New IntroductionAris Press printed Wild About Mushrooms, The Mycological Society of San Francisco Cookbook in 1987. Then, around 1991, Aris Press was sold to Addison-Wesley and the new publisher changed the title of the book to: Wild About Mushrooms, A Cookbook for Feasters and Foragers. If you are a proud owner of a copy of the book, check the title to see which edition you own. What you'll find reproduced here on MykoWeb is the first edition, published by Aris. You will find some adjustments were made for the Addison-Wesley edition. And additional changes were made to prepare for the MykoWeb site. The book has been out of print for 10 years. Since then we have received many requests to obtain the book. Mike Wood, webmaster of MykoWeb, suggested that I put the book on line, and he offered to put it into the MykoWeb website. And this makes sense. First of all, why not make the publication available for those who want but cannot find a copy of this book? Second, I find MykoWeb to be an informative and aesthetic educational mushroom website. And I am confident that Mike will present the book as authentically as in the original works. In the 1980's, when we were working on Wild About Mushrooms, we were unaware that commercial cultivators were introducing new mushrooms, such as the delicious platter-shaped Porto Bellos. Since that time, we have learned to enjoy newly recognized types of mushrooms prepared in various cuisines. I would like to update the book in the future for publication to include much that has transpired in the mushroom world over the last ten years. I have collected many new recipes using mushrooms not included in the original book, especially to complement vegetarian and low fat cooking. Since the book was written, we have acquired additional scientific information about edible mushrooms that we will also want to share with our readers. At the onset, I offered to write the book for the MSSF and to share the royalties with the Society, providing members would contribute recipes and other appropriate information. Names mentioned in the "Acknowledgments" section of the book give credit to these special people. In retrospect, two outstanding contributors ought be mentioned a second time. Fred Stevens, who generously devoted a good deal of time and expertise editing, and writing a section on cultivation; and Bill Freedman, my husband, who patiently edited my writing and sat next to me as we worked together on one of the earliest Mac computers. (I have saved that machine). He was my most appreciative food taster and an objective critic. This book would not have turned out so well without their input. Because the book was designed for home cooking, most recipes have been organized for 4 servings. Using this base makes it easy to judge the amount of ingredients needed to increase or decrease the number of servings. The copyright to Wild about Mushrooms is held by Louise Freedman. You are welcome to download part or all of the contents. The book contains over 150 recipes. You will find general information on cleaning, drying, freezing and preserving mushrooms. It offers tips and techniques specific to each type of mushroom. We hope that new readers will enjoy the book as much as those who have used it in the past. Please contact me in advance if you wish to use any portion of the book for commercial purposes. This publication is not associated with the commercial organization called "Wild About Mushrooms". |