes at
table. The beauty and remarkable appearance of this Agaric have procured
for it a variety of names: _colubrinus_, from the snake-like markings on
the stem; _clypeatus_, from its umbonated top; ‘_fungo parasole_,’ from
the orbicular form of the wide-spread pileus; and _Gambaltiem_ or _Fonz
de la gamba lunga_, from the extraordinary height of the stalk. Autumn
is the time of its greatest abundance, but individual specimens occur
occasionally throughout the summer.
It grows solitary or few together in hedgebanks and pasture-grounds.
The pileus, which is commonly from four to four and a half inches across,
sometimes attains a width of six or seven. At first it is concealed in a
volva, but breaking from this it goes through a variety of forms, from
that of an ovoid cone to that of a flattened disk. It is umbonated at
the centre, and covered with scales, which are formed by the breaking
up of the mud-coloured epidermis, and are large, raised, and persistent
at the centre; thin, regular, and lighter in hue at the circumference,
“the whole surface resembling a delightfully soft, shaggy-brown leather”
(_Purton_). The flesh of the pileus is white and cottony, that of the
stalk fibrous and somewhat brittle, with a subrubescent tinge, the
whole plant turning to a rufous-orange when bruised; the gills are of a
pale flesh-colour, occasionally forked, ventricose, denticulate, remote
from the stalk, and having a circular pit between it and their central
extremities, which are fixed into a kind of collar. The stalk tawny,
striped circularly with bands of white, formed by the breaking up of
the epidermis; is bulbous at the base and attenuated upwards; its apex
rounded, and penetrating deeply through the flesh of the pileus (which
receives it as in a socket), gives rise to the central umbo on the upper
surface of the cap. The ring moveable, like that of an umbrella-stick,
broad, compact, membranaceous immediately round the stalk, and fibrous
towards its free margin, is white above and tawny or of the same
colour as the stalk on its under surface. The smell is like that of
newly-ground meal; the taste is pleasant; the spores are white and
elliptic.
The _Ag. excoriatus_ resembles the _Ag. procerus_ very closely, but is
easily distinguished from it by its smaller size, the absence of the bulb
at the base of the stalk, and the ring being often attached instead of
free.
Being equally esculent, the following receipts will serve for both:—
“Comme il est très-léger et très-délicat, il faut le faire sauter dans
l’huile fine après l’avoir assaisonné d’un point d’ail, de poivro et de
sel; en quelques instants il est cuit. On le mange aussi en fricassée de
poulet, cuit sur le gril ou dans la tourtière avec de beurre, de fines
herbes, du poivre, du sel, et de la chapelure de pain; on ne mange point
la tige, elle est d’une texture coriace” (_Roques_).
The ketchup from both kinds is better than that procured from the
_Agaricus campestris_, or common mushroom.
N.B.—I have in the above notice described one variety of
_Agaricus procerus_; there is, however, if not another, at
least a remarkable modification of this, in which the pileus
is thinner and much less shaggy, the gills less broad but
similar in shape, the stalk more slender and elongate. This
variety is also nearly void of odour, _and its flesh does not
change colour on being bruised_: for culinary purposes this
distinction is without importance, as both are equally good.
BOLETUS EDULIS, _Bulliard_.
PLATE III. FIGS. 1 AND 2.
Section CORTINARIA, _Fries_.
“Atto sovra ognun altro fungo al commercio, forma da questo
lato, per non pochi paesi della Lombardia, una delle principali
risorsi della povera gente.”—_Vitt._
The ancient Romans were well acquainted with this truly delicious
fungus, and in general appear to have done it justice; the strings of
dried Suillus, which his countrymen, on the testimony of Pliny, were in
the habit of fetching from Bithynia, were in all likelihood the same
as those similarly-prepared strings of the modern Porcino which are
sold during the winter in every market-place throughout Italy.[157]
Vittadini mentions a curious fact respecting them, viz. that though they
are composed of many different Boletuses, no mischief was ever known
to originate from their indiscriminate and very extensive consumption;
whence he concludes that _all_ the species of this genus are innocuous,
or, at least, that drying and cooking will extract any deleterious
principles which they may have originally contained;—an inference,
he thinks, supported by the daily use among the peasantry of certain
districts of the _B. luridus_, which of all bad Boletuses commonly passes
for the worst, and by his having experimented with it in large doses upon
animals, who did not suffer in consequence. I have eaten in England a
small quantity both of _B. Grevillei_ and of _B. granulatus_, which have
much of the flavour of the _B. edulis_; of the _B. subtomentosus_(though,
on the authority of Trattinick, it is eaten in Germany) I have no
personal experience, nor do I recommend to the amateur any species beyond
the two universally eaten and approved of on the Continent, viz.:—_B.
edulis_ and _B. scaber_.
_B. edulis._—BOT. CHAR. _Pileus_ from six to seven inches across,
pulvinate, smooth, with a thick margin, varying in colour from light
brown or bronze, to bay, dark brown, or black, or a mixture of all
these colours. The epidermis firmly adherent to the flesh, that firm,
and except the part in immediate contact with the skin, which has a
slight brown tint, white; the under surface of the cap nearly flat,
often presenting a circular pit or depression round the stalk; _tubes_
at first white, then yellow, lastly of an olive or yellow-green tint, in
the earlier stage of development (their free extremities then lie against
the side of the stalk) closed; afterwards, as the cap expands, stopped
up with a waxy-looking material of a dirty pearl colour. _Stem_ varying
much in shape at different periods of the growth of the _Boletus_, always
thick and solid; at first white, but soon changing to fawn colour,
beautifully meshed or mapped (especially on its upper portion) with
reticulations characteristic of this species. As the period for casting
its seed advances, the inferior surface of the cap swells out, the waxy
matter is absorbed, the tubes present deep and rounded orifices to the
eye, and presently emit an abundant seminal dust, of an ochraceous green
hue (sometimes difficult to collect, from the quantity of moisture
exhaled with it), after which both cap and stalk become flaccid, the
tubes turn to a dirty green, and the whole fungus falls rapidly into
a state of decomposition. The favourite sites for this _Boletus_ are
woods, especially those of pines, oaks, and chestnuts; it abounds in
autumn, but occurs in spring and occasionally in summer. There is one
variety, the _pinicola_, whose name gives its whereabouts, which differs
from the foregoing, in having a moist, somewhat sticky cap, a watery
flesh changing near the tubes to a light yellow-green when bruised; the
reticulations are ill-marked in this species.
The _Boletus edulis_ cannot be mistaken for any other _Boletus_ because
it alone presents all the following characters united, viz. a cap of
which the surface is smooth; tubes the colour of which varies with each
period of its growth, beautiful and singular reticulations of the stalk,
especially towards the upper portion, and a flesh which is white and
unchanging.
The _Boletus castaneus_, which bears, some little general resemblance
to it, is at once distinguished by having a cottony fibrillose stem
without reticulations, a downy cap and dirty yellow dust: neither can it
be confounded with the _B. subtomentosus_ nor _B. luridus_, because in
addition to many other points of difference, both these change colour on
being cut or bruised.
As to the best manner of cooking _B. edulis_, this must be left to the
taste of the gourmet; in every way it is good. Its tender and juicy
flesh, its delicate and sapid flavour, render it equally acceptable to
the plain and to the accomplished cook. It imparts a relish alike to the
homely hash and the dainty ragout, and may be truly said to improve every
dish of which it is a constituent. “Nihil tetigit quod non ornavit.”
“Though much neglected in this country, it appears to be a most valuable
article of food. It resembles much in taste the common mushroom, and is
quite as delicate; it abounds in seasons when these are not to be found.”
(_Berkeley._)
_Modes of Cooking Boletus edulis._ (PERSOON.)
It may be cooked in white sauce, with or without chicken, in fricassee
broiled or baked with butter, salad oil, pepper, salt, chopped herbs,
and bread-crumbs; to which some add ham or a mince of anchovy. It makes
excellent fritters: some roast it with onions (basting with butter), but
as these take longer to cook than the _Boletus_, this must not be put
down till the onions have begun to soften.
_Boletus edulis Soup, made in Hungary._ (PAULET.)
Having dried some _Boletuses_ in an oven, soak them in tepid water,
thickening with toasted bread, till the whole be of the consistence of a
_purée_, then rub through a sieve, throw in some stewed _Boletuses_, boil
together, and serve with the usual condiments.
AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS.
Section PRATELLA. Subdivision PSALIOTA, _Fries_.
AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS, _Linn_.
“Où croît ce champignon, délice des festins,
Que l’art fait chaque jour naître dans nos jardins.”—_Castel._
There is scarcely any one in England who does not feel himself competent
to decide on the genuineness of a mushroom: its pink gills are carefully
separated from those of a kindred fungus _Ag. Georgii_, which are of a
flesh-coloured grey, and out of the pickings of ten thousand hands, a
mistake is of rare occurrence; and yet no fungus presents itself under
such a variety of forms, of such singular diversities of aspect! the
inference is plain; less discrimination than that employed to distinguish
this, would enable any who should take the trouble, to recognize at a
glance many of those esculent species, which every spring and autumn fill
our plantations and pastures with plenteousness. Neither is this left to
be a mere matter of inference; it is corroborated in a singular manner
by what takes place at Rome; here, whilst many hundred baskets of what
we call toadstools are carried home for the table, almost the only one
condemned to be thrown into the Tiber, by the inspector of the fungus
market is our own mushroom:[158] indeed, in such dread is this held in
the Papal States, that no one knowingly would touch it. “It is reckoned
one of their fiercest imprecations,” writes Professor Sanguinetti,
“amongst our lower orders, infamous for the horrible nature of their
oaths, to pray that any one may die of a _Pratiolo_;” and although it has
been some years registered among the esculent funguses of Milan and Pavia
(on the authority of Vittadini), it has not yet found its way into those
markets. Besides the general botanical characters which apply to all
varieties of _Ag. campestris_, almost every writer has felt the necessity
of pointing out several peculiarities, belonging to each. Common to all
are a fleshy pileus, which is sometimes smooth, sometimes scaly, in
colour white, or of different shades of tawny, fuliginous, or brown;
gills free, at first pallid, then flesh-coloured, then pink, next purple,
at length tawny-black; the stem white, full, firm, varying in shape,
furnished with a white persistent ring; the spores brown-black, and a
volva which is very fugacious.
_Var._ A. _edulis_.
This, which is our button mushroom, lies at first concealed in the
earth, at which period it presents the appearance of a puff-ball; at a
second stage of its growth, it exhibits a white, smooth, and continuous
epidermis; gills rounded off at their posterior end; a large, somewhat
funnel-shaped, _double_ ring, free, and somewhat moveable on the stem,
which is short and thick. This, according to Vittadini, is the most sapid
variety of any.
_Var._ B. _pratensis_.
This differs from the last in the duskier hue of its pileus, which is
moreover scaly, and has ragged margins; the gills are ventricose; and
the ring, which is subfugacious, is cortinarious, _i. e._ of a cobweb
texture, and reflexed; the stalk is longer than in the last species,
and tapers towards the base; the colour of the flesh in this variety is
vinous or even sanguine.
_Var._ C. _silvicola_.
This differs from the two former in the following particulars; the
gills are _pallid_, taper _equally_ at both ends, and come off at a
considerable distance from the stalk, which is surrounded above by a very
delicate ring, and is _bulbous_ at the base, the bulb showing traces of
the volva.[159]
_Var._ D. _anceps_.
Such _uncultivated_ mushrooms as when eaten even in small quantity,
produce violent derangement of the stomach and intestinal canal, belong
to a variety which, since it grows under hedges, is sometimes called “the
hedge mushroom;” this, to which, for distinction’s sake, I have given
the name of _anceps_, is by no means of rare occurrence. In order to
discriminate it properly from the wholesome varieties, the first point to
notice is its extreme lightness as compared with its bulk, that the gills
are of a deeper and of a more lurid red than those of _var. edulis_,
and in age less purple; they are also less deliquescent. The flesh is
more tough and not so juicy. The stem, as in the _var. silvicola_, is
curved and bulbous, but also fistulose throughout. The ring complete,
firm, broad, reflexed, and _persistent_; the odour disagreeable, and the
taste insipid. The form of the pileus that of an obtuse cone in young
specimens; extremely flat in the middle state; and more or less concave
in age. It seldom grows solitary. The mushroom proper, like other
funguses, should be eaten fresh; a few hours making all the difference
between its wholesomeness or unwholesomeness: nor need this surprise
us when we consider how many principles enter into its composition,
how short is the period of its existence, and how liable it must be
to enter into new combinations in consequence. Vauquelin found in its
flesh fat, adipocere, osmazome, an animal matter insoluble in alcohol,
sugar, fungine, and acetate of potash. What a medley! and what wonder, if
the changes induced during decomposition should cause the indigestions
suffered by those who have eaten them in this state! The mushroom, having
the same proximate principles as meat, requires, like meat, to be cooked
before these become changed. The _Ag. campestris_ may be prepared in a
great variety of ways: they give a fine flavour to soups, and greatly
improve beef-tea;—where arrow-root and weak broths are distasteful to the
patient, the simple seasoning of a little ketchup will frequently form an
agreeable change. Some roast them, basting with melted butter and white
(French) wine sauce.[160] In patties and _vols-au-vent_ they are equally
excellent; in fricassees, as everybody knows, they are the important
element of the dish. Roques recommends in all cases the removal of the
gills before dressing, which though it secures a more elegant-looking
_entremet_, is only flattering the eye at the expense of the palate.
_Var._ E. _bovinus_.
This variety differs from the _Ag. Georgii_ and the type of the species
in size and other particulars. There are specimens which measure fifteen
inches across the pileus, with a stalk of corresponding dimensions.
The pileus is shaggy, like that of the _Ag. procerus_, with epidermic
scales, which are at first nearly white, but in fully developed
specimens, of a rich tawny colour, like the _Polyporus squamosus_;
and sometimes of a red-brown. The scales more depressed than in _Ag.
procerus_, the gills not ventricose, equal at both ends, separated from
the stalk by a fossa or groove which runs round its apex; the stalk
solid, attenuated at the very base, but thickened just above it, a
slightly vinous hue when bruised; flesh of ring perfect, persistent, and
hanging round the stalk like a sheet of thin white kid; into which a
number of delicate silver threads may be traced proceeding from the apex
of stem. The smell is powerful but agreeable, as also is the flavour; no
part of the surface ever turns yellow. This variety is both wholesome and
well-flavoured; as it is commonly known by the peasants under the name of
the “Ox-Mushroom,” I have called it _bovinus_.
_Receipt I.—“A la Provençale._”
Steep for two hours in oil, with some salt, pepper, and a little garlic:
then toss up in a small stewpan over a brisk fire, with parsley chopped
and a little lemon-juice.
_Receipt II.—To stuff Mushrooms._
Take large mushrooms, full-grown, but not black; remove the gills, and
place in lieu of them the following stuffing:—bacon shredded, crumbs
of bread, chopped herbs, and a little garlic or eschalots (as for
omelettes), salt, pepper, and a taste of spice. Broil in paper as a
Maintenon cutlet, moistening with butter when necessary.
_Receipt III.—Mushrooms “à la Marquis Cussi._”
Take button mushrooms; put to them a very small quantity of garlic,
finely chopped; toss up over a brisk fire with a little butter; add
some lemon-juice; give them a few turns; then add salt, pepper, nutmeg,
and a wine-glassful of the richest brown gravy (Grande Espagnole); when
the mushrooms are warmed through in this, add a couple of glasses of
Sauterne, simmer for ten minutes, and serve.
A homely mode of cooking _Ag. campestris_ in Bucks. is to cut up the
buttons with pieces of bacon the size of dice, and then to boil them in a
dumpling.
_Method of Cultivating._
The following method of cultivating mushrooms is given in Paxton’s
‘Botanical Dictionary:’—
“Collect a sufficient quantity of fresh horse-droppings, as free from
straw as possible; lay it in an open shed in a heap or ridge; here it
will heat violently, and in consequence should be now and then turned
for sweetening; after this has subsided to moderation, it will be in a
fit state for forming into a bed. In the process of making the bed, the
dung should be put on in small quantities and beat firmly and equally
together, until it is the required size; in this state let it remain
until the highest degree of heat to which it is capable of coming is
ascertained, which may be readily done by inserting a heat-stick, and
pressing it with the hand; if not found violent, the spawn may be broken
up into pieces of two or three inches square, and put into holes about
three inches in depth by six inches asunder, over its surface; after
this, throw a very small quantity of well-broken droppings over the
whole. In this state let it remain for two or three weeks, when a loamy
soil may be put on about an inch or an inch and a half thick, and gently
patted with the spade. If the temperature of the house be kept about
sixty or sixty-five degrees, mushrooms may be expected in six weeks.
It is not well to water the beds much, particularly when bearing; it is
much better to throw a little water over the path and flues, which will
both improve the colour and the flavour of the mushrooms, without being
attended with those bad effects frequently resulting from watering, viz.
that of destroying the young stock, and turning browner those already fit
for table.”—_Paxton’s Bot. Dict._
With regard to the spawn, it may be collected as recommended in the
French work cited by M. Roques, and kept in a dry place till wanted;
or by digging about the roots of growing mushrooms, and carrying away
the earth which contains it. The _débris_ of a former mushroom-bed will
always furnish spawn for a new.
AGARICUS EXQUISITUS, _nob._
PLATE IV., FIGS. 3, 4, AND 5.
Section PSALIOTA, _Fries_. Subdivision PRATELLA, _ibid._
AGARICUS GEORGII, _Withering_.
“L’Agarico esquisito è un fungo sano, oltremodo delicato e di
facilissima digestione.”—_Vitt._
“Its flavour is far inferior to that of the common
mushroom.”—_Berkeley._
This fungus, called also the Horse Mushroom, from the enormous
dimensions[161] to which it sometimes attains, is for the most part
shunned by the English epicure; it is also this species from which
many persons report themselves to have suffered indigestion attended
with violent colicky pains, when they have eaten it by mistake for the
_Ag. campestris_. It is sold, under the name of White Caps, for making
ketchup; but, notwithstanding its foreign name and reputation, most
persons will agree with Mr. Berkeley, in holding both its flesh and its
juices as greatly inferior to those of the _Ag. campestris_. Our other
name for it, that of St. George’s Agaric, can have no reference to the
time of its appearance, as it is seldom met with in England till after
that saint’s day; it has, moreover, the same name in Hungary, where the
inhabitants look upon it as a special gift from Saint George.
Its botanical characters are the following:—
_Pileus_ at first conico-campanulate, covered with floccose shreds,
which are very fugacious; when fully expanded, minutely squamulose, of
a beautiful white, shining and smooth; turning yellow when bruised,
and sometimes exuding a yellow juice (Sibthorpe). _Gills_ numerous,
broad, attenuated both ways, but most so behind, free, of a pallid
hue (grey flesh-colour), during the growth of the fungus; later,
clouded brown-black; the imperfect gills obtuse behind. _Stem_ long,
subcylindrical, slightly thickened at the base, white without, stuffed
within. _Ring_ tumid and reflected over the stalk. _Flesh_ of both pileus
and stalk compact, fibrous, and fragile. Flavour and smell strong, and,
according to Vittadini, agreeable, but according to English perception
generally the reverse. Persoon pronounces this fungus to be _superior_
to the common mushroom in smell, taste, and digestibility, on which
accounts, he says, it is generally preferred in France. It is to be
cooked in the same way as that, and, if eaten in moderation, will seldom
be found to incommode the stomach or offend the palate.
_Locality._—Pastures, amidst thickets, under trees, generally in large
rings, reproducing itself every year in the same situations.
AGARICUS DELICIOSUS.
PLATE V., FIG. 4.
_Orange Milk Agaric._
Subgenus GALORRHEUS.
_Bot. Char._ Gregarious. _Pileus_ from three to four inches across;
colour dull orange-rufous, frequently zoned with concentric circles of a
brighter hue, fleshy, firm, full of red orange milk, which turns green on
exposure to the air (as does the whole plant when bruised); the margin at
first involute and downy, then expanded, afterwards depressed. _Gills_
decurrent, forked at the base, always of the same colour as the pileus,
rather distant, substantial. _Stem_ from two to three inches high,
slightly bent, stuffed in part, scrobiculate (_i. e._ marked with little
superficial pits); at the base strigose (_i. e._ covered with short
pointed hairs).