Wild edible mushroom usage by the urban and rural population in differ- ent regions of the world, compared to the region of varna-bulgaria

Purpose: Wild edible mushrooms are used world-wide and in Bulgaria as well. This inquiry investigation aimed at evaluating some mushroom usage practices by inhabitants in towns and villages in the Region of Varna, Bulgaria. Material/Methods: We carried out a study of 200 adult individuals, 100 males and 100 females, on the ter-ritory of the Region of Varna using anonymous inquiry with a set of 12 concrete items about wild edible mush-room usage. Statistical data processing was performed us-ing descriptive and correlation analysis. Results: There was a domination of the negative at-titude towards the wild edible mushrooms among the re-spondents from the towns, the villages and all the re-spondents as a whole on the territory of the Region of Varna. The inhabitants in the villages used more com-monly cooking than those in the towns, and the inhabit-ants in the towns dried more seldom fresh mushrooms than those in the villages. Freezing was very rarely made use among all the respondents. There were statistically sig-nificant correlations between main town residence, on the one hand, and wild edible mushroom traditional usage, including cooking, drying, preservation and freezing, on the other hand. Conclusion: This inquiry investigation revealed some peculiarities of the attitudes towards wild edible mushrooms among the urban and rural population in the Region of Varna and the extent of usage of common mush-rooms in dependence on espondents' main residence.