Part 57

Although the rise of pressure is not so great from transfusion as from suprarenal extract in large doses, it is more _permanent_. Transfusion (or transfusion into the subcutaneous tissues by hypodermoclysis which amounts to the same thing) has the additional advantage of increasing the flow of urine, which is often suppressed in these cases. Even if it does no good it can do no harm if done antiseptically and should be tried but _always in conjunction with other remedies_.

A remarkable case of recovery after the injection of a large amount of normal saline solution has been reported by Delobel (Presse medicale September 30, 1899). A man aged fifty-two ate some A. phalloides; he was seen four hours afterward. The skin was covered with cold, clammy sweat; body temperature was sub-normal; shivering and tremors present; had not vomited or purged; urine suppressed; respiration stertorous; pulse 28 per minute and so feeble that it was almost imperceptible. Two full doses of atropine were given hypodermatically as well as 10 cc. of ether and 200 cc. of strong coffee with 20 cc. of rum were given by the mouth and hot bottles applied externally. In spite of all this the symptoms became worse and the patient sank into a condition of profound collapse, the pulse dropping to 24 per minute and the tremors ceased. One liter (1 quart) of normal saline solution was injected hypodermatically and improvement began in 15 minutes after the injection. The respiration lost the Cheyne-Stokes character; the pulse improved in tension and in an hour was 60 per minute; the skin improved and the temperature returned to normal and the patient went to work next day.

The circulatory symptoms are most prominent and demand most attention. Vomiting and purging have to be treated according to the conditions in the individual case and no rule can be followed. As the peripheral vessels are dilated the body temperature is usually subnormal. This should be overcome by applying hot bottles externally.

The suppression of urine should receive attention, and the activity of the kidneys be stimulated as much as possible. It is probable the suppression is largely due to the tremendous fall of blood pressure. If the urine is secreted but retained in the bladder it should be drawn off.

Just as there is no simple way of detecting the presence of poisonous mushrooms in a mixture of mushrooms, so there is no simple way of destroying or removing the poisons. Pouchet stated that boiling destroyed the poison and Chestnut has stated the poison of A. phalloides is a toxic albumen. If this were the case boiling would destroy it. In our experiments, however, boiling has not diminished the toxicity at all and it can be definitely stated that the poison is _not_ an albumen.

There is also a popular impression that vinegar will remove the poison and numerous observers claim to have removed the poison of A. muscaria completely by soaking the fungus in vinegar. We have not had the opportunity of trying this with fresh A. muscaria, but in one experiment in which the A. verna was soaked over night in vinegar it failed to get rid of the poison—any more than would have dissolved in that amount of water.

Toadstool poisoning differs from most poisonings in the long time elapsing before death in fatal cases. The only inorganic poisons causing death after such a long interval produce profound tissue changes. Husemann believed death from poisonous mushrooms to be due to fatty degeneration of the various organs. We have examined microscopically the tissue of dogs and cats dying from the _late_ effects of the A. muscaria and A. phalloides and found them to be perfectly normal.

Mr. V.K. Chestnut, in a bulletin published by the United States Department of Agriculture (Circular No. 13, p. 23), states that death from the A. phalloides is due to a destruction of the red-blood corpuscles. Upon what authority this assertion is made is not stated. The conclusion has probably been based upon the venosity of the blood in cases of poisoning resulting from the disturbance of the respiration and circulation. The blood corpuscles of animals poisoned by all three of the Amanitæ studied have been counted repeatedly in our experiments and in _none of them has there been any appreciable reduction_.

It can be positively stated that death is not due to a destruction of the red blood cells.

Further, the coloring matter of the blood (hæmoglobin), which carries oxygen to the tissues, has been examined with the spectroscope to see if any new compound had been formed which would prevent it from carrying oxygen. No such compound has been found—no alteration could be detected in the hæmoglobin. It is quite evident that these toadstools do not kill by their action on the blood, for in a number of experiments the blood was examined a very short time before death.

Thinking that they might act upon the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord very much as certain toxins of infectious diseases do, those structures were examined by special staining methods (silver impregnation), but no greater variation than is normal could be detected in any of those examined.

No statement can be made as to the cause of this late death, but it would appear to be due to some disturbance of nutrition.

Late death occurs not only in animals, but in most of the cases of poisoning in man recorded in medical literature.

The contrast between the early and late symptoms is not so great in poisoning by A. phalloides and A. verna as in the case of poisoning by A. muscaria. In the first two the serious symptoms appear early and continue till the end; in the last the early effects of the muscarine soon passes off or can be removed by atropine, but the late symptoms, strikingly in contrast with the early ones, still appear, and continue till death.

RECIPES FOR COOKING AND PREPARING FOR THE TABLE

Preparing toadstools for the table should begin while collecting them. Have a soft brush, a knife, half a dozen one or two-pound paper bags and an open-topped, roomy, shallow basket. [Sidenote: Collecting. Cleansing.]As edible species are found, cut them loose well above their attachment. Keep the spore surface down until the top is brushed clean and every particle of dirt removed from the stem. This prevents dirt from getting upon the spore surface, from which it is very hard to dislodge. Never clean a toadstool over other toadstools. If the stem is hard, tough or wormy, remove it.

Having cleaned the plant, place it in one of the paper bags, spore surface down. Write its name on the bag. Place but one kind in the same bag, unless species of about the same texture and flavor are found and mixing is not objectionable. Where another species is found, give it a bag to itself.

Select fresh, inviting plants only. Do all possible cleaning in the field. [Sidenote: Selection]Plants keep clean, pack better, and more of them can be carried. A careless jumble is gritty, bruised and disappointing.

If not ready to cook the find, place the bags in the ice chest. It is best to cook fungi as soon as possible. Cooked, they can be kept much longer than when uncooked.

When ready to cook, wash the plants by throwing them into a deep pan of water. [Sidenote: Washing.]Pass the fingers quietly through them upward; let stand a moment for the dirt to settle, then gather them from the water with the fingers as a drain. Remove any scurf or adhering dirt with a coarse flannel or a cloth. Wash in this way through two or three waters. Lay to drain. By experience in draining, exactly the amount of water necessary to cook a particular species can be allowed to remain within its spore surface, if it is a gilled species. To other kinds, water must usually be added.

The removal of the skin of any toadstool is seldom justifiable. As with the apple and most fruits, the largest amount of flavor is in the skin.

By the consistency of the species in hand, decide upon the best method of cooking it and the time and medium required. If it is thin, juicy, tender, from five to ten minutes' slow stewing will be ample; if it is thick, dry, tough, from thirty to forty minutes will be required. After any species is cooked tender, it may be seasoned to one’s liking and served as one chooses.

Many species, which absolutely refuse to become tender after prolonged stewing, quickly succumb in the frying pan and make crisp, delicate morsels. Edible kinds which dry well, or are hard when found, often grate or powder easily, and are excellent (after soaking) made into soups, fritters or pâtés.

Hundreds upon hundreds of recipes for cooking the common mushroom and the few other fungi heretofore eaten, are at hand. The simpler methods—those which retain the natural flavor of the species cooked—are the best.

When a species has good body, and but little flavor, it may be made delicious by cooking with it another species of higher flavor.

The most concise instruction is: Cook in any way you can cook an oyster.

The writer’s best and long-tried recipes are here given. Mrs. Sarah Tyson Rorer has kindly contributed some of her own choice methods; Mrs. Emma P. Ewing, of culinary celebrity, is represented; and that every recipe needed may be found herein, the most sensible of English and French recipes are given.

TO COOK MUSHROOMS.

Gather mushrooms whenever they can be found. That is the best time of the day to collect them. The gills grow darker and the flavor improves as the spores ripen. They are in good condition up to the time the gills begin to grow moist and to soften.

Cut off the extreme butt of the stem, holding the gills downward. Rub off the cap and stem with a rough towel or flannel. Do not peel. Wash in cold water. Drain well, gills downward.

The English method is to scald them, but there is more of custom than use in it.

Mushrooms may be preserved temporarily by boiling them in salt and water for five minutes, draining and wiping dry. A better way is to cook them, place in ice-chest, and reheat when wanted.

_McIlvaine._

TO BROIL.—Use well-spread caps only. Use double iron broiler. Place the caps on it, gills down, and broil two minutes, turn and broil two minutes more. While hot, season with salt and pepper, and butter well, especially upon the gill side. Serve upon toast.

_Mrs. S.T. Rorer._

BAKED MUSHROOMS ON TOAST.

Bake under a glass or basin, on toast along with scalded or clotted cream or a little melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste. They take about a quarter of an hour in a gentle oven or before a fire; when they are taken up, do not remove glass for a few minutes; by that time the vapor will have condensed and gone into the toast.

_Stevens._

CRUSTS OF MUSHROOMS.

Cut into small, even-sized squares a pint of the selected toadstool; stew in a little water until done; add two ounces butter and one teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of pepper. Wet a teaspoonful of flour with two gills of cream and mix with the beaten yolks of two eggs. Add, and mix well with the toadstool.

Cut the upper crust from some small French rolls. Scoop out the inside of both upper and lower part, brush them with melted butter and brown in the oven; fill them, put on the top. Serve.

Or, when cooked as directed, serve in paper cases, or pastry shells.

TO DRY MUSHROOMS. (English method.)

Take those neither very young nor very old. Remove the butts only. Then slice, string or skewer the slices lightly, and expose to a current of warm dry air. A warm oven, with the door open, is a good place. When quite dry and shrivelled, pack in tins, with spice at top and bottom. When wanted for use, soak the slices in tepid water for some hours. Then cook.

_Hay._

STEWED MUSHROOMS ON TOAST.

Cut the mushrooms—caps and stems—into pieces of equal size. Place in a covered saucepan. To each pint add one ounce (two level tablespoonfuls) of butter. Enough water will have been retained by the gills after washing to make sufficient liquor. Stew slowly twenty minutes; season to taste with pepper and salt. Place upon toast.

_McIlvaine._

TO FRY MUSHROOMS.

Lay them in a frying pan in which butter has been heated boiling hot. After frying five minutes serve on a hot dish—pouring over them the sauce made by thickening the butter with a little flour. This is as delicious as more elaborate ways of cooking and retains the mushroom’s distinctive flavor in full perfection.

FRICASSE OF MUSHROOMS.

Wash, put them into a chafing dish, sprinkle over a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a teaspoonful of black pepper, cover and cook slowly for five minutes. Moisten a tablespoonful of flour in a gill of milk, strain this into the mushrooms, bring to boiling point, add the yolks of two eggs slightly beaten, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and serve at once.

_Mrs. S.T. Rorer._

MUSHROOM PICKLES.

One-half peck of either Agaricus campester, Lepiota procera, Hypholoma fascicularis, Hypholoma perplexum, Clitocybe multiceps, Russula virescens. Select sound specimens, cut off ends of stems (entire stem of fascicularis or procerus), rub the tops with flannel dipped in salt. Throw them into milk and water (one-fourth milk). Drain and put them into a stew pan. Sprinkle the layers with salt—one-half gill to one-half peck mushrooms. Cover them close and put them over a gentle fire for five minutes to draw out the water. Then put them on a coarse cloth and drain until cold (or put on mosquito netting in a colander).

To prepare a pickle for them: Take one-half gallon vinegar (if strong dilute with water), two ounces mace, one-fourth ounce cloves, one-half pound salt (Worcester), one teaspoonful red pepper, one nutmeg cut in slices.

Put in a jar covered with a wet cloth and keep the cloth wet. Place over a very slow fire, cook as long as the acid is prominent _and no longer_.

Take small wide-mouthed bottles, fill with the mushrooms, pour on the pickle until the bottle is filled. Tie down tight. (To slice a nutmeg, boil it in vinegar—slice while hot. Makes of salt vary in strength; the “Worcester” is a strong salt.)

N.B.—When H. fascicularis is used, wipe the tops with a wet cloth.

_McIlvaine._

TO PICKLE MUSHROOMS. (English style.)

Take buttons and remove butts only. Put into jars and cover with cold, spiced pickling vinegar. Add a few peppercorns and mustard seeds and seal hermetically.

_Hay._

MUSHROOM CATCHUP.

Take the opened toadstools, clean carefully, bruise them. Put a layer on the bottom of an earthen pan, strew salt over them (two tablespoonfuls to one-fourth peck), another layer, more salt and so on. One-half ounce cloves, one-half ounce mace, one-half ounce allspice, one-half ounce whole pepper. Let stand six days. Stir every day. Then put in gentle oven, cover pan with wet cloth, keep wet, and heat for four hours. Strain through a fine cloth or sieve. To every gallon of liquor add one quart red wine. Salt to taste. Add a race or two of ginger cut small. Strain; let catchup get cold. Pour it from the settlings. Bottle. Cork tight.

_McIlvaine._

MUSHROOM CATCHUP.

A catchup superior to that sold in the stores may be made at home. Break the toadstools into bits and place in a stone jar, with an ounce and a half of salt for every quart of plants. Let stand in a cool place for three days, stirring several times a day. On the third day put over the fire, in a porcelain kettle, and heat slowly. In about half an hour the juice will flow freely, when strain through a hair sieve, return to the fire and boil twenty minutes. Measure the liquid and to each quart allow an ounce of ginger root, a blade of mace, a bay leaf, a pinch of cayenne, and an ounce each of allspice and black pepper; boil down to one-half the quantity, add a teaspoonful of the best brandy to each half-pint. Bottle. Cork and seal with wax or rosin.

_Anon._

MUSHROOM CATCHUP. (English style.)

Remove the butts. Sprinkle all with salt. Pile in a bowl. Let them remain so for three days, stirring occasionally. Then squeeze out all the liquor. To each gallon of it add cloves and mustard seed, crushed, of each half an ounce; allspice, peppercorns and ginger, crushed, of each one ounce. Heat slowly up to boiling point in a covered vessel. Set aside in a warm place for a fortnight. Then strain and bottle. If the catchup shows signs of not keeping, add more salt and spice, heat and proceed as before.

_Hay._

CANNED MUSHROOM SAUCE.

Cook together, until a light brown color, two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, add a can of button mushrooms, with the water it contains, and a cupful of water or broth. Simmer five minutes, stirring meanwhile, season and serve. The flavor of the mushroom is more distinct and pronounced if the sauce is seasoned only with salt and mixed pepper. If broth is used in the preparation of mushroom sauce instead of water, it should be the broth of such meat as the sauce is to be served with—for instance, chicken broth when to be served with chicken, beef broth when to be served with beef, etc.

_Mrs. Emma P. Ewing._

FRESH MUSHROOM SAUCE.

Put in a graniteware or porcelain-lined saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter. When hot add two cups of fresh, prepared mushrooms, cover closely, and cook briskly two or three minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with broiled beefsteak, birds, or sweetbreads.

_Mrs. E.P. Ewing._

TO COOK BOLETI.

Remove the stems, and the tubes unless they are compact and young, or the dish will be slimy from the tubes. Wipe the caps clean.

TO BROIL.—Put on wire broiler or in a hot buttered pan. Cook well. Add butter, pepper and salt.

TO STEW.—After cutting the caps in pieces of similar size, stew in a covered saucepan for twenty minutes. Do not use much water. When done, add butter, or cream, pepper and salt. Some persons may prefer to add a little lemon juice or sherry.

TO BAKE.—Bake for half an hour in covered dish, add oil or butter, a little parsley, and garlic if liked, pepper and salt.

TO FRY.—Remove the tubes from all the caps, excepting of very young or very short-tubed species. Slice the caps as you would eggplant. Fry in butter, oil or fat, or dip in batter or in egg crumbs.

_McIlvaine._

B. EDULIS SOUP (as made in Hungary).—Having dried some Boleti in an oven, soak them in tepid water, thickening with toast bread, till the whole be of the consistency of a puree, then rub them through a sieve, throw in some stewed Boleti, boil together, and serve with the usual condiments.

_Paulet._

TO DRY BOLETI (English method).—Gather in dry weather. Remove stems and tubes. Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Slice. String the slices. Hang up in a warm place for two days. Then give them a minute in a moderately warm oven. Pack in tins with spice. When wanted steep the slices in tepid water for some hours, till they swell. Then proceed to dress as for fresh Bolets. The Russians retain the stems and dry their Bolets whole, stringing them up the stem and through the center of the cap.

_Hay._

TO COOK CANTHARELLUS CIBARIUS.

Cut the mushrooms across and remove the stems; put them into a closely-covered saucepan with a little fresh butter, and sweat them until tender, at the lowest possible temperature. A great heat always destroys the flavor.

_Mrs. Hussey._

Wash, cut into pieces and put into boiling water; then stew with fresh butter, a little olive oil, chopped tarragon, pepper, salt and a little lemon peel; when cooked simmer over a slow fire for twenty minutes, moistening from time to time with beef gravy or cream. When ready to serve thicken with the yolk of egg.

_M.C. Cooke._

TO FRY.—Dip caps in egg and bread crumbs, season with pepper and salt and fry in hot butter or oil.

TO STEW.—Cut the whole plant into small pieces across the grain, stew slowly in a covered saucepan for forty minutes. Add thickened cream or milk. Use freely of butter and season to taste.

TO ROAST.—Place in a hot dry pan over a slow fire, shake and turn until the plants are crisp. Butter and season with pepper and salt. A fine camp dish.

TO PRESERVE FOR WINTER USE.—Pull into strips one-half inch wide, spread on a piece of mosquito netting and place in the sun or current of warm air. When dry hang up in small bags or mosquito netting in a dry place.

_McIlvaine._

TO COOK CLAVARIA.

Fry in hot butter, oil or fat until well done; or stew, covered with a little water, over a slow fire for half an hour. When done add cream or milk, a little flour, plenty of butter and season with pepper and salt. Salt last, always, or it will harden the plants.

_McIlvaine._

TO PICKLE (English recipe).—Put the tender parts into jars with peppercorns, mustard seeds and nasturtium seeds. Pour on them cold white wine vinegar. Fill up and cork hermetically.

_Hay._

TO COOK CLITOCYBE MULTICEPS.

TO BAKE.—Wash caps, remove stems, let drain for a few minutes; place gills upward in a pan; place on gills a small-sized lump of butter; season with pepper and salt; grate cheese over each layer, cover pan, and place in hot oven to bake for one-half hour.

An exceptionally fine dish. They are excellent fried.

Other species of similar consistency may be cooked in the same way. See Toadstools with Cheese.

_McIlvaine._

TO COOK COPRINUS.

“In regard to the C. micaceus I find that they are better cooked after the following recipe:

“Trim the stems, wash the toadstools carefully through several waters, then drain them in a colander. Spread them out in a long baking pan, dust lightly with salt, pepper, put over a few bits of butter, cover with another pan and bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Add four tablespoonfuls of cream, bring to boiling point; dish on toast.

“The C. atramentarius may be cooked in precisely the same manner. I find that all these inky mushrooms are better cooked in a very slow heat in the oven, and they must be covered or they lose their flavor.”

_Mrs. S.T. Rorer._

C. comatus, or any other Coprinus, may be treated in the same manner; or they may be stewed slowly in a covered dish for from five to ten minutes.

_McIlvaine._

CROQUETTES.

To one pint of any well-cooked toadstool of meaty species, add two hard-boiled eggs, a sprig of parsley; pepper and salt to taste; chop all very fine, then take two level tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour, put over the fire with the toadstools and eggs; mix thoroughly together, set aside to cool. When cold, shape, dip in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot oil, butter or fat.

_McIlvaine._

DEVILED TOADSTOOLS.

For deviled toadstools prepare the meat as for patties, adding the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs to each pint of meat, a pinch of red pepper and a little chopped parsley. Serve hot or cold in halves of egg shells, nested among green.

_McIlvaine._

TO COOK FISTULINA HEPATICA.

Mrs. Hussey says of it: “If it is not beef itself, it is sauce for it.”

It can be sliced thin and dressed as a salad with mayonnaise dressing or otherwise.

The simplest and best way is to cut the fungus into slices as one would egg-plant. If it is small, slice it into two parts, fry in hot butter, season with pepper and salt.

Another favorite way is to slice the plant across the grain, cut into squares of one-half inch and cook very slowly in a covered pan for twenty minutes. Add a little water, and plenty of butter. Season with pepper and salt.

The F. hepatica always has a slightly acid taste, which is very acceptable to most persons, but objectionable to a few.

_McIlvaine._

SALAD.—Cut in thin slices and rub them with garlic. Mingle with lettuce or other green salad. Dress with oil, vinegar, pepper, mustard and salt. Serve.

_Hay._

TO BROIL ANY CAPPED FUNGUS.