Mushrooms, toadstools, fungus. They may look alike but for anyone who is an amateur, you should refrain from picking them in the woods. Many fragrant tasty species grow wild and add a pungent flavor to soups, stews and casseroles. White button mushrooms are grown domestically, offer less flavor as well as can be found in the produce section of your local food store. But they are not veggies. They reside within the fungus family. While certain species may be cultivated commercially, others grow only within the wild. Although fat-free and low- calorie, mushrooms do offer some nutritional value and add flavor and volume to many dishes.

Although you love their culinary value, don't run out after the next rainfall and pluck those little toadstools sprouting on the lawn for your morning omelet. Many are highly poisonous, and it takes knowledgeable pickers to differentiate. The greater popular types around the globe are shitake, morel, oyster, chanterelle and cremini, which are flavorful, more costly and of course favored over the white variety by discriminating chefs. (Frenchmen would not dream of using our bourgeois white button variety.) Many species require cooking and should never be eaten raw, such as the morel. Tasty large portobello make an ideal meat replacement and also a popular choice among vegetarians. The prized ruffle tops the list in its native France, and other countries pay through the nose to import them. (Those French. Nothing though the best for their discriminating palettes.)

While mushrooms Canada presumably date back to the cavemen, the earliest documented usage goes back to ancient China, where mushrooms were consumed for medicinal as well as culinary purposes. (Long before explorer Marco Polo trekked over to China.) Always together with the latest food discoveries, Romans enjoyed them as a food, but since all mushrooms are not edible, those inventive emperors employed food tasters to determine that might be poisonous. (Certainly not an enviable job. You never knew which meal may very well be your last.) Throughout history, mushrooms are already dried and then eaten all winter, which placed them highly sought after.

Asians in particular value mushrooms as a medicine, like the reishi, maitake and turkey tail, and they ingest them frequently for health issues, either cooked or as a tea. With over 65% of the world's production, China tops the list, followed by Italy and Poland. At 5%, the u.s. is no slouch, cranking out 390,000 tons over a year. (That's a great deal of soup.)

Among many ethnic cultures, mushrooming or foraging is a popular pastime. Not only can you find some tasty varieties, but you get fresh air and exercise at the exact same time. Just make certain you recognize the ones to pick and the ones to pass up. (And if you're in wooded areas, ensure you also recognize poison ivy whenever you see it.) Charming drawings and stories throughout history depict fairies and other small creatures sitting under or on top of toadstools, hence the name's origin. Were they edible or just furniture? Nobody knows for sure. Probably both.