Mushrooms can have a variety of flavours. I bought one at a farmer's market in Oregon several years ago that smelled like fried fish, and tasted a bit like it too. It was only cooked over a grill with some olive oil. It was a "found" mushroom too, the guy before me was chatting with the seller about training truffle-finding dogs.

My favourite hot-and-sour soup is filled with a variety of funguses (well 2 or 3). Though these are not "found" mushrooms, they are different from the "common table mushrooms" that I believe you're talking about.

edit: This is the one that I bought at the farmer's market: http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Abalone_Mushrooms_32...

Foraging for wild mushrooms is part of the ancient and rich culinary tradition of many European countries, where poisoning rates among those brought up in the tradition are very low. Yes reliably identifying a range of edible wild species takes knowledge and experience, but it's rewarding (in terms of both ecological and culinary appreciation), and it's only a little bit more challenging than learning to ID wild berries, for example. If you don't appreciate those rewards personally, there is no need to denigrate those who do.

For me, the flavors and textures are so varied, each suited to a different range of classic dishes, that saying common table mushrooms should suffice is the position of a philistine. I mean, bananas are tasty and plentiful, why bother with mango and papaya and passionfruit...

Yes, that is the normal advice for California too.

Usually it's immigrants who die from death caps due to mistaken identity. The article is shocking to me because it involves a non-immigrant picking and eating mushrooms without expert knowledge: that's suicidal behavior.

I picked and ate mushrooms as a kid frequently. I had some books and very quickly learned to identify the poisonous and edible kinds. It wasn't that hard and I never got sick. But I was careful and did research first and if there was any doubt I left the mushroom alone. I personally loved picking mushrooms... it was a lot of fun. I don't see it as dumb or risky at all as long as you know what you are doing.

Have you tasted Morels?

I have and had the same reaction as GP. They tasted pretty much like any regular store-bought mushroom.

You need to use dairy and not olive oil with them, for what it's worth. Unless you sautée them with butter and salt you're not going to bring out the flavor.