Safest mushrooms to forage and eat | Hacker News Reader

Safest mushrooms to forage and eat

fieldandstream.com

167 pointsmizzao126 comments

This article offers terrible advice to novice foragers. It's irresponsible at best, even with the disclaimer in the opening paragraph.

Experts such as David Arora advise foragers that, "people can have adverse idiosyncratic reactions to edible mushrooms just as they can to scallops or peanut butter. Since each kind of mushroom is a different food, you can be allergic to one but not the other. To minimize the chances of an adverse reaction, cook each kind well and eat a modest amount the first few times" [Arora. All the Rain Promises and More. 1991].

Be careful when cooking wild mushrooms for friends and family even if you are 100% sure of your identification. Despite being considered "foolproof" from an identification perspective, mushrooms like the Chicken of the Woods can make you very ill ("gastrointestinal distress" is worse than it sounds) if they're growing on pretty much anything besides an oak (e.g. conifer, buckeye, etc). Puffballs are also notorious for giving people stomach aches. I've been mushroom foraging for over 15 years and about 10 years ago I made this mistake - correct identification of Chicken of the Woods (tasted great!) but was growing on a conifer. I not only made myself sick but a few of my friends too. Thankfully they forgave me as we are very good/old friends but since then I very rarely cook any wild mushroom for anyone besides myself.

"This article offers terrible advice to novice foragers. It's irresponsible at best, even with the disclaimer in the opening paragraph."

I agree, despite having almost certain knowledge of at least a few of the safer types, I'd never pick mushrooms from the wild.

The consequences of even one badie getting into the mix can be too horrible to contemplate. Often there's no antidote and you're dead within days.

> I'd never pick mushrooms from the wild

Some of the tastiest mushrooms are also the most recognizable, like morels. If you want them foraging is the only option for most people. Morels have no reliable farming methods as far as I know

There was a post about a month ago about recent-ish advances in cultivated morels: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29480357

> I'd never pick mushrooms from the wild

Foraging for mushrooms is an awful lot of fun. In many European cities, you are often able to bring all your mushrooms to the local food market mushroom expert and have them identified. It's a great service.

I have no problem with that. What you are outlining is procedural and it's been culturally regularized over time, essentially it's self-checking as everyone knows the rules and what to do.

The problem comes when neophyte beginners decide to go hunting for mushrooms. They may think they've a good understanding of what's safe and often they do but it's the odd slipup or mistake that can turn fatal.

With mushrooms there is no margin for error, you're either right and enjoy a lovely meal or you die by a lingering death. It only takes one error for disaster to occur.

Take this story for instance: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-06/fatal-mushroom-meal-c.... Unfortunately, it's often a change of circumstance, or an unusual set of events that catches people out. I remember this accident happening, tragically similar scenarios have happened all too frequently in many countries.

Have a look at [1]. One is edible without special considerations, the other is potentially lethal if you don't corrently boil it in a well-ventilated room first (and take care not to breathe in too much of what you're boiling off). People are regularly hospitalised for doing stupid stuff like standing over the pot. Most advice I've seen tell people to not eat even properly prepared gyromitra too often (at least one book on foraging tells people to avoid more than one meal a year of it).

If you're experienced and aware of the existence of gyromitra, you'll probably do just fine. But I totally understand if people don't feel confident that they'd make the right call. The colours looks obviously different on those pictures, but try looking at some other pictures to get an idea of the colour variations.

I don't want to put people off foraging for mushrooms, because I absolutely agree with you that many of the tastiest kinds are rarely available without foraging (more often available at markets than in stores, but inconsistently certainly; even gyromitra can be bought at markets in some countries), but better that people are well aware of the potential for misidentification so they seek proper advice and learn how to distinguish them first (and are aware that the risk factors varies greatly between regions depending on which similar mushrooms exists there).

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Mushrooms-Gyromitra-Escu...

Arora's remarks can be applied to any new food, not just mushrooms. You could have an allergic reaction to anything.

I'm sort of in the middle on the article. The chicken of the woods pictured is clearly old and woody -- you wouldn't want to pick it. Small amanitas can look like puffballs, so you cut them in half if you're unsure. And the article is not a complete guide -- you'd need a little bit of supplementary info (in my opinion) to correctly nail the oysters and the king bolete, but:

Even if someone just used these pictures and description as a guide, they're not going to die -- barring some kind of freak reaction, the worst that'll happen is they'll get it a (rare) tummyache. It has happened to me maybe twice in my 10 years of foraging and it was hardly the riskiest thing I've done with my body.

That's what the article means by "safest". They're not saying "perfectly safe" but "if you're going to start, start with these, the risk is the lowest." I think you're kind of overreacting.

Then again, I could be underestimating the incompetence of the average person.

About me: I pick and eat mushrooms all the time all over the world, and sometimes sell them to restaurants.

Arora's remarks can be applied to any new food, not just mushrooms. You could have an allergic reaction to anything.

Of course, but unfortunately many articles like this one fail to add a note like this to their disclaimers. It's easy to forget during and after the excitement of a mushroom hunt.

I think you're kind of overreacting.

I probably wouldn't have posted a reply if I didn't make the same mistake myself years ago. In my first five years of foraging I was less careful than I was after the incident I mentioned. I have never misidentified any mushroom I've ever consumed and have eaten many dozens of species. However, after getting very ill that one time (violent vomiting and diarrhea) I have become a lot more cautious when consuming new wild mushrooms (heeding to Arora's advice to try small amounts first). In light of my personal experience I found the article to be a bit light on words of caution, especially for novices.

Fair, it's good to have other perspectives.

> Arora's remarks can be applied to any new food, not just mushrooms

Sure, but if I buy food from a store or a farmers market, I can at least assume the food was sourced properly, and they aren’t mushrooms that grew on something bad.

"I think you're kind of overreacting"

There is no such thing as "overreacting" with foraged mushrooms. The bar for "competent" identification is far too high, and the downside of being not-quite-competent-enough includes spending 72 hours knowing that you and your friends are going to die with no hope of a cure.

I know strong opinions tend to be popular online, but I hope comments like this don't discourage people from learning and going out there. The books and internet are more than enough to stay safe.

This is one of the times people need to be discouraged. They should know they're risking their lives if they get into foraging, specifically because they can be easily fooled into thinking it's safe.

As a random aside, a crap-ton of flowers are toxic. Flowers. If somebody hadn't told me that, I'd be eating random ones I find on hikes, because I heard of edible flowers and for some dumb reason I thought they all were.

It's true. It wasn't mushrooms that almost killed me, but what I thought was a carrot. It was poison hemlock. You really can die out there.

It depends on the intentions of the site. If the author is advertising it as a complete guide, then I agree with you: it's incomplete as a guide. If he's advertising it as a starting point -- start with these mushrooms which have a very low risk of harm -- then it's fine in my view.

fwiw the intention of my criticism of the article wasn't to discourage people from learning about and appreciating fungi. My issue with this article is that it simplifies things too much to the point of harm.

One of the advantages of growing instead of hunting is that you can harvest the first flush, stuff it in a bag in the fridge and then come back a couple days later to check that the full sized mushrooms look right. King stropharia is pretty distinct when it’s old, but you eat before the gills fully open.

I think the problem is not stupidity so much that it says too little about which factors matters for identification.

If you pay attention to everything in the article you're probably fine. But if your eyes glaze over and you latch on to a couple of the things mentioned for a given mushroom, less so.

My wife has been reading a book on mushroom foraging. This section on different types of mushroom poisoning was particularly terrifying.

Trichothecenes, symptoms: Multi-organ failure, which can commence soon after exposure (such as through drinking an infusion), particularly bone marrow failure and lamellar desquamation (shredding and reddening) of palms, soles of feet and face. Death may occur.

"There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters"

"Any wild mushroom can be eaten - once."

I limit my foraging to the mushroom section of the grocery store.

Agaricus Bisporus is indeed universally safe, and comes in large, small, brown and white varieties. The variety of flavors and textures that awaits the slightly more adventurous is a delight!

There are also other tasty cultivated mushrooms like shiitake! More expensive (at least in the US), but much cheaper than a visit to the emergency room after eating a dangerous wild mushroom...

This is absolutely correct. Neither chanterelles nor puffballs are "foolproof" mushrooms, even slightly. Mistaken puffballs are probably the number one cause of serious mushroom poisonings and even fatalities, since small puffballs look so much like amanita mushrooms that haven't fully opened yet.

And chanterelles have a number of at least moderately toxic lookalikes depending on the region you're in and how much an eager amateur is willing to stretch the definition. I don't think a lot of beginners can reliably tell the difference between "gills" and "folds."

Plus what you referred to about toxins leached from the tree that the mushroom was growing on. I'd not eat anything growing on a locust tree or a fallen rhododendron. Just seems like inviting trouble.

> I don't think a lot of beginners can reliably tell the difference between "gills" and "folds."

Can anyone? The way you know it's a chanterelle is if it smells like apricots. The gill vs fold thing is kind of a red herring.

Yes, once you have felt and identified a chanterelle with success a few times, it's very easy for an experienced forager to tell the difference between gills and folds (especially in the larger species such as C. californicus). The folds are often veiny and cannot be moved or 'plucked' like gills. In general though, identification should be done using as many factors as possible (e.g. using a identification key which is like a decision tree). For example, besides gills and smell, another way to differentiate the (non- or only mildly-toxic) false chanterelle is the firmness.

I think the "depending on the region you're in" part is what struck me most as lacking about this article.

It's also imprecise in giving advice on precise growing conditions. E.g telling a beginner that no matter what they think, a given mushroom doesn't grow in summer is a good way of reducing misidentification.

Reminds me of this terrifying story. https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/11/22/i-survived-the-...

And discussion on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21287736

I grew up with an extremely severe allergy (think ambulance helicopters getting involved), yet my mum is a complete mushroom nerd.. not sure if it was out of ignorance, but she never policed mushrooms anywhere near the way she did other common, possible allergens..

Or maybe she just stuck to easily identifiable as edible mushrooms, like chanterelles, funnel chanterelles, penny buns and hedgehog mushroom..

Fun list, but: Do Not Use As Your Guide.

Here is a mushroom that will kill you, which looks just like a puffball until you cut it in half: https://marksteinmetz.photoshelter.com/image/I0000IoVqJv8YbG...

If you're interested in foraging mushrooms, which is super fun and [ful]filling, I recommend seeking out your local Mycological Society and joining them for some guided walks. These will help you learn what to pay attention to when identifying mushrooms. They also typically host Foraging 101 classes, which are similar to the article but with a greater focus on deadly lookalikes and safety, and maybe some recipes! They also often have annual mushroom feasts where you can eat some fun and unusual stuff.

As a general practice, for the first year of your foraging (and maybe a for a while after) have a more experienced forager/expert validate your IDs. A good resource is also the mushroom identification Reddit.

Finally, get a book! I have maybe a dozen, but by far my most used is the The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms by Gary Lincoff. Excellent for identifying mushrooms you're likely to run into, although the scientific names aren't super accurate.

I joined a mushroom foraging expedition once and all the experienced mushroom hunters had a universal rule of never eating white mushrooms because of the possibility of amanita poisoning.

Hmm that's interesting because there are plenty of white mushrooms that are very edible and easy to identify. I think the truth is there's no real universal rules to mushroom hunting. The types of mushrooms you'll find in your locale can vary drastically and there are really solid rules to follow that are only relevant to that area alone

That being said, you should never think you're 100% on an LBM (little brown mushroom)

They're found in Bay Area. This thing is insane - it is still toxic after freezing or cooking it: http://bayareamushrooms.org/mushroommonth/amanita_phalloides...

Spotting the gills in a cross-section can be less clear than in that shared picture, as well - here are a few more subtle examples:

http://americanmushrooms.com/taxa/Amanita_virosa_-_button_01...

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-otGjxeikhB4/W8dIKrnNyBI/AAAAAAAAE...

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/mushrooms/Amanitaceae.h...

Which is not to say never go mushroom-hunting; I and many thousands of other people forage regularly without dying, but the very most important thing is to know what all the deadly mushrooms in your area look like and be able to rule out them out anytime you plan to eat a foraged mushroom.

I'm on a WhatsApp group with my neighbors in Pennsylvania, one of them sent this back in September:

I would advise getting some live instruction and experience rather than relying only on guidebooks and online sources, since many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to edible ones. That’s just my opinion. My dad grew up on a farm and thought he knew this mushroom to be edible. Mushrooming is a beautiful thing but I personally wouldn’t risk it without gaining a level of expertise. I’ve been going back and forth all night between the children’s wing and the ER observation room to see my 2 year old and 80 year old father, with both of them projectile vomiting and diarrhea and heart rates twice their normal level.

You should never give mushrooms to kids below 10. What in adults can lead to vommiting can cause serious liver damage for kids.

Most importantly - live instruction for the region you are in. Many asian foragers get into distress in the UK due to similar looking but different funghi.

This is one of the most important things for people to remember, to not be confident that their knowledge from one place transfers.

I grew up in Norway and now live in the UK. I haven't been foraging since I moved to the UK and despite the similar climate I wouldn't even do that here without first getting either instruction or at least reading a good field guide over what is actually safe to pick here... I'm guessing it's probably mostly the same ones to look out for, but no way I'd take that risk without triple-checking.

There is no such thing as safest mushrooms.

The safest mushrooms are the ones that you know well.

Buy a good guide. Learn ones that grow in your neighbourhood. Study the notes carefully. A good book will show all mushrooms that looks similar to the one you want to pick and will show how to exactly identify the mushroom by specific features of it rather than overall look and feel.

NEVER pick a mushroom because it "looks" ok or because you "remember" there was a nice edible mushroom that looked like the one you are seeing. Only pick the ones that you know well and only when you have positively went over mental checklist of all the features it needs to have in order to be safe.

This is my favourite mushroom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera

Here are some deadly lookalikes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyllum_molybdites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepiota https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides

They do not look alike to me, but I know people do mistake them from time to time with tragic consequences.

> They do not look alike to me, but I know people do mistake them from time to time with tragic consequences.

Some people just shouldn't be foraging. I've met enough idiots out in the field that I do believe some have the natural skill and for others... it at least would have to really work at it.

I don't entirely agree with your statement that "there is no such thing as safest mushrooms". If you consider what a mushroom grows in, the region, the time of year, the gills or pores, the scent (often unappreciated), among any more specific distinguishing features, things like oyster mushrooms and morels can be more reliably identified by less experienced foragers than say hen of the woods.

Like, I basically agree when it comes to the least apt of foragers, but that doesn't mean that someone skilled has to apply equal paranoia to all mushrooms as if they've never seen a mushroom before. Just don't go on looks alone.

> Just don't go on looks alone

But that is exactly the point.

You don't pick a mushroom because it "looks" like the one on the picture. You pick a mushroom after you have familiarised yourself with other ones that look closest to what you are picking.

People with no experience don't yet know which differences are and which aren't significant.

There is a saying in the mushroom foraging community:

There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.

Absolutely right.

There's a Russian saying that goes something like: "All mushrooms are edible, but some you only eat once"

I'm surprised to see morels aren't on the list. Anyone who confuses a morel for a false morel is _really_ not paying attention. On the other hand, there are toxic (not deadly) boletes that can more easily be confused for porcini mushrooms. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Indeed, I remember at my very first mushroom hunt I picked up some morels. After I went home and consulted my mushroom book there was no mistaken that what I had picked were indeed false morels. This autumn was third season, and I have yet to find a authentic morels though.

Morels are a spring mushroom.

Heh, no wonder I only ever find false morels...

On the flip side, after moving to the Pacific North West from northern Europe I simply cannot get over how long the mushroom season is here.

Even regular morels are (at least around here) toxic when picked and must be properly cooked to be safely eaten. So while delicious I wouldn’t place them on a list of “safest” for that reason.

Toxic mushrooms that can be confused for porcini are very rare in most countries. Rare enough that one can generally neglect the risk of ever seeing one. In places where those are common it might be another story of course.

I think that’s important to stress: advice like this is geographically local . The list of safest mushrooms to pick in North America is not necessarily the same list as it would be in Europe. Use local advice.

With very few exceptions, wild mushrooms are supposed to be cooked before eaten.

Do you have more info on uncooked morel risks?

The morels can be pretty nasty though compared to those on this list. E.g a common mistake is to dry them in a regular kitchen oven. When you do, you’ll risk endning up with bad headache or nausea if your kitchen isn’t well ventilated. This doesn’t exactly happen when drying porcini.

Morel toxicity is mentioned very briefly on the Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella

And it’s even more local than that. In the WA area you will find completely different mushrooms and have to be good at different positive idenfication techniques depending on what type of forest you are in

I was about to post the same reaction to this article, because morels are even more distinctly identifiable than chantrelles, and of course, I've know for 40 years that they're safe to eat.

That's what I've always heard, at least. I realized that I've never challenged the common knowledge and assumptions I've carried around for my entire life. It was worth the effort. I've (unintentionally) never eaten morels without cooking them, and now I know that I shouldn't.

In regard to wild-sourced foods especially, it's good to acknowledge that safety knowledge is stocked with heaps of just-so stories and context-dependent tradition. I'll still snag a few morels when I seen a bunch, but now I know that my collection of common knowledge about them isn't comprehensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella#Toxicity

> there are toxic (not deadly) boletes that can more easily be confused for porcini mushrooms.

Assuming that B. Huronensis isn't deadly, which afaik is unknown:

https://namyco.org/boletus_huronensis.php

http://www.fungikingdom.net/articles-by-bill-bakaitis/toxico...

The non-toxic but unpalatable bitter bolete is another close lookalike [1]. Personally I have found correctly identifying boletes to be much more difficult than any other mushrooms on the list. The Bolete Filter [2] is a great resource IMO.

Chantrelles are very easy once you understand their characteristics, but I think it's irresponsible for the author to suggest just looking at some pictures of jack o lanterns and calling it a day. During a dry spell of foraging, I once deluded myself into thinking a large patch of Turbinellus floccosus [3] were golden chanterelles, only realizing my mistake a few minutes before cooking dinner.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylopilus_felleus

[2]https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/product/boletus-edulis/

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbinellus_floccosus

> Personally I have found correctly identifying boletes to be much more difficult than any other mushrooms on the list.

Same. I suspect the way to get good at it is to take the Eagle Hill Institute class on boletes when the Bessettes are teaching it, but I haven't actually done that.

Same for pheasant back and wood ear.

> On the other hand, there are toxic (not deadly) boletes

Devil's Bolete?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubroboletus_satanas

Deadly for sure, in the right amount. Huronensis is even worse because satanas colour is a flashing warning

I used to feel the same way, until I saw examples of gyromitra that look a lot like morchella and vice versa. It also gets complicated because there are varieties of gyromitra that are edible if properly prepared.

Mushroom hunting is a lot of fun, but I’d rather leave something in the field if I’m not 100% sure if the species.

Yeah, I'm Norwegian and when looking up morels to see what the Norwegian name would be the reaction I had to seeing it was that it looks like "sandmorkel" - gyromitra esculenta - which is toxic unless boiled, and which were warned to avoid having too many meals of even after boiling because the toxins build up.

More than one family have ended up hospitalized after standing over the pot just to smell it while boiling...

False morels are also edible and commercially sold as such in several Scandinavian countries, they just need fairly elaborate preparation and even that doesn't get rid of all the toxins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyromitra_esculenta

Beefsteak mushrooms are pretty common in Michigan, and not really what I would call a false morel, as they aren't very similar (I'm sure they do get called that though).

I always referred to Verpa as false morels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verpa

Not to mention that if you fail and accidentally pick a false morel, it's still an edible mushroom either way

False Morels (Gyromitra esculenta) can have toxic amounts of hydrazine, it is usually safe WHEN COOKED but a couple people have died from them.

People have been hospitalized for just standing around the pot while cooking.

And a key point is that you need to know how to cook it, e.g. to boil it sufficiently in a well ventilated room and throw away the water.

I would take puffballs off this list. Young deadly amanitas look like puffballs. Always cut in half lengthwise when harvesting puffballs.

Extremely surprising that Field and Stream would open themselves up for lawsuits this way. There's basically no safe advice for foraging mushrooms. It's like writing an article on how to safely eat raw chicken.

Long years ago, my high school biology teacher (master's degree in biology, decades of experience hunting mushrooms) nearly killed herself - by accident, eating wild mushrooms.

Like many teens, I was pretty stupid about risks. But that convinced me that "never, ever eat wild mushrooms" was the only sane way to go.

I really appreciate hearing the details of stories like this, IE: what did she think she had found, how familiar was she with the species, what was it that caused her to misidentify, etc. Helps us all out when we can learn from each other - one of the things I really like about talking to other mushroom people is there willingness to share.

(The event was ~1/2 century ago. And if any such details were shared with any mere student, I was not aware of it.)

Understood - I shared more as a PSA given that there seems to be a lot of mushroom enthusiasts here on HN. It’s something that frustrates me about articles and even books on mushrooms.

As so many others have said, this article is dangerous for your health.

Firstly, how can mushroms harm you?

1. The most common case - rotten mushrooms. Mushrooms live in interesting places. If your mushroom has begun to rot and you did not watch out, then you will suffer from food poisoning. Beginners are hardly able to tell whether a mushroom is fresh.

2. Mushrooms that have not been prepared properly. Must mushrooms are poisonous, if eaten raw. Some can be stir fried, but there are species where every part of the mushroom must be given full heat for at least a quarter of an hour. Ignore this, and you will regret it.

3. Personal intolerance - quite some species are known to be digestible by some and to give bad reactions to others. This may even mean death. Learn that carefully, and go step by step when you try them while avoiding the all too dangerous stuff.

4. Poisonous in the strict sense.

When one explains mushrooms to inexperienced people, you have to teach them about the defining features of a certain species. This means that if any of the features is not clear, different, or missing, then they may not eat the mushroom. "I believe" is ok, just do not eat it.

In detail:

Puffballs - he must be joking. There are too many of them, and the beginner will not even understand what to look for.

Chanterelles - he even mentions the Jack O'Lantern without specifying the specific difference. That difference is ridges instead of gills. Further, there are many mushrooms with ridges, but I dare anyone to explain the similarity of a ridge of a chanterelle to a ridge of a trumpet of the dead (do not let the name scare you).

Oyster mushrooms - oh yes, they can be mistaken. Saying that they are difficult to mistake depends on the knowledge of the person and that may vary wildly.

Chicken of the woods - there is a persistent rumor that it is poisonous, if it grows on a poisonous tree. You will need botanic knowledge to be safe.

Hen of the woods - not even this one is foolproof.

King bolete - too little detail given, while many people still believe that all mushrooms with pores are edible. This is a dangerous and wrong belief.

Lion's mane - I bet money on that there are people who will mistake an old hedgehog mushroom for a lion's mane.

How could anyone mistake a hedgehog for a lions mane? The same person would confuse apples and lettuce. They might also confuse toilets for fondue pots

In France, pharmacists are trained to identify foraged mushrooms [0], some pharmacists are better than others at this.

[0] https://www.connexionfrance.com/Practical/Health/Can-French-...

Yeah, I found some boletes a few months ago and out of an abundance of caution took them to three different pharmacists in Paris and every one looked at me like I was a crazy person for bringing wild mushrooms into the pharmacy. "We don't do that" is all I was told. One pharmacist student, an acquaintance of mine, told me they were probably going to make me sick. After doing research into the matter and asking old foragers I met in the woods, though, I decided to eat them and they were definitely delicious and non-deadly porcinis.

Know what you are doing and make sure the people you are talking about are knowledgeable.

EDIT: I am not disputing your claim, BTW. But I think it is just like the fact that all US doctors took a few semesters of organic chemistry doesn't meant that they can tell you anything useful about the subject.

I rescue and relocate venomous snakes my neighbors find in their yards. They're easy to identify (in the US) and easy to deal with if you have a modicum of training.

But wild mushrooms scare the shit out of me. The only mushrooms I'll eat are accompanied by a cash register receipt.

I’ve made this comment before:

If anyone wants to start eating wild mushrooms and doesn't want to poison themselves I recommend this approach: 1. Choose one edible mushroom species that is often found in your region and is difficult to mis-identify (ceps, giant puffballs, beefsteak, field mushrooms etc) 2. Get to know this species inside out and learn which species look similar to it, especially any poisonous species. Learn the visual differences. 3.Learn the diagnostic tests (spore prints, smell tests, color changes on bruising). 4. Go mushroom picking! 5. Don't eat anything until you've picked this species so many times that you have become expert in identifying it. 6. Start learning about a new species and repeat

> virtually all mushrooms are at least mildly poisonous in their raw form and must be cooked before they’re eaten

First I've heard that -- I eat raw white "supermarket" mushrooms (sometimes portabella and shittake also) in salads quite often.

Yours is a bit of a strange comment.

The "supermarket" white mushroom ( Agaricus bisporus ) is the same as: white mushroom, button mushroom, champignon mushroom, cremini/crimini mushroom,[4][5] chestnut mushroom, And the portobello/a.

Just because you can eat a few species raw doesn't contradict the statement the virtually all require cooking.

I'm just saying that I have never heard that cooking was required/recommended to make any mushroom safe to eat. I had assumed they were either safe, or not, and cooking them was a separate matter, mostly of preference.

There are varying degrees of preparations to be safe for various mushrooms. There are a few you can eat raw. There are a few that will kill you even if you cook them 10 times. And there is everything in between - from mushrooms that you cook once, to those you need to cook 3 times, replacing the water each time and ventilating to not inhale the vapor :))

Source - 30 years of experience foraging and learning from grandmom.

There are only a handful of species that have been eaten raw enough times to be generally regarded as "safe". Crimini/button mushrooms being among them, as well as king boletes.

Caesar's Mushroom (Amanita cesarea [1]) can also be eaten raw, if you're making a list.

Note that it's not present in US/Canada which do have the common (and commonly considered poisonous) fly agaric (Amanita muscaria [2]), which can appear a lookalike to the untrained eye.

As advised in other replies, your local mycological society is likely to organize course on identification, foraging field trips, run id clinics, etc. so a good initial step for folks wanting to know more would be to look for local expertise.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_caesarea [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

Portabello seem to be more dangerous than the general public realizes, though Paul Stamets doesn’t want to go into detail. Some suspect this type of mushroom is highly carcinogenic. Either way, cooking the portobellos at high temperatures should make them safe for consumpion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=6246&v=mPqWstVnRjQ

How the heck are morels not on this list? Delicious, not commercially available, very hard to grow, easy to identify safely, and grow across the country.

The easy identification is a bit of an acquired skill. I feel like I can identify them at a glance vs similar species, bit it's apparent enough that it isn't always the case.

The white puffball mushroom looks similar to amanita virosa, which is deadly.

https://image.forskning.no/156876.jpg

Almost every year, someone from China dies in Norway, because they picked it and thought it was edible, unfortunately.

Cultivating mushrooms on one's own seems safer.

There are species of edible and safe fungi - like Hericium erinaceus (lion's mane) or Lentinula edodes (shiitake) - which can be grown in the backyard or in-house terrarium. Lion's mane is eaten raw in parts of Asia as it becomes toxic at about 7g of raw mushroom per 1kg of body. It's the only organism known to produce a substance called Erinacine A, which stimulates nerve growth factor synthesis.

There are some other fungi - like Trametes versicolor (turkey tail) or Ganoderma lucidum (raishi) - with medicinal properties also proven by western medicine.

In most parts of the world, above species can be cultivated to be less polluted than store bought dried mushrooms. Fungi absorb heavy metals like crazy.

There was an interesting session with Joe Rogan and Paul Stamets, an amazing mycologist [1]. During that interview Stamets said that talking about Portabello mushrooms could put his life in jeopardy. Further research suggests that Portabello (among other mushrooms) contain hydrazine, a carcinogenic [2].

[1]https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/paul-stamets-says...

[2]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2132000/

I opened the comments just to warn people how shitty this article is, but I guess I was not the only one.

In my experience foraging is regional, locals know what kind of mushrooms grow in which forest. This kind of "look out for these LOL" list is not useful at all.

e.g in my region the parasol mushrooms are one of the best picks due to their sheer size and distinct characteristics. I would recommend it more to beginners.

Some mushrooms on the list have similar quite toxic ones, and here there is only one picture, there is no explanation on what to look out for. I hope no reader gets the false impression of it being safe (which is literally in the title of the article). Hate it.

I would suggest taking the Mushroom Mountain certified foraging class if the certification covers your state. It's valid in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvannia, New York, Rhode Island. It allows you to forage and sell mushrooms legally.

https://shop.mushroommountain.com/collections/wild-mushroom-...

Mushroom foraging is a popular autumn activity in my local area. To prevent poisonings, cities have registered (usually volunteering) mushroom experts you can bring your harvest to; which they will check and determine for you.

From the ones mentioned Porcini and Chanterelle are my favorites. Yum.

I have never learnt more about mushrooms than I did after reading this article followed by discussion on HN. Any visual mushroom foraging books anyone would recommend for the UK?

Would highly recommend Atomic Shrimp for an introduction to foraging in the UK:

https://youtu.be/iHPW8Z323F0

I've been a big fan of Marlow from Wildfood UK. His pocket guide is recommended by a few independent foraging groups I've been out with.

Chantrelles are a terrible pick here imo. They can be easily mistaken for highly poisonous and probably even more common jack-o-lanterns

This is interesting and really highlights why these kinds of lists are dangerous, since the answers are very region dependent. In Finland we have no chanterelle lookalikes (to my basic knowledge), but this changes as you point out if you live somewhere that Jack o lantern a grow.

> I personally avoid both the dog-turd fungus and the wolf-fart puffball

Good advice, assuming the names are anything close to literal descriptions.

Is there a book a layperson could read to get up to speed on what’s known about fungi? Or set of papers?

I’m curious about algae too.

The safest mushrooms to forage and eat are the ones foraged from the grocery store.

Then you are assuming that the forager that sold the mushroom to the grocery knows more than you. Don't do this. Learn, read a lot and take the control about what you eat and don't. This is the safest way.

And this is not restricted to botany, you need geology knowledge also. Because edible species can poison you also. Some Agaricus species that are unmistakable and fine otherwise store high amounts of heavy metals when growing in contaminated soils. Don't ask me how I discovered it.

I would add the yellowfoot to the list. Perhaps also the sheep polypore.

I thought they usually lump yellow foots in with chanterelles?

Oh, perhaps they do. I don't think you should lump mushroom species though, as the rules for distinguishing the related species from inedible species will be different.

Yeah, but they do it all the time. Like morels - there are tons of different morels, but we typically use "morel". Or for boletes, same thing. Even puffballs, oysters, etc. Even chanterelles have a bunch of different species that it refers to.

You can use an app called Picture Mushroom to ID mushrooms

The visual AI identification apps are neat, but can and will make dangerous misidentifications. They cannot be used for foraging.

I like how it boils down to "you just have to know." And those who know don't like to share because they like to know that they know and you don't know.

Mentioned above, but got into foraging lightly a couple years ago and found the community to be absolutely welcoming and open. I have not gotten a hint of not wanting to share.

That is usually quite far from the truth. But there are many factors beyond looks that you need to consider, e.g. smell, location, how it reacts when you scratch it, whether some bits are sticky or not, etc. No app will ever work simply because a picture is not enough.

Nobody can tell you all of it like that, not because they don’t want to, but simply because this is just an enormous amount of information that is very context sensitive. There are some very good books if you want to learn. Otherwise, join a bunch of people when they go out looking for mushrooms, the best way to learn is by following them. There really is no substitute.

Anecdotally I got into mushroom foraging a couple years ago and have used this app a number of times. It is completely unreliable.

I'll admit that I simply don't understand people's passion for foraging mushrooms.

You walk around and find these things that taste good (with a slight risk of illness)... so, ok? I go to Whole Foods every week where I'm surrounded by thousands of amazing delicacies, more than I'll ever be able to sample, yet no one makes foraging at Whole Foods their hobby.

Would love to hear from anyone who's passionate about mushrooms, to understand where it comes from.

Foraging at Whole Foods is shoplifting and people do that.

People like to enjoy nature in their own way. Some people like to rock climb, which is a very dangerous activity. Others like to forage mushrooms, which comes with its own danger.

I don't get it either. My wife's side of the family goes crazy about morels. They have secret hunting spots whose location is carefully protected. I've tried them, they just taste like .... mushrooms. I don't get the infatuation. Along with the risk of illness/death if you mistakenly pick the wrong one. I'll stick to cultivated mushrooms from the supermarket.

> with a slight risk of illness

Unless you pick up very innocent looking Death Cap or Destroying Angel mushrooms, then it's certain death.

The only danger in Wholefoods is to your wallet.

Seems like every year some people end up dying from some sort of mass food poisoning.

I have some older family friends that frequently go mushroom picking. I went with them one day and had a great time. We spent the afternoon walking through a beautiful forest enjoying the weather, bonding, and collecting mushrooms. We then went home and they cooked up a tasty meal with the mushrooms from the day.

It reminded me of going out fishing with my father, where we'd spend the day on the lake just talking and tossing some lines in the water. Every once in a while we'd catch a fish, occasionally there would be some excitement and we'd catch a large or unusual fish, and then we'd go home and fry them up for the family. Sure, we could have went to the grocery store and bought a few fillets, but that was never the point of the day out in the first place.

Did you ever catch a fish that was toxic, and eating it killed someone?

You're right, the fish are safer to eat. However, I know a relative that died ice fishing and a friend of my fathers that died in a boating accident. Being on the water comes with its own set of risks.

I've never picked a toxic mushroom. So while it's a risk one should be aware of, and you should know how to do it right, it's not that dangerous if you follow the safety advice. Just like most people don't get killed by sharks or fall of anboat.and drown when going fishing.

I got into it from hiking. I enjoy the outdoors, and eventually discovered some mushrooms when I was younger. Over the years, I began to become familiar with the differences, and more courageous with what I was willing to explore with them.

I imagine most become fascinated with them because of how different they are from other food, and how they can be a rare and interesting find.

If you like hiking in the woods, hunting for morels is challenging but also a lot of fun.

Hobbies need to have the right amount of challenge and surprise, and usually also be intrinsically pleasant, though that is less important. Shopping at a grocery store generally has none of those things. Mushroom hunting has all of them, at least if you don't get poisoned.

(I haven't been in many years, but I remember it as the real-life experience most similar to playing Minetest, only more beautiful.)

Most of these mushrooms are never found in Whole Foods and many are rarely found in markets.

Lots of people do like "foraging" in shops or markets, but it's an entirely different experience, and limit yourself to one and there are many things you'll never get to taste.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com