Tuesday, October 09, 2007

toadstool

I was thinking as I cooked dinner last night, who first thought of eating a mushroom? I imagine it had to be someone wandering around in the woods, really hungry, kind of risky when you consider most of them can be poisonous. And when did it become an ingredient? I bet it was the French. Though, people must have been eating them long before.

However I realize as I type this that the internet is a wonderful tool, and at my fingertips. Hmmm... much of what I'm finding concerns "magic" mushrooms. Actually, it seems they've been around for centuries. Wow, supposedly Buddha died from eating a toxic mushroom. About.com says they were first cultivated by the French in the 18th century.

This site has the best history of the mushroom.

Mushrooms were gathered and eaten from the time of early man, yet it wasn't until the 18th century that the details of their cultivation were fully understood. Because mushrooms in the garden often appear to pop up overnight, even the ancient scholar Dioscorides thought them capable of spontaneous generation, a belief that held fast throughout medieval times.

Lots of cool facts about all the myths and beliefs surrounding them too; no surprise given how some cause you to hallucinate, and others will kill you.

God this is a boring post.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're crazy - go back to work or something.

hello jamie: said...

I found it interesting.

In related thoughts, I always wondered who was the first person to think to eat an EGG. Hey look! something just fell out of that chicken's lady parts!! Let's eat it!!!

I mean, I guess they probably saw other animals eating eggs but still... weird.

I like mushrooms- AND eggs, so whatever. But interesting.

Anonymous said...

I still wonder about the first French trapper who, in 1850's Louisiana was so hungry he decided to try and eat a nutria.

"Hmmmm...looks like ze great big rat...perhaps I shall bake it, yes?"

Anonymous said...

See what the burbs has done to you. Pidgeons and squirrels are more interesting.

Post something new.

Gina said...

I actually ran over a squirrel yesterday. I was just going to post about all the ladybugs swarming all over my house but that is on par with the mushrooms and pigeons I fear.