Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

blusher the common English name for an edible mushroom, Amanita rubescens, abundant in woods throughout the temperate regions of Europe and N. America in late summer and autumn. Those who gather and cook it are rewarded by a good flavour and pleasant texture. But it should not be eaten raw; and it must be positively identified, since it could be confused with other, harmful members of the genus Amanita, namely the panther cap (sometimes called ‘false blusher’) and the fly agaric, both of which may be found growing with it in woodlands.