While mushroom foraging is becoming increasingly popular, so too is erring on the side of caution . Understandably so given the deadly consequences of harvests gone wrong.

The solution to misidentification is simple: learn from someone experienced before going out by yourself.

Experienced forager and environmental educator Diego Bonetto says while the internet helps many become self-taught, it's still easy to make mistakes.

Diego urges people to opt for a hands-on learning approach instead and seek out an experienced forager to do so.

"You might know some mushrooms but you need to go around with someone who has the experience in that territory, because there's quite a few dangerous ones that look similar to ones you might be familiar with," he said.

Diego said this applies to foreigners as well, with some paying a deadly price for picking mushrooms they thought they knew.

Having grown up roaming the forests of his hometown in northern Italy, Diego said the mushroom season was something the community anticipated all year.

"When I moved to Australia 30 years ago, I knew there were mushrooms around but I didn't know which ones I could pick and I learnt about the pine forest species first," he said.

Diego learned from experienced foragers, then became confident picking mushrooms himself - something he urges everyone to do in a new territory.

"It's been an incredible journey over the last 20 years learning about more species along the way and teaching people about them."

Diego said the best place to go mushroom hunting is a pine forest, where various edible species can be found.

However with mushroom species being vast, he recommends to start with the easily identified species.

His top recommendations - saffron milk caps 'saffies' and slippery jacks.

These species can be found in various pine forests across NSW.

"You're allowed to harvest mushrooms in state forests in NSW and there are some fantastic pine plantations to explore across the state," he said.

The identifying features of saffies include the circle rings on the top, the bright orange gills underneath and of course its "orange milk".

The orange milk is the juice that comes out of the mushroom when it is cut, be mindful it will likely stain your hands in the process.

Relished for their texture and nutty flavour, saffies pair well with many home-cooked meals.

Slippery jacks are described by the Australian National Botanic Gardens as having a brown cap that is slimy in wet conditions, and a yellow underside which is spongy in appearance.

They have a mild flavour, and are featured in many soup and pasta recipes.

There are several ways you can preserve mushrooms, Diego says.

"You can fry them in a pan and then freeze in small parcels, or you can make a soup, reduce it until it is quite thick and then freeze it.

"You can also air-dry pine mushrooms or dry them in a dehydrator.

"My favourite way to preserve them is by pickling," he said.

One of the commonly mistaken mushrooms are field mushroom lookalikes, Diego said.

"Even though it might look like mushrooms you'd find in the supermarket, it's important to only ever harvest what you've been shown to be safe," he said.

Other poisonous species include the fly agaric - well known for its red cap and white spots - the fibrecap mushroom and the death-cap mushrooms.

Another dangerous mushroom species is ghost mushrooms, often mistaken for oyster mushrooms typically bought at supermarkets.

Diego's advice to avoid poisoning is simple: "If you don't know it, leave it."

One of the main things to keep in mind is the short duration of the mushroom season.

"It usually starts in late March, early April and finishes by the end of May, it depends on the conditions," Diego said.

The best times to hunt mushrooms is after a couple of days of rain.

"The forest has to go down to certain temperatures and we need rain. This summer we've had a fair amount of rain so it should be a good season ahead," he said.

While the excitement of uncovering mushrooms can awaken the inner child, Diego cautions people to "only ever pick what you will use".

"Pine mushrooms are not free food, they are a gift so please treat them as such. Treat the forest as the precious ecosystem that it is, whether it is a plantation or not," he said.

"When you look after these amazing ecosystems, you will be richly rewarded. A happy pine forest is a generous one."