A general rule is if it has pores instead of gills, you’re probably in the clear.
Except for that one in Europe, that shit will megadeath you.
In all seriousness, the general rule I’ve heard for foraging wild unknown things is:
- cut it open and rub it on your skin, wait an hour, if it gives you a reaction, stop here.
- touch it to your lips, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
- touch it to your tongue, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
- chew a bit and spit it out, wait a while, if it gives you a reaction, stop here
- swallow a small amount, wait a few hours, if it gives you discomfort, stop here
- if you’ve made it this far, it’s likely ok, do so at your own risk tolerance
Roots are generally OK, particularly if you have access to double boil them.
For mushrooms:
- pores are generally safer than gills
- don’t eat it if it’s bioluminescent
- don’t eat if it oxidizes quickly when you cut it open
- don’t eat it if it bruises blue or red
- learn how to detect what a bolete is. Boletes are generally safe, unless it breaks one of the rules above
- Slime: Just say no.
- make sure there’s not a mushroom growing on your mushroom. Double the mushroom is not double the fun.
- learn what a destroying angel looks like, even when it’s young. Appreciate it from a distance, but give that fucker 5 feet of space at all times.
I am by no means an expert. I’m just a rando guy from Appalachia with some wild ass Russian buds and we do some funky shit down here. Take everything I say with as much trust as you give to anyone on the Internet.
When in doubt, take it to an expert and even then, consume at your own risk tolerance.
Yep. Years ago I interviewed someone for a radio program here in the Netherlands. This was a forest ranger, on the topic of people foraging for mushrooms. It was the hip thing to do at the time.
He explained how wildly dangerous it is for average people to do. Especially when looking up things online.
He showed me two images that looked basically identical. He explained to me that one mushroom was edible and delicious. And that it could be found in the forests in the United States. The other, identical looking mushroom can be found in European forests. That one liquifies your internal organs and causes you to shit yourself to an agonising death.
He explained that each year a handful of people die from eating it. Because they looked up a guide online, and failed to understand that there’s regional differences between edible and deadly mushrooms. And by the time they got medical attention, there was nothing that could be done.
I’m not a fan of mushrooms anyway, but I’d certainly never be dumb enough to go pick some myself. That shit’ll get you killed.
Don't be a shitty.
I remember going on a nature walk in Middle School, and our primary stoner/everyone's future dealer (we'll call him Nate because that was his name) picked and ate a random mushroom for the lols. I remember spending the entirety of that walk worrying about Nate's next couple of days. But as you likely pieced together, he was fine, and lived to become everyone's future dealer.
EDIT: For anyone wondering, it was one of those small, skinny, kind of spindly looking mushrooms. Almost like psilocybin but with a flatter cap.
Don't munch on a hunch
If your family has been hunting mushrooms in the area for a few generations and you've been going with them as a kid (and you're not dumber than the mushrooms) you're almost certainly fine.
If not, don't bother, you'll end up poisoning yourself (and possibly others) and probably ruining the forest for those who know what they're doing.
Idk if op meant to fearmonger, but mushrooms are hardly ever toxic and hardly ever fatal.
It is now thought that of the approximately 100,000 known fungi species found worldwide, about 100 of them are poisonous to humans.[14] However, by far the majority of mushroom poisonings are not fatal,[15] and the majority of fatal poisonings are attributable to the Amanita phalloides mushroom
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_poisoning
That said, definitely be safe and if you arent sure, dont eat it.
Never had a problem in middle temperate Europe or heard about anyone who had.
I even pick up these fuckers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera though many avoid them because of relative similarities to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides.
It is delicious and like the best nature has to offer here. You coat it in breadcrumbs and cook in oil on a pan. It tastes better than any steak. However it is a pain in the ass to find and a real treasure.
My friend forages for porcini mushrooms out near Tahoe. I thankfully don't like mushrooms, so he's not offended when I decline, but idgaf how good he is at finding them, it only takes 1 fuckup and you're dead. He says there's no mushrooms that look like it and as long as you only look for that one, you'll be fine. Frankly imo mushrooms are nasty as hell even when you get the kind you know won't kill you at the store. I have no desire to risk my life to eat wild fungus.
Pick shaggy ink caps
