Sculpt doll sized mushrooms...

My hand-painted 18" doll sized mushrooms for play.

         Mushrooms come in so many sizes, textures and colors that it is difficult to choose only a handful of those that are available for consumption on the planet. However, in an effort to ensure our dolls do not confuse those mushrooms that are poisonous to eat with those that are safe for them to cook with and eat, we have decided to sculpt the most distinct looking edible fungi that a doll might purchase from a local farmer's market in the United States. Some of these are foraged and some are cultivated.

1. Chanterelles - They are among the most popular of wild edible mushrooms. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, most species have rounded, forked folds that run almost all the way down the stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. These fungi are easy to forage in the Midwest! Read more...
2. Morels - These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with pits composing their caps. Morels are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly in Catalan and French cuisine. These grow wild in wooded areas of the Midwest. Read more...
3. Shiitake - Lentinula edodes is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine. Read more...
4. Portobello - is an edible basidiomycete mushroom native to grasslands in Europe and North America. It has two color states while immature – white and brown – both of which have various names, with additional names for the mature state. Read more...
5. Cultivated Enokitake - The mushroom naturally grows on the stumps of the Chinese hackberry tree and on other trees, such as ash, mulberry and persimmon trees. Enoki can be sourced September- March and has been named winter fungus due to its seasonality. Wild forms differ in color, texture, and sliminess and may be called futu, seafood mushrooms, winter mushrooms or winter fungus, velvet foot, velvet stem or velvet shank. Read more...
6. Cremini - bisporus is cultivated in more than seventy countries and is one of the most commonly and widely consumed mushrooms in the world. It's common in Midwestern grocery stores and many people cultivate these on farms. Read more...

Meet a gourmet mushroom farmer/cultivator.