Field Mushroom

Agaricus campestris Found in pasture land in summer or autumn, they were, at one time, very common and could be bought in shops side by side with cultivated species. However, they have declined in recent years, I imagine mainly because so much of our old pasture has been ploughed but possibly because the use of weed killers and fertilizers has also taken its toll. When I was a child on my grandparents’ farm we seem to have been able to pick them in vast quantities every year, but then the sun always shone in summer and it always snowed at Christmas time. Do not peel mushrooms unless they are old but wipe the caps with a dampish cloth and cut off the stem base. Field mushrooms are very good raw in salads, cooked in soups or baked in pies; a traditional way of making use of them is as a ketchup.