Mushroom school tests the senses

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There are 5,000-6,000 types of mushrooms in Switzerland. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

As a boy, Johannes “Housi” Kurt collected mushrooms as an alternative to expensive meat. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Some mushrooms sprout after a frost. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

In Switzerland, gathering mushrooms as a group is forbidden. During the course, only a few individual mushrooms are plucked for identification purposes. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Identifying mushrooms is an art. Housi knows a few hundred types. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Purple and pink mushrooms are often poisonous, and can sometimes be identified only by scent. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Nicola Wernke is fascinated by slime molds: single-celled creatures that combine the characteristics of animals and plants. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

The type of lamellae, or gills, and the shape of the stem say a lot about the genus. So you can divide whole mushroom families into the edible or non-edible categories. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

The experts show what characteristics to look for. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Collecting mushrooms in baskets allows them to breathe. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

Participants try to identify the mushrooms. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

The red mushroom in the basket is a poisonous toadstool. Stephan Rappo / 13 Photo

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Autumn is mushroom season, and there’s a Swiss school devoted to finding and identifying the edible ones. 

The Swiss are enthusiastic mushroom gatherers, and many traditional dishes wouldn’t be the same without them. Hence the popularity of the group offering lessons on mushroom-pickingExternal link (in German). 

Johannes Kurt and Nicola Wernke met at a mushroom-inspecting event. He’s been picking mushrooms since childhood and serves as an official inspector. She loves all mushrooms, including the slime molds and toadstools. They immediately sensed that they’d be the perfect duo to offer a sound education in mycology – the term for the science of mushrooms. 

Mistakes can be dangerous

Over the course of the year, they share their knowledge of over 50 types of edible mushrooms as well as the most important toadstools – plus the biology behind them. “To find mushrooms, you have to develop a sense of smell, know which soil is nutrient-rich, and let your inner passion develop,” says Johannes “Housi” Kurt. 

With the growing popularity of mushroom picking, the number of poisoning cases is also on the rise, as some mushrooms are inedible. In many communities, there are checkpoints where collectors can have their mushrooms inspected. As Housi puts it, “There’s no room for mistakes in mushroom picking.”