Mushrooms as myth, medicine, and muse, this is The Gourmand's wide-ranging tribute to the most mysterious ingredient on earth. Essays move from ancient folklore and toxicology to Yayoi Kusama, the CIA, fairy rings, and space travel, while photography treats fungi as sculpture, pattern, and form.

Alongside the cultural inquiry sits an expansive recipe collection spanning Cantonese stuffed mushrooms, wild mushroom ravioli, pierogi, ramen-adjacent relishes, and good old-fashioned mushroom ketchup. Introduced by chef and food writer Jeremy Lee with a reflection on impermanence and culinary memory. Part visual feast, part field guide, part fanzine.