Cordyceps Expedition 2008	Fungal Foray Tibet July 2008	Pilzreisen
Early October 2007, I visited Munich's "Viktualienmarkt", a big outdoor-market in the old heart of Munich, where I grew up. The Viktualienmarkt is not just a simple farmers' market, it is one of Munich's best places to buy "Delicatessen". Thus, selection and prices compare to high end food stores. I checked for wild edible mushroom (WEF) species and their prices. As to be expected a wide range of Steinpilz (= king boletes, Boletus edulis) was available. They came in all sizes, classes and proveniences (i.e. Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Italy and Germany) from €20 per kg = $12.7/lb. Italian boletes cost €40 per kg = $25/lb. Even more common in stores in Germany than the Steinpilz is the Pfifferling, (mostly Cantharellus cibarius). Chanterelles are widely traded not only because of their great taste, but because of their propensity to stay fresh much longer than most gilled mushrooms and boletes. I saw them in many regular stores. European chanties are in general much smaller [just as the chanties in Tibet (Cantharellus cibarius and Cantharellus minor)]. Pacific Northwest specimen seem absolutely unique regarding their size. However, there are people who claim that European ones are richer in aroma. I never ate them side by side, but I seem to recall that the ones I collected and ate in the Alps were actually stronger in taste. However, the Pacific Northwest chanties are so much bigger that they easily balance a supposed lack of aroma with sheer quantity. 1kg chanterelles cost €16 (= $10/lb) at Viktualien Markt in Munich.		Viktualien Markt München Munich's may pole at the Viktualien Markt

From left to right: Yellow foot or funnel chanterelles ("Trompeten-Pfifferling", Craterellus tubaeformis = C. infundibuliformis) €20 per kg = $12.7/lb Horn of plenty or black trumpet ("Herbst-Trompete" or "Toten-Trompete", Craterellus cornucopioides) €30 per kg = $19/lb Red caps ("Rotkappen", Leccinum versipelle and L. auranticum) and one birch boletes (Leccinum scabrum) Top right: I was surprised to find the Caesar's mushroom ("Kaiserling", Amanita caesarea), which is imported from Italy and sold for hefty €60 per kg = $38/lb. In Germany they are very rare and limited to the warmest sites along the Rhine valley. Growing up in Munich I never saw a "Kaiserling" on the market. Radiating Mushrooms In Munich as in many places in Europe mushrooms still get tested regularly for radiation. It was started after the April 1985 Chernobyl reactor melt down, to eliminate mushrooms illegally imported from Ukraine and neighboring countries most heavily impacted by radioactive fallout. Once in awhile there are still bunches with becquerel values up to 10,000, a multiple of the permitted threshold of 600 bq per kg. However, Bavaria itself got hit quite hard from the radioactive fallout in late April 1985. The first two years after Chernobyl I quit mushrooming. And later on I used to peel all the "Maronen-Röhrlinge" (Boletus / Xerocomus badius) I had picked, since we were told that the dark skin of the cap contained the highest concentration of cesium / caesium 137. Luckily Cs-137 has a half-life of 'only' 30 years. Bay boletes (Boletus badius) and hedgehogs (Hydum repandum) collected in southern Bavaria still can reach values of up to 2,000 bq/kg, but averages are below the legal threshold. Between June and October samples are tested for free by "Umweltinstitut München e.V", a non-for profit environmental organization. Eating a pound of mushrooms with 3000bq/kg is supposed to expose your body to as much radiation as lung x-ray. Bavarian king boletes (Boletus edulis) or chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) now rarely exceeds the permitted threshold. Similarly, forest foraged berries are contaminated; Eating wild boar can expose you to up to 60,000 bq/kg. Mushrooms growing in lawns or fields (i.e. Macrolepiota procera, Marasmius oreades or many Agaricus species) have hardly any becquerels, since Cs-137 is only available for absorption by organisms in habitats with a well developed duff layer as in forest ecosystems. (German Source: http://www.umweltinstitut.org/atom)
Hedgehogs ("Semmel-Stoppelpilz", Hydnum repandum) at €20 per kg = $12.7/lb. Other wild edibles sold: Honey mushroom ("Hallimasch", Armillaria mellea, not depicted)
Also available was White or Alba truffle ("Weisser Trüffel", Tuber magnatum at € 7.90/g = €237/oz = $330/oz), Summer truffle ("Brauner Trüffel", Tuber aestivum Vitt. or T. unicinatum) at € 1.95/g = €59/oz = $83/oz) and Black truffle or Black Périgord Truffle ("Schwarzer Trüffel", Tuber melanosporum, €2.95/g = €85/oz = $120/oz). Wikipedia has a nice entry on truffles.
Dried king boletes at €100kg = $62/lb	Dried morels (Spitzmorcheln, Morchella conica) at €400/kg = $254/lb	Mixed mushrooms
Black trumpets (Craterellus cornucopioides)	Trumpets in cream sauce , onions, white wine and a bit of Bavarian sweet mustard.