Some weeks ago, we went to the Puget Sound Mycological Society's annual mushroom show. There were hundreds of specimens, all neatly categorized by spore type and species, which were collected with an 150-mile radius of Seattle.
There was a table to touch and smell some of the more interesting types, including one that had a strong potato scent and another that was reminiscent of almonds, vanilla and maraschino cherries. There was also one that is so strongly scented of caramel and maple that is used to flavor desserts.
These are edible mushrooms that are quite flavorful when young but as they age turn into a black goo--earning them the name inky caps. This goo can be used as paint or ink.
I expressed interest in this phenomenon and was given a box of leftovers from the cooking demonstration to take home. They are now nicely deliquesed and sitting in the fridge waiting to be played with.
This photo doesn't do justice to the exquisite range of color in the interior of the cap and stem--from delicate pink to greying purple to chocolately brown to charcoal.
Update:
Well, I waited too long to deal with the mushrooms. They became a horrible, stinky goo which did not thicken properly when heated and were useless. Out to the compost pile!
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