Fungi for fun guys: it's not a vegetable, but the mushroom—that slimy food—is the New Meat. Healthier and, for some, even tastier

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2003

Prep: You must cook morels, as they can be toxic when raw. Morels have little crevices that seem just made for trapping cream, so they pair up well with (nonfat) cream sauces. Like oyster mushrooms, morels taste better in a small amount of butter than in olive oil, but again, don't overdo it.

Price: $30 per pound during the first weeks of spring, then as low as $12 per pound.

BLACK TRUFFLES

Flavor: Sweet, pungent and musky, occasionally with chocolate undertones.

Prep: Truffles can be shaved and put into a sauce, under the skin of roasting chicken, or into a plate of eggs. The flavor is strong, so you don't need very much of these pricey beauties. For example, try storing uncracked eggs with truffles for a few days, then scramble the eggs. The potent taste of the truffles actually permeates the egg shells.

Price: $40 per ounce.

MUSHROOM PREP

Don't peel off the thin outer layer during preparation; much of the mushroom's flavor lies in its skin. You can easily brush off residue found on cultivated mushrooms, which grow in special mixtures of sawdust and secret ingredients, but wild mushrooms--which grow in soil--need a more thorough cleaning. Use a soft toothbrush or damp paper towel to clean the caps. Do not soak mushrooms, as they will absorb water like a sponge and ruin their taste.

MUSHROOM MYTHS AND FACTS

* Fact: Mushrooms grow from spores, not seeds, and a mature mushroom will drop as many as 16 billion spores (we counted).

* Myth: Pigs are used to dig up truffles. Pigs used to be used to dig up truffles, but they favor the flavor as much as humans do and would literally eat away at the profit margin. These days, specially trained dogs--usually dachshunds--do the dirty work.

* Fact: Mushrooms can make you high. '"Shrooms" is the common name for mushrooms that contain psilocybin, which is chemically related to LSD. Users report feelings of mild euphoria, tingling physical sensations, and increased sensitivity to visual sensations and music (usually Phish). As you might expect, possession of fresh or dried 'shrooms is illegal in the U.S.

* Myth: All mushrooms are good for you. Sure, except for the ones that kill you. In 2001, members of the American Association of Poison Control Centers fielded 8,483 calls about harmful mushroom exposures, and 38 of them were from people who experienced life-threatening effects.

You can avoid making it onto this list by heeding advice your pappy offered when you were 4: Don't pick up strange things and put them in your mouth. If you insist on cutting out the middleman and finding your own fungi, search with a guide or a mushroom club. "Many states or wooded regions have mycological clubs, and they are well prepared to identify mushrooms," says Amy Farges, author of The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook and Primer.

Fact: What costs $150 per ounce and will not land you in jail? White truffles. The rarest mushroom, they're so coveted that truffle hunters jealously guard their favorite truffling spots.