4 Best Books on Mushroom Foraging

Mushrooms are not too demanding when it comes to growing conditions, and there are thousands of different mushroom species out there. Meaning, it’s not too difficult to find mushrooms in the wilderness, but it’s difficult to know which mushrooms are edible. Knowing this information can come in handy in multiple scenarios. Who knows, maybe you will find yourself in the wilderness foraging for food, or you might want to know what some delicious mushrooms look like in order to prepare a better meal. So, let’s see some of the best books that you can use to gather edible mushrooms. 

Mushrooms: A Comprehensive Guide to Mushroom Identification

This is a guide written by Roger Phillips and it basically serves as an encyclopedia for fungi identification. The images that are featured in this book are amazing and you will learn a lot simply by looking at them. It’s not a book for beginners though, as it seems to be aimed at intermediate or advanced mushroom foragers. The style is academic and there is a lot of technical data included. 

Edible Mushrooms: A Forager’s Guide to the Wild Fungi of Britain and Europe

This guide is a better fit for someone who is looking to become a mushroom forager. It is written by Geoff Dann and it is a big book with over 500 pages, filled with useful information on different fungi. You will learn how to identify them based on appearance, smell, taste, and the places they grow. You will also learn about the type of equipment that you will need to get started, but as the title suggests it only covers specifics that can be found in Europe. 

Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms and Toadstools

This is a pocket guide, so it will be more convenient for you to carry it around. It is written by Paul Sterry and Barry Hughes, and it focuses on fungi you can find in Ireland and the UK. It’s a perfect fit for both intermediary mycologists and casual or amateur mushroom lovers. So, if you are looking for a neat and useful field guide you cannot go wrong with this one, so long as you are in the UK.  

Complete Mushroom Book, The Quiet Hunt

An ideal pick for those who are foraging because they love to cook. This guide is written by Antonio Carluccio and the first part of the book contains illustrations and explanations on how to identify mushrooms in the field. The second part of the book contains recipes or cookery ideas that can inspire you to create lots of different meals, using the mushrooms that you can find. You can see just how passionate the author is when it comes to mushrooms, and you will likely be inspired to become a forager yourself. 

These were some of our top suggestions for books on mushroom foraging. Hopefully, you found these descriptions useful, and we helped you decide which book to get. 

Online Gyms: Are They Here To Stay?

For years, people have sought different ways to stay active and add some physical activity to their daily schedule. And for decades one of the easiest and most popular ways to do that was by going to the gym. Nowadays, almost every city had dozens of gyms, that target different types of people. Some gyms will offer workouts that can help you build muscle, others will help you lose weight. And there are those that can do both. However, with the new age of the Internet, gym-goers were given another option that made working out way more accessible. Of course, we are talking about online gyms. 

Unlike regular gyms, the new online version turned out to be very time-saving and accessible for millions of people around the world, especially during the time when so many of us were home-bound. However, this has raised the question, if online gyms are just a current trend or are they here to stay? 

They Are Time-Saving

One of the reasons that we can think that online gyms will continue existing for years to come, is because people don’t have to waste time travelling back and forth whenever they want to work out. All they need is their PC or mobile phone to access online classes and start exercising. Moreover, right after they are done, they don’t need to change clothes so that they could get home. Therefore, plenty of time can be saved if you choose an online gym which can be crucial for some people when deciding on a new physical activity.

Ideal For People Who Want To Work Out In Peace And Quiet

Some people take the time that they spend at the gym very seriously. But gyms can be loaded with many people who constantly buzz around, take mirror-selfies, or take too long to finish their turn with a piece of gym equipment that you need. However, these types of problems can’t be experienced if you are working out from the comfort of your home. You are the one who is in control of everything that happens within your home and there will be no one to bother you during your workout session.

They Can Require At-Home Equipment 

On the other hand, there are some bad sides to online gyms. Even though almost anyone can get a laptop or a smartphone to access the online gym class, not all gym enthusiasts can have all the gym equipment that they need at home.

Some people can find that getting all the necessary gym equipment isn’t very budget-friendly. Others will experience a lack of space. In any case, this can present an issue for the future of online gyms. 

Of course, there are some online gyms that offer workout sessions that require very little equipment. But, serious gym-goers will need this equipment so they can achieve their fitness goals. 

Additionally, many people think that online gyms are yet to take their true form. It seems that in the future we might even witness the birth of VR gyms. But, it’s yet to be seen how the gym industry will solve the issue of the needed at-home equipment. In any case, they will need to find a new solution to keep the future gym goes interested in the concept of online gyms.