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}}</ref> the Poles, along with other Balto-Slavic nations and northern Italians, belong to ''mycophillic'', or mushroom-loving, peoples. On the other end of the spectrum are ''mycophobic'' nations, which in Europe are mostly concentrated in the North Sea basin and whose risk acceptance in regards to mushroom picking only goes as far as picking up a plastic box of cultivated champignons in a supermarket.
Mycophobes may find the Polish passion for gathering, preserving and consuming wild mushrooms shockingly adventurous, foolhardy even. Isn’t it dangerous? Well, yes, mushroom poisoning does occur more often in Poland than it does in countries where mushroom picking simply isn’t a thing. But hardly as common as you might think. Within five years from 2009 to 2013, only eight people in western and central Poland died from mushroom poisoning (compared to 112 people who died from various alcohols, including 49 from methanol, and 95 who died from pharmaceutical drug overdose).<ref>As reported by six out of Poland's Poland’s ten toxicological centres. {{Cyt
| tytuł = International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
| nazwisko r = Krakowiak ''et al.''
}}</ref> Many field guides – printed and online – are available too. But most Polish mushroomers learn to recognise fungal species from their parents or grandparents, and continue to gather the same few kinds of mushrooms (even though many more are edible too) which they learned to pick when they were children. Field guides do little to expand their preferences; they only seem to unify mushroom names used throughout the country.<ref>''Ibid.'', p. 332</ref>
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Iwan Ł. Gorochow, Grzyby.jpg}}|thumb|left|''``From “From the grove comes the whole company, carrying… wicker baskets full of mushrooms…"mushrooms…”''<ref>{{Cyt
| nazwisko = Mickiewicz
| imię = Adam
| inni = translated by Marcel Weyland
| tytuł = Pan Tadeusz, or The Last Foray in Lithuania: A Tale of the Gentry during 1811-1812
| url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707131534/http://www.antoranz.net/BIBLIOTEKA/PT051225/PanTad-eng/PT-Start.htm#CONTENTS
}}, Book III, verses 691–694</ref><br>{{small|Painted by Ivan L. Gorokhov (1912)}}]]
So which mushrooms are most commonly picked in Poland?
* The '''king bolete''' (''Boletus edulis''), also known as ``penny bun"“penny bun”, ``cep" “cep” or ``porcino"“porcino”, reigns supreme. In Polish, it’s known as ''``borowik szlachetny"“borowik szlachetny”'' (literally, ``noble “noble pine-forest mushroom"mushroom”) or ''``prawdziwek"“prawdziwek”'' (``true mushroom"“true mushroom”). * The '''bay bolete''' (''Imleria badia'') is related, but less prized. Its second-best status is reflected in its Polish name, ''``podgrzybek"“podgrzybek”'', which may be translated as ``deputy mushroom" “deputy mushroom” or ``junior mushroom"“junior mushroom”. It’s popular enough in Poland that the Russians call it ''``polskiy grib"“polskiy grib”'', or ``Polish mushroom"“Polish mushroom”. * The '''golden chanterelle''' (''Cantharellus cibarius''), a bright-yellow trumpet-shaped mushroom with a slightly peppery flavour, called ''``kurka"“kurka”'' (``little chick"“little chick”) or ''``pieprznik"“pieprznik”'' (``pepper mushroom"“pepper mushroom”) in Polish, comes last on the podium. Mickiewicz referred to it as ''``lisica"“lisica”'', or ``vixen"“vixen”.
Further spots are taken by:
* various species of '''slippery jacks''' (genus ''Suillus''), which the Poles refer to as ''``maślaki"“maślaki”'' (``butterballs"“butterballs”) because of their slimy caps;* '''saffron milk cap''' (''Lactarius deliciosus''), a red-brownish mushroom which oozes a milky liquid when damaged; its Polish name is ''``rydz"“rydz”'', or ``ginger“ginger-coloured mushroom"mushroom”;* '''parasol mushroom''' (''Macrolepiota procera''), or ''``kania"“kania”'' in Polish, whose broad flat cap may be fried in bread crumbs like a pork cutlet;* '''honey mushroom''' (''Armillaria mellea''), small and sweetish, which grows in patches on tree stumps; its Polish name is ''``opieńka miodowa"“opieńka miodowa”'', or ``honey stumper"“honey stumper”;* some species of '''knight caps''' (genus ''Tricholoma''), known in Polish as ''``gąski"“gąski”'', or ``little geese"“little geese”.
Mushroom season lasts from late summer to mid-autumn, but Polish people preserve most of the fungi they collect, so that they can enjoy them all year long. This they do mostly by drying and to a lesser extent by pickling in vinegar (mostly in the case of slippery jacks and other species which don’t lend themselves to drying) or, less traditionally, freezing. The Poles typically gather mushrooms for their own use, but they face competition from professional gatherers who, though less numerous (only 1% of all mushroomers), pick much larger quantities than recreational mushroom hunters do.<ref name=cbos/>
This is the situation today. And what was it like in the past? ``Mushrooming's “Mushrooming’s ancient and decorous rite" rite” is described with great beauty in ''Pan Tadeusz'', the Polish national epic written by Adam Mickiewicz (pronounced {{pron|meets|kyeh|veetch}}) in 1834. So let’s pay yet another visit to the fictional manor of Soplicowo ({{pron|saw|plee|tsaw|vaw}}) and see what kinds of mushrooms the epic’s characters gathered and what use they later put them to.
== “There Were Mushrooms Aplenty” ==
[[File:KostrzewskiFranciszek.Grzybobranie.1860.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''``They “They from breakfast, so noisily bright, turned to mushrooming's mushrooming’s ancient and decorous rite…"rite…”''<ref>''Ibid.'', Book III, verses 245–246</ref><br>{{small|Painted by Franciszek Kostrzewski (ca. 1860)}}]]
{{ Cytat
| <poem>A small grove, sparsely wooded, now came into sight;
Looking down, his eyes only he swivels around;
That one looks straight ahead, and steps as if asleep,
Neither left nor right veering, a straight line would keep,
All, often, and at random, bend down very low,
As if reverence to fellow forms wishing to show.</poem>
| imię = Adam
| inni = translated by Marcel Weyland
| tytuł = Pan Tadeusz, or The Last Foray in Lithuania: A Tale of the Gentry during 1811-1812
| url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707131534/http://www.antoranz.net/BIBLIOTEKA/PT051225/PanTad-eng/PT-Start.htm#CONTENTS
}}, Book III, verses 220–236<br>* The action takes place in early September (of 1811), at the height of mushroom season. The Polish adjective ''``majowych"“majowych”'', here mistranslated as ``of May"“of May”, was actually used by Mickiewicz in the now largely forgotten sense of ``vividly green"“vividly green”.
| oryg = <poem>Był gaj z rzadka zarosły, wysłany murawą;
Po jej kobiercach, na wskroś białych pniów brzozowych,
}} }}
The whole affair began when Lady Telimena, bored by the men’s heated argument about hare hunting at [[Epic Cooking: Breakfast at Judge Soplica'sSoplica’s|breakfast]], declared that she was going out to gather saffron milk caps, then took Lord Chamberlain’s youngest daughter by the hand and left. Judge Soplica saw this as an opportunity to calm his guests down and announced a mushroom-picking competition:
{{ Cytat
Who with the best milk cap to the table returns,
His place next to the loveliest of ladies he earns;
He will choose her himself. If a lady’s the winner,
She the handsomest fellow can partner at dinner.”</poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book II, verses 846–850; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation
| oryg = <poem>„Panowie, po grzyby do boru!
Kto z najpiękniejszym rydzem do stołu przybędzie,
Fresh or salted, for autumn, or winter use rather,
Put away. But the Tribune, of course, '''fly-bane''' gathered.</poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 260–269; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation
| oryg = <poem>Grzybów było w bród. Chłopcy biorą krasnolice,
Tyle w pieśniach litewskich sławione '''lisice''',
Kerchiefs knotted at corners, or small wicker baskets
Full of mushrooms; young ladies displayed in one hand
The imposing '''boletus''', a well-folded fan,In the other hand, tied like a field-flower posy,
'''Brittlegills''' and some '''stumpers''', brown, ochre, and rosy.
The Tribune carried '''fly-bane'''. </poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 691–698; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation
| oryg = <poem>Więc z gaju
Wychodziła gromada, niosąca krobeczki,
<mobileonly>[[File:Grzyby w Panu Tadeuszu.jpg|thumb|Mushroom species collected in the forest of Soplicowo:<br>chanterelles, king boletes (penny buns),<br>saffron milk caps, stumpers (honey mushrooms),<br>brittlegills and fly agarics (poisonous)]]</mobileonly>
All in all, there are five edible kinds of mushrooms (the fly agaric, here translated as ``fly“fly-bane"bane”, is poisonous). The one we haven’t discussed yet is the '''brittlegill''', which in fact refers to several species of the genus ''Russula''. Mickiewicz calls them by the word ''``surojadki"“surojadki”'' (``eaten raw"“eaten raw”), but the Polish term that is more common today is ''``gołąbki"“gołąbki”'', or ``little pigeons"“little pigeons”. They’re edible, but often ignored nowadays, as their taste is just okay and, having gills rather than pores on the underside of the cap, they can be confused with some toxic species.
== Mushroom War ==
A small digression before we move on: what is this song which calls the king bolete ``the “the colonel of mushrooms"mushrooms”? According to the poet’s explanatory note, it’s ``a “a folk song well known in Lithuania about mushrooms marching to war under a king bolete's bolete’s command. This song describes the characteristics of edible mushrooms."”<ref>''Ibid.'', explanatory notes; own translation</ref> Why did the author of a Polish epic draw inspiration from Lithuanian folklore? Because the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is where the story is set; in fact, the epic’s very first words are ``Lithuania“Lithuania, my country"country”.<ref>''Ibid.'', Book I, verse 1</ref> In the poet’s time, the Grand Duchy was a part of the Russian Empire that was inhabited by Polish-speaking nobility (which he belonged to himself), Belarusian or Lithuanian-speaking peasants and Yiddish-speaking Jews.
Anyway, Mickiewicz didn’t quote the song directly. But, as luck would have it, Mickiewiczologists were able to track down, more than a hundred years ago, its original Lithuanian-language lyrics. Here it goes, as noted down by Mr. and Mrs. Angrabaitis in what is now Lithuania’s Marijampolė County:
[[File:Mushroom Wars.png|thumb|''``Mushrooms “Mushrooms all, gather for war, the Great Mushroom War!"”''<br>{{small|Graphic from the video game ''Mushroom Wars 2'' (2016)}}]]
{{ Cytat
| <poem>What did the little hare say when running through the wood?
:'''Red-Capped Stalk''' thus answered him, “Me, I’m young and bachelor still,
:So I’m not going to war, the Great Mushroom War!”
'''Saffron Milk Cap''' then replied, “I’m a maiden and that’s why
I shall not be going to war, the Great Mushroom War!”
:'''Slippery Jack''', the good-for-nought, told the hare just what he thought,
}}, own translation }}
As you can see, apart from the species mentioned in ''Pan Tadeusz'', such as saffron milk caps, king boletes and stumpers (honey mushrooms), the song also mentioned other edible, if less prized, mushrooms: the '''red-capped scaber stalk''' (''Leccinum aurantiacum'') and the slippery jack. It could also be that the Lithuanian word ''``zuikužėlis"“zuikužėlis”'' refers, in this case, not to a hare running around the forest, but to any of the mushrooms whose Lithuanian folk names derive from the word for ``bunny"“bunny”. These include the quite edible '''birch bolete''' (''Leccinum scabrum'') and the very inedible '''bitter bolete''' (''Tylopilus felleus''; this one is also known as ''``zajączek gorzki"“zajączek gorzki”'', or ``bitter bunny"“bitter bunny”, in Polish).<ref> {{Cyt
| tytuł = Res Humanitariae
| nazwisko r = Lubienė
}}</ref> In any case, it’s quite possible that in Mickiewicz’s time the song had more verses and served as a real oral field guide to be sung while picking mushrooms.
While we’re digressing, let’s clarify one more thing: why did the Tribune gather fly agarics, the most recognizable of toxic toadstools? Was it just to show his contempt for any forest activity that didn’t involve hunting big game, the only pastime he thought becoming of a nobleman? Or did he intend to poison somebody? Or something. As we already know, [[Epic Cooking: The Perfect Cook#“Hreczecha is My Name”|the Tribune absolutely hated flies]]. And the '''fly agaric''' (''Amanita muscaria''), as both its English and Polish names imply (Polish ''``muchomor"“muchomor”'' literally means ``fly“fly-bane"bane”), was used as insecticide for centuries. This is how:
{{ Cytat
| Dice a fresh fly agaric and cook it in boiling milk. Then pour the milk into cups for the flies [to drink] or smear it in the gaps where bedbugs are.
| oryg = Pokrajana w kawałki świeża bedłka muchomorowa gotuje się w mleku, a mleko to rozlewa się na miseczki dla much lub smaruje nim szpary, gdzie pluskwy siedzą.
| źródło = {{Cyt
== Recipës ==
[[File:Tomasz Łosik - Promenade dans la forêt.jpg|thumb|upright|''``Hands “Hands empty came then Telimena, with both of her young gentlemen."”''<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 698–699</ref><br>{{small|Painted by Tomasz Łosik (1883)}}]]
In the end, a bell called the mushroom hunters back to the manor for lunch. Even though originally the hunt had been Telimena’s idea, she must have been, as the Notary observed, looking for mushrooms in the trees, as she returned empty-handed from the wood. So did her two suitors, Thaddeus and the Count. We don’t know who won the Judge’s competition. Nor does the poem mention what happened with the mushrooms others had collected. We can only guess.
Eventually, the mushrooms must have ended up on the nobles’ table. But in what form? The poet didn’t say; there is no mention of any mushroom-containing dishes anywhere in ''Pan Tadeusz''. But that shouldn’t stop us from speculating about what mushroom dishes they could have enjoyed – based on cook books from the same period.
[[File:Karolina z Potockich Nakwaska.png|thumb|left|upright=.6|Karolina Nakwaska (1798–1875), author of a home-making book (among other works)]]Let’s start with the saffron milk caps, which Mickiewicz considered to ``have “have the best taste"taste”. His friend, Karolina Nakwaska, who wrote a home-making book for women, gave a recipë that is perfect in its simplicity.
{{ Cytat
| Take carefully selected, worm-free saffron milk caps, remove the stems; if the caps are too big, then cut them in half. Arrange on a grill over a slow fire, place a small piece of butter in each cap, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and fry without flipping them over. You can use very good olive oil instead of butter. Add chopped parsley and onion. Serve after ten minutes. Saffron milk caps and [other] mushrooms fried simply in butter with onion, pepper and salt, are just perfect.
| oryg = Weź rydzów starannie wybranych, nierobaczywych, odejm ogonki, jeżeli za duże, przekraj je na dwoje. Postaw na ruszcie na wolny ogień, w środek każdej daj kawałeczek masła, pieprzu i soli, smaż, nie przewracaj; zamiast masła, można je napuszczać bardzo dobrą oliwą, dodawszy pietruszki i cebuli siekanej. Po dziesięciu minutach wydaj. Rydze i grzyby w maśle prosto smażone z cebulką, pieprzem i solą są doskonałe.
| źródło = {{Cyt
{{clear}}
{{ Cytat
| Cook some fresh king boletes in boiling water, then fry them with onion (as you normally would) and a small piece of dried bouillon; once fried, chop them up as finely as possible. Add four eggs, nutmeg and pepper. Roll out hard-kneaded yeast dough, then fill with the mushrooms as for kołdunki [i.e., pierogi, or filled dumplings], fry in fat until brown and serve hot.
| oryg = Usmażyć z cebulką borowików świeżych uprzednio odgotowanych w wodzie (jak się zwyczajnie smażą), z dodaniem tylko kawałek bulionu suchego [tj. kostki rosołowej]; skoro się usmażą, siekają się jak najdrobniej. Należy wbić cztery jaja, dodać muszkatowej gałki i pieprzu; rozwałkować cienko ciasto drożdżowe, twardo zarobione, potem robić tak, jak kołdunki, nakładając do środka tymi grzybami, odsmażywszy one w tłustości na rumiano, gorąco wydać do stołu.
| źródło = {{Cyt
}}</ref> In farming societies, where foraging is no longer the chief source of food, but still helps expand the menu, this division is not only continued, but also expanded to include a class dimension: hunting, treated increasingly as a sport, is the domain of noblemen, while picking berries, nuts and herbs is left to peasants, especially women. In ''Pan Tadeusz'', we can observe a pair of young peasants – a girl and a boy – collecting cowberries and hazelnuts.
[[File:Wasilij T. Timofiejew, Dziewczę z malinami.jpg|thumb|upright|''``A “A pair of cheeks than berries more crimson and fair; they are the maid's maid’s who gathers such nuts and fruit there…"there…”''<ref>''Ibid.'', Book IV, verses 83–84</ref><br>{{small|Painted by Vasily T. Timofeyev (1879)}}]]
{{ Cytat
| <poem>When a branch quivers, brushed,
And part the ash tree’s clusters, and into view flash
A pair of cheeks than berries more crimson and fair;
They are the maid’s who gathers such nuts and fruit there
Into a simple basket, and in which she carries
The cowberries; her lips sparkling as red as the berries;
Alongside steps a youth; he the hazels bends down;
The maid catches the nuts then before they touch ground.</poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book IV, verses 81–88; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation
| oryg = <poem>Wtem gałąź wstrzęsła się trącona
I pomiędzy jarzębin rozsunione grona
}} }}
Except that this idealized picture isn’t quite true. There existed a mushroom hierarchy which paralleled the social one: the few choice varieties were reserved for the nobility, while commoners had to content themselves with more or less edible, but certainly less flavourful, species. Mind you, the forest and everything one could find there, belonged to the nobleman. The peasants were usually allowed to obtain certain goods in the lord’s forest, but they had to bring the better species of mushrooms as payment to his estate. One of these species was, without a doubt, the penny bun, which explains why it’s also called ``king bolete" “king bolete” in English, ''``Herrenpilz"“Herrenpilz”'' (``lord's mushroom"“lord’s mushroom”) in German and ''``borowik szlachetny"“borowik szlachetny”'' (``noble mushroom"“noble mushroom”) in Polish. What other mushrooms did the nobles call dibs on?
{{ Cytat
This short list is validated by Old Polish recipës, which don’t mention any other mushroom species. It turns out that the range of mushrooms appreciated by the high-born was quite limited. And even that only applied to the more intrepid ones who didn’t listen to the dieticians’ advice to stay away from all of these watery, dirty and certainly unhealthy ([[Good Humour, Good Health|cold and moist in the highest degree]]) or even poisonous toadstools. Probably the oldest Polish recipë for mushrooms is the one given by Maciej Miechowita, the Renaissance-era court physician to King Sigismund I.
[[File:Grzyby za płot.jpg|thumb|King Sigismund I's I’s court physician's physician’s mushroom recipë]]
{{ Cytat
| Mushrooms, seasoned in the choicest manner, are best when tossed over the fence. No cure exists for their pernicious complexion.
{{ Cytat
| The chanterelle mushroom {{...}} is readily used as food in certain places, {{...}} yet it poses a dire hazard, often causing mighty stomach aches and diarrhoea.
| oryg = Bedłka pieprznik: {{...}} Lubo go w niektórych miejscach na pokarm zażywają, {{...}} wielkie w tym niebezpieczeństwo: częstokroć bowiem czyni wielkie bóle w żołądku i biegunki.
| źródło = {{Cyt
For their harmfulness, or else their unpleasant flavour;
Yet are not without use, for to beasts they are food,
To the insects a nest, and add charm to the wood.
On the meadow’s green cloth they arise in ranks prim
Like a neat table setting; with smooth rounded rim,
'''Brittlegills, silver, yellow and red''', stand in line:
Perfect row of small goblets with various filled wine;
The '''foxy'''’s upturned tumbler, round-bottomed and plain;
'''Horn of plenty''', a flute glass designed for champagne;
'''Milk caps''', rotund and white, broad and flat, smooth as silk:
Sets of fine Dresden teacups, all brimful with milk;
And the spherical '''puffball''', filled up with black dust
Like a pepper pot {{...}}</poem>
| oryg = <poem>Inne pospólstwo grzybów pogardzone w braku
Dla szkodliwości albo niedobrego smaku;
I kulista, czarniawym pyłkiem napełniona
'''Purchawka''', jak pieprzniczka {{...}}</poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 270–279; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation }}
| <span style="font-size:92%;"><i><gallery align=right mode=packed heights=105px>
File:Russula delica.jpg|``Brittlegills“Brittlegills, silver…"silver…”File:Russula claroflava.jpg|``… “… yellow,…"…”File:Russula atropurpurea.jpg|``… “… and red,… small goblets with various filled wine"wine”File:Leccinum vulpinum.jpg|``The foxy's “The foxy’s upturned tumbler"tumbler”File:Craterellus cornucopioides.jpg|``Horn “Horn of plenty: a flute glass designed for champagne" champagne” File:Lactarius piperatus.jpg|``Milk “Milk caps,… fine Dresden teacups, all brimful with milk"milk”File:Lycoperdon perlatum.jpg|``Puffball… “Puffball… like a pepper pot"pot”
</gallery></i></span>
|}</nomobile><mobileonly>{{ Cytat
For their harmfulness, or else their unpleasant flavour;
Yet are not without use, for to beasts they are food,
To the insects a nest, and add charm to the wood.
On the meadow’s green cloth they arise in ranks prim
Like a neat table setting; with smooth rounded rim,
'''Brittlegills, silver, yellow and red''', stand in line:
Perfect row of small goblets with various filled wine;
The '''foxy'''’s upturned tumbler, round-bottomed and plain;
'''Horn of plenty''', a flute glass designed for champagne;
'''Milk caps''', rotund and white, broad and flat, smooth as silk:
Sets of fine Dresden teacups, all brimful with milk;
And the spherical '''puffball''', filled up with black dust
Like a pepper pot {{...}}</poem>
| oryg = <poem>Inne pospólstwo grzybów pogardzone w braku
Dla szkodliwości albo niedobrego smaku;
I kulista, czarniawym pyłkiem napełniona
'''Purchawka''', jak pieprzniczka {{...}}</poem>
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 270–279; own paraphrase of M. Weyland's Weyland’s translation }}
<span style="font-size:92%;"><i><gallery align=right mode=packed heights=105px>
File:Russula delica.jpg|``Brittlegills“Brittlegills, silver…"silver…”File:Russula claroflava.jpg|``… “… yellow,…"…”File:Russula atropurpurea.jpg|``… “… and red,… small goblets with various filled wine"wine”File:Leccinum vulpinum.jpg|``The foxy's “The foxy’s upturned tumbler"tumbler”File:Craterellus cornucopioides.jpg|``Horn “Horn of plenty: a flute glass designed for champagne" champagne” File:Lactarius piperatus.jpg|``Milk “Milk caps,… fine Dresden teacups, all brimful with milk"milk”File:Lycoperdon perlatum.jpg|``Puffball… “Puffball… like a pepper pot"pot”
</gallery></i></span></mobileonly>
We’ve got here, again, various species of brittlegills; judging by the colours, they may be the '''milk-white brittlegill''' (''Russula delica''), '''yellow swamp brittlegill''' (''Russula claroflava'') and '''purple brittlegill''' (''Russula atropurpurea''). The '''foxy bolete''' (''Leccinum scabrum''), which the poet likened to the ''kulawka'', an Old Polish round-bottomed party glass whose contents you have to quaff in a single gulp before you lay it back on the table, is known in Polish as ''``koźlarz sosnowy"“koźlarz sosnowy”'', or ``pine “pine billy goat"goat”. The '''horn of plenty''' (''Craterellus cornucopioides''), also known as ``black trumpet" “black trumpet” or ``trumpet “trumpet of death" death” (despite being edible), has a relatively unassuming Polish name: ''``lejkowiec"“lejkowiec”'', which means ``funnel mushroom"“funnel mushroom”. The '''peppery milk cap''' (''Lactarius piperatus'') gets its appellation from its acrid taste and milk-white colour.
<nomobile>[[File:Muchomór.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.6|''``“{{...}} Will, angry, with his foot break it off or demolish; defacing thus the sward, does a thing very foolish."”''<ref>''Ibid.'', Book III, verses 287–289</ref>]]</nomobile>
The beautifully descriptive similë, comparing toadstools to drinkware, brings us to the topic of Old Polish beverages. But let’s leave the subject of what was drunk at Soplicowo for another post. Meanwhile, let me end this post by quoting Mickiewicz’s admonition about how to deal with inedible mushrooms, which is as valid today as it was two centuries ago.
He who stoops such to pick, when his error is plain,
Will, angry, with his foot break it off or demolish;
Defacing thus the sward, does a thing very foolish.</poem>
| oryg = <poem>Ni wilczych, ni zajęczych nikt dotknąć nie raczy,
A kto schyla się ku nim, gdy błąd swój obaczy,
| źródło = A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book III, verses 286–289
}}
<mobileonly>[[File:Muchomór.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|''``“{{...}} Will, angry, with his foot break it off or demolish; defacing thus the sward, does a thing very foolish."”''<ref>''Ibid.'', Book III, verses 287–289</ref>]]</mobileonly>
{{clear}}
{{Przypisy}}