Mushroom picking, or “silent hunting,” is a very popular activity for those who like to pamper themselves with one or another delicacy. Only those who have been on a “silent hunt” at least once in their life know that this activity can rightfully be called exciting and entertaining: it is a real delight from the next found oil can or chanterelle, it is excitement, it is a pleasant fatigue that gives incredible pleasure from such a walk... However, every “barrel of honey” also has its own “fly in the ointment”. Today we will learn how to distinguish from inedible ones.
Instruction
Each one comes with some risk. Being able to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones is a skill that each of us should have if we decide to go on a “silent hunt” at least once. Otherwise, the pleasure of this activity and a delicious meal will turn into tragedy...
How to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones?
Why do you need to know this?
In two simple reasons! The most important of them is your own safety, because among edible and inedible mushrooms there are those whose consumption will lead to instant death. Another reason is that ignorance will force you to trudge through the forest with a full and heavy basket of inedible rotten mushrooms. Question: do you need this?
Edible and inedible mushrooms
Both the names and appearance of such mushrooms are almost always the same. How then can you tell them apart? First of all, you need to know their classification! All mushrooms are divided into four groups according to the degree of their edibility.
- Edible. Such mushrooms can be eaten without pre-processing. Collected, cleaned - and into a frying pan or pan!
- Conditionally edible. In their raw form, these are bitter and poisonous mushrooms. They must be boiled, because only in this case will they become suitable for consumption.
- Inedible. These representatives of the mushroom kingdom are distinguished by an unpleasant taste, smell and rather hard flesh.
- Poisonous. These products are toxic. The poison is not removed from them even after pre-treatment.
Now let's find out how to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones using the example of the most popular of them.
Learning to distinguish
And finally
So, friends, now we know how to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones. Be careful and do not pick mushrooms that you are not completely sure about! Good luck to you!
From childhood, parents teach every child to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous and dangerous ones in the forest. But there is another category - inedible mushrooms. These are non-poisonous mushrooms, which, nevertheless, people do not eat because of one or another of their properties.
From childhood, parents teach every child to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous and dangerous ones in the forest.
The reasons may be as follows:
- Very small sizes. The saying about mushrooms, “pick one at a time, you’ll get a whole bunch,” is not always true. Some of their varieties have a certain set of nutrients, but are very small in size, so collecting them is simply impractical: the project will be labor-intensive, and the volume of “production” will be too small.
- Unpleasant taste or smell. In the kingdom of mushrooms there are species that have a persistent unpleasant or even unbearable taste - bitter or burning. Other species have a repulsive odor. All this makes them inedible, especially if the taste or smell does not disappear after cooking. The exception is the spicy varieties: their pulp is used in seasonings, alcoholic tinctures, or included in another culinary project.
- Unsuitable consistency. Species that are too hard, fibrous or, conversely, have a mucous-gelatinous consistency are also practically not eaten.
- Toxicity. A number of families are classified as inedible due to the content of toxic substances in small quantities. They are not considered poisonous to humans, since they have little effect on the body, and their accidental use does not lead to serious consequences, but digestive system may not cope with such mushrooms.
In the kingdom of mushrooms there are species that have a persistent unpleasant or even unbearable taste - bitter or burning
The use of inedible mushrooms
It was mentioned above how inedible mushrooms can be used in the food industry. Another area - ethnoscience: her recipes, along with the usual edible ones, include inedible mushrooms. In official medicine, products based on them are also found: more than one pharmaceutical project using them has already been implemented, and research in this area continues.
A number of families are classified as inedible due to the content of toxic substances in small quantities. Inedible mushrooms (video)
Inedible mushrooms of central Russia
Anyone who likes to be in the forest should find out how to distinguish an edible mushroom from an inedible one.
Directly during picking, a mushroom picker can help out with a reference book or a printed table with descriptions of inedible mushrooms, but it is better to find out in advance how to determine the variety of these fruits.
The names and photos of the most common of them are given below.
- Boletus is inedible. It is very similar to white, but differs in that it is completely tasteless. The inedible boletus has a round brown cap with a yellowish or dark olive lower part. If you press on the tubular surface or cut it, blue spots appear on it. The leg is yellow-red, with a mesh surface.
- Valuy is false. Contains toxins that may cause breathing problems or paralysis. Outwardly it is similar to the edible valuu, but the false valuu has an uneven leg and is covered with scales. A young false valua has a convex cap, while a mature one has a flatter, wavy cap. What is the easiest way to distinguish an inedible mushroom when in doubt? Smell: it has a recognizable strong smell of radish or horseradish.
- Orange talker. This is a “double” of the familiar chanterelle (although they belong to different families). To know how to recognize a false chanterelle, remember that its color is brighter than that of a real one, and the outer part of the cap is always lighter than the central one. The edges of the false chanterelle's cap are smooth, correct form. In addition, edible mushrooms differ from inedible chanterelles in that they grow only in groups (talkers can also be found alone).
- Gall mushroom. Other names are mustard (due to the very bitter taste that does not disappear, no matter what cooking methods are used), false white. The convex cap comes in different shades of brown, its tubular part is pinkish, which distinguishes the gall mushroom from the edible white or boletus mushrooms. The leg is widened downward, its pattern matches the color of the cap.
- Scleroderma, or false puffball. These “tubers” begin to emerge from the ground in small balls and grow up to 6 cm in diameter. At the end of growth they may be covered with small warts or scales. When ripe, their color is dark yellow, the flesh is purple or brown, powdery. False puffball is inedible, and if eaten in large quantities it is poisonous. However, chefs believe that it makes sense to add a pinch of them to individual dishes: scleroderma gives the food a truffle aroma.
- The dung beetle is white. It can be found not only in the forest, but also in vegetable gardens, near walls wooden buildings, and if the design of a residential building involves a wooden floor, then the dung beetle can even grow through the gap between the floorboards (hence the second name - brown dung beetle). An oblong cap in the shape of a dome or egg, covered with large scales that puff up in all directions and, like all dung beetles, turn black over time. Previously, dung bean spore powder was used to make ink. In this regard, the meaning of the proverb becomes clear: “The toadstool is bad, yes, you need to know” - application can be found for everything, even inedible mushrooms.
- Pepper mushroom. Another name is sheep. The sign that determines its inedibility is its spicy peppery taste. As you can see in the photo, its cap is brown-orange, with a yellowish tubular part. This mushroom can be confused with an oil can, but real butter mushrooms are usually larger in size.
- The row is sulfur-yellow. Slightly poisonous, found in forests throughout September and half of October. Bright yellow, lamellar, on a long, thin, uneven stalk. It has an extremely unpleasant aftertaste.
Many mushrooms belong to the category of not only inedible, but also poisonous, therefore, in order to avoid poisoning, you need to know the main distinctive characteristics of such fruiting bodies.
Dangerous poisonous mushrooms are distinguished by the presence of toxins, and known poisonous components are represented by three main groups:
- to the first group include local toxins, which can provoke various disorders in the digestive system. This category includes species represented by russula, undercooked autumn honey mushrooms, variegated and yellow-skinned champignons, and tiger row. In rare cases, death may occur;
- the second group includes neurotropic toxins, which have a pronounced effect on the human nervous system. The first symptoms of poisoning appear after about half an hour and can include hallucinations, loss of consciousness and severe indigestion. The group includes fly agarics, some types of fibers, talkers, rows, Russula vomitus, some hebeloms and entoloms;
- The third group includes toxins that have a pronounced plasmatoxic effect. To this group poisonous mushrooms include stitches and many lobes, as well as orange-red webweed.
If the mushroom is highly poisonous, then even timely treatment cannot guarantee complete safety.
Gallery: poisonous mushrooms (25 photos)
Varieties of poisonous mushrooms (video)
Description of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world
Today, several dozen species of poisonous mushrooms are known, but only some of them are deadly. You can recognize what poisonous mushrooms look like using a mushroom picker’s guide, which provides a clear description of the toxic fruiting bodies.
Omphalote olive
This species can be recognized by bioluminescence. It grows in forest areas, preferring rotten stumps and rotten trunks of deciduous trees. Most often found in Crimea. The structure is similar to the edible chanterelle.
Woolly fiberglass
A lamellar mushroom with a conical, bell-shaped, pointed, whitish-cream cap and a white or slightly reddish cap. Grows in deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as in park areas. Contains muscarine and muscaridine, which cause M-cholinergic toxindrome.
Woolly fiberglass
Panther fly agaric
It grows in forest areas where coniferous and deciduous plants are present. Mushroom pulp contains muscarine and mycoatropine, which have a toxic effect on the central nervous system, and alkaloids provoke stomach and intestinal upset. White spots vary in size and shape, but are always present on the greenish-brown skin of the cap.
Wrinkled foliotin
Grows in Europe, Asia and North America. The pulp contains a strong toxin, amatoxins, which disrupts liver function and becomes the main cause of death. In appearance it resembles Psilocybe blue.
Panther fly agaric
False honey fungus sulfur-yellow
Reminds in appearance of edible honey mushrooms. It is found everywhere in forest zones, except in Antarctica and Africa. Grows on old and decaying stumps. Consumption of food causes severe and fatal poisoning, the first signs of which are abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and paralysis.
Fruit bodies contain significant amounts of amatoxin and phallotoxin, which have a destructive effect on liver tissue. The distribution area of the deadly poisonous mushroom is represented by the forest zones of Eurasia, as well as the northern part of America and the territory of Oceania.
Patouillard fiberglass
Mushroom pulp is characterized by a high content of muscarine toxin, which causes disturbances in the activity of the central nervous system, causing paralysis and rapid death. The main distribution area is beech forests in Europe.
Mushroom pulp contains cyanides and nitrides, which have a toxic effect on the respiratory system, as well as cells of the central nervous system. The main growing area is coniferous forests in Europe.
A widespread species in our country, which appears en masse in forests starting in early spring. The pulp contains gyromitrin, which has a pronounced toxic effect on liver cells and often causes severe poisoning.
How to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones (video)
Why you can’t destroy poisonous mushrooms
The destruction of fungi can cause significant harm to the ecosystem and upset the natural balance. Many spongy and lamellar species that are poisonous to humans are used with therapeutic purpose some large artiodactyls. Also poisonous varieties are found purely practical use. Medicines and healing agents based on them can cure rheumatism, various nervous disorders, lung diseases and oncology, as well as many other pathologies.
How to recognize a poisonous mushroom
You need to be very careful and careful when picking mushrooms.. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to determine which mushrooms are poisonous, due to the external similarity of many varieties. Currently, several methods are actively used, which, according to ordinary people, can reliably distinguish poisonous specimens from edible species. However, many such methods, to put it mildly, do not stand up to criticism and often cause severe poisoning.
How to identify poisonous mushrooms when cooking
It is generally accepted that a silver item dipped into water during the cooking process darkens in the presence of poison. However, darkening of the metal is often observed when certain coloring substances are released from edible varieties. The same rule applies to darkening onions and garlic. For the purpose of disinfection, it is impossible to boil fruiting bodies in solutions based on vinegar and salt or milk. This remedy is completely incapable of making deadly species less poisonous.
How to externally distinguish poisonous mushrooms from edible varieties
As practice shows, it is enough to adhere to Several simple recommendations that can minimize the risk of poisoning:
- varieties classified as deadly are, in most cases, agaric mushrooms;
- trumpet subspecies can also be poisonous, but are not mortal danger for people;
- The most toxic are those including the pale grebe, which most often have thickenings at the base of the stalk and are characterized by the presence of a ring under the cap;
- honey mushroom-like varieties found in coniferous forests are classified as poisonous;
- If the mushroom pulp turns red when cut, then you should refuse to collect such specimens.
Popular folk methods for recognizing the toxicity of a mushroom
Consultation with parents and traditional methods are not always a guarantee of correctly determining the edibility of mushrooms. Inexperienced mushroom pickers very often focus on their smell when collecting mushrooms, but poisonous specimens do not necessarily have a sharp and unpleasant or specific odor. For example, the smell of the pulp is practically indistinguishable from the aroma of edible champignon.
The most poisonous mushrooms in Russia (video)
Signs of poisoning from poisonous mushrooms
The mechanisms of toxicity in the body may vary, and symptoms vary depending on the type of toxin and its amount. . The most severe symptoms of poisoning include:
- the appearance of hallucinations;
- disturbances in heart rhythm;
- respiratory dysfunction;
- pain in the abdomen and stomach;
- fainting;
- loss of consciousness;
- repeated vomiting and diarrhea, causing dehydration.
It is very important to remember that less pronounced symptoms can accompany irreversible changes in the body. Only a medical professional is able to correctly assess the general condition and severity of poisoning of the victim. It is for this reason that at the first signs of poisoning it is important to seek qualified help from a medical institution.
Gallery: poisonous mushrooms (40 photos)
Now we will tell you how to check whether mushrooms are poisonous. Eat different ways. We'll look at them. They will be useful to housewives and mushroom pickers.
Even on a dreary cloudy day, the forest looks incredibly beautiful. A slow walk along it will help you forget about the daily hustle and bustle for a while and immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere wildlife. He is generous with his gifts - picking berries and mushrooms brings not only pleasure, but also benefits, because many villagers survive harsh winters thanks to the supplies they make from early spring to late autumn. City dwellers go to the forest more often for recreation, so not everyone knows well how to distinguish a poisonous mushroom from an edible one.
How not to get poisoned?
A variety of dishes with mushrooms are present in almost all cuisines of the world. However, you should not engage in independent collecting if you are not confident in the accuracy of your knowledge and ability to distinguish edible from poisonous. Observing the period (1 day) and storage conditions (in a cool place without direct sunlight). You can safely prepare a delicious product.
Advice: mushrooms are not prepared or stored in aluminum, zinc, or ceramic dishes with glaze to avoid oxidation or reaction of some substances contained in them with the material of the dishes.
A careful approach to quiet hunting, as mushroom pickers call collecting the gifts of nature, will help to avoid poisoning. Take only those that you know well. Do not pick mushrooms near a highway, railway track or industrial enterprise.
You have come from the forest, you feel pleasantly tired, and on the table there are only collected mushrooms, alluring with their smell, waiting to be processed. And then you realize that you are not sure that you can eat them. How can you check whether a mushroom is poisonous or not at home? There are many ways to do this. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to reliably determine whether there are poisonous mushrooms among the collected mushrooms.
Here are a few options to help you check. We will also consider myths in parallel.
Silver and garlic
How to check whether a mushroom is poisonous or not? It is said that a silver object can be dipped into a pan containing this product. And if the silver darkens, it means there is a poisonous mushroom there. But this theory is not 100% correct. Since a reaction may occur with a substance that is released from edible mushrooms.
The changed color of garlic added during cooking also does not one hundred percent confirm the presence of dangerous stalks. After all, a reaction with the enzyme tyrosinase could have occurred, again.
Insects
There is an opinion that insects do not even land on poisonous mushrooms. This is not entirely true. Some sit and even feed on them. There are simply insects in nature that are resistant to poisons.
Taste and smell
Some people believe that poisonous mushrooms are tasteless and smell unpleasant. Is this so? It's impossible to say for sure. After all, there are several types of toadstools and fly agarics that smell very pleasant and are quite tasty (you should not try it yourself, since this information was obtained through the sad experience of careless tasters).
Souring or curdling of milk
How to check whether a mushroom is poisonous or not? Have you heard somewhere that milk will turn sour or curdle if poison gets into it? Yes, this can happen. But this can also only happen due to the enzyme pepsin, which is found in both normal and .
Salt and vinegar
You can neutralize some mushrooms in the following way. It is necessary to boil them in salted water with the addition of vinegar. Some conditionally toxic mushrooms, for example, stitches, can actually be neutralized in this way. But very toxic varieties will still remain deadly.
Alcohol won't help!
There is a widespread belief among the population that if you drink mushroom dishes with alcohol, then if poison enters the body, the latter can be neutralized due to this. This myth is one of the most dangerous. Because alcohol only enhances the effects of toxins. Such actions increase the risk of death.
How to check if mushrooms are poisonous when cooked?
You can use the following folk method. All you need is an onion. So how to check for poisonous mushrooms? When cooking these products, throw an onion, cut in half, into the pan. If the vegetable turns blue, then the mushrooms should be thrown away, as they are poisonous. These products can cause serious poisoning.
How to check whether a mushroom is poisonous or not? As can be seen from the many verification methods, it is difficult to know for sure. Remember that using such unscientific methods can result in mortal danger!
How to give first aid correctly
If trouble does occur, you should immediately contact a medical facility by calling ambulance. Before the ambulance arrives, your actions can not only alleviate the suffering of the victim, but also save his life. Act clearly and quickly:
- Don't panic.
- Perform gastric lavage and induce artificial vomiting several times.
- The victim should be placed comfortably in a horizontal position and covered with a blanket.
- Drinking regularly will help prevent dehydration and fight toxins. To do this, you need to drink milk, salted or just clean water.
- Someone should always be near the patient to ensure that the victim is conscious and give ammonia to sniff in case of loss of consciousness, otherwise a coma may occur.
A little conclusion
So how can you check whether mushrooms are poisonous or edible? Mushroom pickers have one rule: “If there is even a slight doubt that a mushroom is edible, then we interpret it as poisonous.” Many edible specimens have doubles that are very similar to them.
Therefore, without first studying the classification and parameters of mushrooms, you should not go into the forest to get them yourself. The best solution would be to buy mushrooms in a store, where you can speak with 100% confidence about their quality and suitability. And you won’t have to give up your favorite delicacies!
How to distinguish an inedible mushroom from an edible one. First aid for mushroom poisoningExperts believe that it is impossible to derive a universal rule. The only guarantee against poisoning is knowledge of the characteristics of individual species and the differences between them.
Among wild mushrooms there are poisonous ones. Some of them, at first glance, are very similar to edible ones; such doubles should be especially wary. Thus, poisonous mushrooms grow in pine and spruce forests: gall, pepper, satanic. The pepper mushroom is very similar to the butter mushroom and the boletus mushroom, the satanic one looks like a “double” of the boletus mushroom, and a very skillful one at that, and the gall mushroom from a distance also looks like a porcini mushroom.
The difference between the White mushroom and the false ones: Gall mushroom and Satanic mushroom
The gall mushroom is a mildly poisonous mushroom; it is often confused with white mushroom. It is impossible to get poisoned by it, but its bitter taste can ruin the entire dish. The main differences are: a dark mesh pattern on the stem (in the porcini mushroom it is white), a dirty pinkish bottom of the cap (in the porcini mushroom the tubular layer is always white or cream, turns yellow or green with age), bitter pulp (it is enough to lick the bottom of the cap to feel bitterness) - that’s why the gall mushroom is also called bitterness. At the break, the flesh turns pink (in boletus it is always white).
The porcini mushroom is very similar in appearance into satanic. But if you press on the inside (“moss”), it will turn pink. This means that this is not a white mushroom, but a poisonous one.
Differences between Chanterelle and False Chanterelle
In fact, distinguishing a real chanterelle from a fake is not so difficult. To begin with, you should pay attention to the color. In false chanterelles, unlike real ones, it is especially bright orange in the transition to copper-red. And the ordinary ones are just exactly yellow.
Hat. If you notice very smooth edges, you should be wary. A real chanterelle has a wavy decoration on this part of it.
The legs of a real chanterelle are thick and not hollow. The spores are yellowish. But her false sister has the opposite: the leg is thin, and the spores are white.
Take a sniff. It was already said earlier that the difference between a true mistress of the forest is her fruity or woody smell. But you are unlikely to want to put the talkers in the basket after such a check.
Mushrooms do not like to grow alone. Usually this is a whole family united by a common mycelium. But false chanterelles have just such a feature. They are often found in a single copy. For this reason alone, you should be wary.
Look at the color of the pulp. The real one is yellowish and white in the middle. The fake one is distinguished by a solid orange or yellow color.
Lightly press the flesh with your finger. An ordinary fox will blush modestly, but a false one will remain calmly monochromatic.
Real chanterelles are rarely worm-bearing, since they secrete chitinmannose and the larvae die under its influence. But orange talkers do not have chitinmannose, so the larvae can infect them.
Differences between Moss mushrooms and Butter mushrooms from the poisonous Pepper mushroom
The pepper mushroom has a reddish-cherry tint to the pores of the tubes and legs. The flywheel has a tubular layer of olive or brown shades. The poisonous pepper mushroom turns red (the similar edible mushroom mushroom turns blue, but the butterdish does not change color). Unlike boletus, the pepper mushroom does not have a ring on the stem. In the pepper mushroom, the lower spore-bearing layer of the cap approaches red, in the oiler it approaches yellow.
The difference between real honey mushrooms and false honey mushrooms
Of the mildly poisonous mushrooms, false honey mushrooms are often found - they can be distinguished by their olive tint. Honey mushrooms are always edible Brown. Double honey mushrooms cause gastric upset only if they are poorly cooked or fried.
Remember: real mushrooms, especially young ones, have a “skirt” on their legs, like a ballerina’s. The false ones do not.
The difference between champignon and toadstool
White milk mushrooms are good for pickles. But they can also be confused with milk mushrooms, which are popularly called “creaks.” The difference is that a real milk mushroom has a wet film, is slimy and hides in the grass, while a “squeaky” mushroom is absolutely dry.
The pale grebe is very dangerous. She looks like a russula. The cap is green, sometimes almost white. On the stem, closer to the cap, there is a noticeable ring. To avoid confusion, learn a simple selection rule: all mushrooms for pickling have a hole in the stem. This is a sign that the mushroom is edible.
Main principle mushroom picking
Everyone collects only those mushrooms that they know and can distinguish in any conditions, they know what young and old fruiting bodies look like, what they look like in dry weather, what they look like in rain, etc.
Sometimes mushrooms are overripe: the mushroom looks good, not wormy, and in addition is very large. From one mushroom you can make potatoes or soup. You can’t pick such mushrooms!
Overripe mushrooms are spoiled protein. Unlike meat and fish, which rot and have a very unpleasant odor, mushroom spoilage does not manifest itself in any way externally. The spoilage of the mushroom is indicated by its large size, softness, and lack of elasticity. Such mushrooms can harm the body. Mushroom protein is very difficult to digest. It is similar to the protein that forms the shells of beetles, crabs, and shrimp - chitin. This protein must be processed for a very long time so that there is no heavy load on the gastrointestinal tract. If you want to fry mushrooms, you must first boil them for an hour.
Mushrooms that are considered edible can become poisonous under certain conditions if:
Poisonous microorganisms have multiplied in old mushrooms;
The mushrooms grew in a forest that had been treated with pesticides and herbicides;
Mushrooms were found near roads - they could accumulate toxic heavy metals;
Mushrooms requiring appropriate heat treatment were eaten raw.
First aid for mushroom poisoning requires:
Call a doctor immediately;
Perform gastric lavage;
Give to the victim Activated carbon, put him in bed and give him water or strong tea;
