Edible mushroom

thumb|upright=1.3|Assorted wild edible mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies of numerous species of properly identified and prepared fungi. Edibility may be defined by criteria including their palatability and absence of dangerous mycotoxins. Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value, often either being cultivated or harvested wild. Easily cultivated and common wild mushrooms are often available in markets; those that are more difficult to obtain may be collected on a smaller scale.

To ensure safety, wild mushrooms must be correctly identified before their edibility can be assumed. Deadly poisonous mushrooms that are frequently confused with edible mushrooms include several species of the genus Amanita, particularly A. phalloides (the death cap). Some mushrooms that are edible for most people can cause allergic reactions in others; old or improperly stored specimens can cause food poisoning. Additionally, mushrooms can absorb chemicals from polluted locations, accumulating pollutants and potentially lethal heavy metals.

Psychoactive mushrooms can also be confused with edible species. Additionally, mushrooms were consumed medicinally in traditional medicine, but are not upheld by evidence. Edible species typically must be cooked, sometimes requiring parboiling or slow cooking to destroy toxins, with only select species able to be eaten raw. Many can also be canned, dried, pickled, or salted.

Description

Edibility may be defined by criteria including desirable taste and aroma and the absence of poisonous effects on humans. Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value. Mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, are sources of umami flavor. Edible mushrooms include many fungal species that are either harvested wild or cultivated.

Wild mushrooms can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground (epigeous) and can be picked by hand. Correct identification is required to prevent the confusion of potentially fatal poisonous mushrooms with edible ones. Mushrooms can be purchased fresh and many are also sold dried. Many species require cooking to eliminate toxicity.

| Up to wide; resembles deadly Amanita species

|Britain and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible for most people, but can resemble deadly Amanitas

| Agaricus bisporus

| Button mushroom, common mushroom, cremini, portobello, and others

| As it ages, it turns from small, white and smooth to large and light brown.

| Widespread in grasses

| Harvested wild

| Choice, but can resemble poisonous species

| 150px

| Agaricus silvaticus

| Pinewood mushroom

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Harvested wild

| Edible cooked, but resembles some inedible species

| 150px

| Aleuria aurantia

| Orange peel fungus

| Up to 10 cm wide, orange, cup-shaped, and fuzzy

| Europe and North America

| Harvested wild

|Edible but difficult to collect

| 150px

| Amanita caesarea

| Caesar's Amanita

| Orange to red cap, up to 20 cm wide; resembles the poisonous Amanita muscaria

| North Africa, Eurasia, and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible, reportedly raw and cooked

| 150px

| Amanita fulva

| Tawny grisette

| Up to 10 cm wide; resembles poisonous Amanitas

| Europe and North America

| Edible cooked

| 150px

| Amanita muscaria

| Fly agaric

| Red cap with white warts; up to 30 cm wide

| Widespread; symbiotic with various trees

| Parboiling is required. When fresh, it contains the hallucinogen muscimol and some ibotenic acid.

| 150px

| Amanita rubescens

| Blusher

| Up to 15 cm wide; resembles related species

| Eurasia, western North America

| Edible when cooked, which destroys a toxin

| 150px

| Armillaria mellea

| Honey mushroom

| Up to 15 cm wide

| Eurasia, North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible, usually excluding the tough stalk; best when young and well-cooked

| 150px

| Boletus edulis

| Porcino

| Reddish-brown cap up to 30 cm or more wide

| Widespread in Northern Hemisphere

| Commercially harvested

| Choice

| 150px

| Boletus pinophilus

| Pine bolete

| Cap up to 40 cm wide

| Eurasia

| Commercially harvested

| Reportedly edible

| 150px

| Boletus variipes

| Tannish cap

| Eastern North America with hardwoods

| Commercially harvested

| Choice

| 150px

| Calbovista subsculpta

| Sculptured giant puffball

| Up to wide

| Western North America in montane areas

| Commercially harvested

| Choice while the gleba is still firm and white

| 150px

| Calocybe gambosa

| St. George's mushroom

| Up to 15 cm wide

| 150px

| Calvatia cyathiformis

| Purple-spored puffball

| Up to 20 cm wide

| North America and Australia

| Harvested wild

| Reportedly edible when young

| 150px

| Calvatia gigantea

| Giant puffball

| Up to wide and

| Temperate areas around the world in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests from late summer and autumn

| Commercially harvested

| Choice but resembles some poisonous mushrooms

|150px

|Cerioporus squamosus

|Dryad's saddle and pheasant's back mushroom

|Up to 30 cm or more wide

| Europe and eastern U.S.

|Harvested wild

|Edible young and cooked

| Chroogomphus

| Pine-spikes or spike-caps

| Northern Hemisphere

| Harvested wild

| Some edible species

| 150px

| Collybia nuda

| Blewit

| Up to 15 cm wide; may resemble toxic Cortinarius species

| Europe and North America

| Commercially harvested

| Edible

| 150px

| Collybia personata (syn. Lepista saeva)

| Field blewit or blue leg

|Up to 12 cm wide

|Europe

| 150px

| Coprinopsis atramentaria (syn. Coprinus atramentarius)

| Common inkcap

|Up to 10 cm wide

| Northern Hemisphere and Australia

| Edible when young but toxic if consumed with alcohol due to the presence of coprine

| 150px

| Coprinus comatus

| Shaggy mane, shaggy inkcap or lawyer's wig

| Up to 8 cm wide

| North America in grasslands and meadows

| Harvested wild

|Must be cooked as soon as possible after harvesting or the caps will deliquesce (turn to 'ink')

| 150px

| Cortinarius caperatus

| Gypsy mushroom

| Tannish cap, up to 12 cm wide

| Northern Europe and northern North America

| Commercially harvested

| Choice, but can resemble some poisonous European species

| 150px

| Craterellus cornucopioides

| Trumpet of death or horn of plenty

| Up to 8 cm wide

| Eurasia, North America, and Australia

| Commercially harvested

| Choice

| 150px

| Craterellus tubaeformis

| Tube chanterelle or yellowfoot

| Up to 4 cm wide

| North America and Asia

| Commercially harvested

| Choice

| 150px

| Cyclocybe aegerita

| Poplar fieldcap

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Grows on poplars and other trees

| 150px

| Cyttaria espinosae

| Chile

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| Asia

| Commercially cultivated

| Asian cuisine

| 150px

| Flammulina velutipes

| Velvet shank

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Europe and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible cooked, best with the skin removed

| Gomphidius glutinosus

| Slimy spike-cap

| Up to 12 cm wide

| Eurasia and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible but possibly not recommended; accumulates heavy metals

| 150px

| Grifola frondosa

| Hen of the woods or sheep's head

| Up to 50 cm wide

| Eastern North America and Eurasia

| Commercially harvested

| Choice but some may be allergic

| 150px

| Gyromitra esculenta

| False morel, turban or brain mushroom

| Up to 12 cm wide

| North America and Central Europe

| Parboiling required to reduce gyromitrin toxicity, which may not be fully effective

| 150px

| Handkea utriformis (syn. Calvatia utriformis)

| Puffball, up to 25 cm wide

| Widespread in northern temperate zones

| Harvested wild

|Edible when immature and white

| 150px

| Hericium erinaceus

| Lion's mane

| Tooth fungus up to 40 cm wide

| Europe and North America

| Commercially harvested

| Best when young

| 150px

| Hydnum repandum

| Sweet tooth or hedgehog mushroom

| Up to 17 cm or more wide

| Europe and North America

| Commercially harvested

| Choice; cooking removes bitterness in older specimens

| 150px

| Hygrophorus chrysodon

| Gold flecked woodwax

|Up to 14 cm wide

| Northern Hemisphere

| Harvested wild

| Edible but bland

| 150px

| Hypsizygus tessulatus

| Beech mushroom

| Cap up to 15 cm wide

| North America

| Commercially cultivated

| Tough flesh

|150px

|Imleria badia

|Bay bolete

|Up to 10 cm wide

|Eurasia and North America

|Harvested wild

|Edible but allergenic for some

| Kalaharituber pfeilii

| Up to 12 cm wide

| Southern Africa

| Laccocephalum mylittae

| Blackfellow's bread

| Sclerotium grows up to 60 cm wide

| Australia

| Harvested wild

| Edible but not choice

| Brownish-red cap up to 12 cm wide

| Eastern North America with oak, July–Sept.

| Choice

| 150px

| Lactarius deliciosus

| Saffron milk cap

| Up to 20 cm wide

| Europe

| Commercially harvested

| Not necessarily choice, but popular in Russia

| 150px

| Lactarius deterrimus

| Orange milkcap

| Up to 12 cm wide

| Eurasia

| Harvested wild

|Edible

| 150px

| Lactarius hygrophoroides

| Up to 8 cm wide

| Eastern North America with oak, June–Sept.

|Edible

| 150px

| Lactarius indigo

| Indigo milk cap

| Blue cap, fading to grayish; up to 15 cm wide

| Northern Hemisphere

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Lactarius paradoxus

| Blue-green to gray cap; up to 8 cm wide

| Southern and eastern U.S., autumn–winter

| Edible but bitter with age

| 150px

| Lactarius rubrilacteus

| Cap up to 14 cm wide

| Western North America, June–Oct.

| Harvested wild

| Edible but grainy

| 150px

| Lactarius subdulcis

| Mild milkcap

| Up to 7 cm wide

| Europe

| Harvested wild

| Edible when cooked but not choice

| 150px

| Lactarius volemus

| Fishy milkcap

|Up to 11 cm wide

| Harvested wild

| Edible but grainy; best slow-cooked

| Laetiporus sulphureus

| Sulphur shelf, chicken mushroom

| A distinct bracket fungus

| Europe and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible when watery, after cooking

| 150px

| Leccinum aurantiacum

| Red-capped scaber stalk

| Orange-red cap, up to 15 cm wide

| Europe

| Harvested wild

| Edible cooked, with risk of toxicity; linked to one death

| 150px

| Leccinum scabrum

| Birch bolete

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Europe, North America and New Zealand

| Harvested wild

| Edible when firm

| 150px

| Leccinum versipelle (syn. Boletus testaceoscaber)

| Orange birch bolete

| Orangish cap, up to 15 cm wide

| Europe, Aug.–Nov.

| Harvested wild

| Edible cooked

| 150px

| Lentinula edodes

| Shiitake

| Southeast Asia

| Commercially cultivated worldwide

| Edible;

| Macrolepiota procera

| Parasol mushroom

| Up to 25 cm wide

| Eurasia

| Harvested wild

| Choice but resembles some poisonous species

| 150px

| Marasmius oreades

| Fairy ring champignon

| Up to 5 cm wide

| Europe and North America

| Harvested wild

|Choice

| Morchella spp. including Morchella esculenta

| Morels

| Can resemble poisonous false morels including Gyromitra esculenta

| Northern Hemisphere; open scrub, woodland or open ground in late spring

| Commercially harvested; difficult to grow commercially

| Potentially toxic if uncooked or consumed with alcohol

| Phallus indusiatus

| Basket stinkhorn

| Cap up to 4 cm wide; stem up to 25 cm long

| Tropical regions

| Commercially cultivated

| Asian cuisine

| 150px

| Pleurotus ostreatus

| Oyster mushroom

| Up to 30 cm wide; resembles toxic species

| Widespread in temperate and subtropical areas

| Commercially cultivated at an industrial scale

| Choice but resembles inedible Lentinellus species

| 150px

| Pseudohydnum gelatinosum

| Toothed jelly fungus

| Up to 7 cm wide and tall

| Eurasia

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Sparassis crispa

| Cauliflower mushroom

| Up to 24 cm across

| Europe

| Harvested wild

| Edible when young; best

| 150px

| Stropharia rugosoannulata

| Wine cap

| Up to 30 cm wide

| North America

| Commercially cultivated

| Choice

| 150px

| Suillus bovinus

| Bovine bolete

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Eurasia, South Africa, North America, and Australasia

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Suillus brevipes

| Short-stemmed slippery Jack

| Up to 10 cm wide

| North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Suillus decipiens

| Yellowish cap, up to 7 cm wide; yellow tubes

| Southeastern North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Suillus granulatus

| Weeping bolete, granulated bolete

| Brownish cap, up to 12 cm wide

| Northern Hemisphere with pines

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Suillus grevillei

| Tamarack jack

| Orangish cap, up to 10 cm wide

| Eurasia and North America under larch

| Harvested wild

| Edible cooked, with the cap cuticle removed

| 150px

| Suillus luteus

| Slippery jack

| Brownish cap, up to 10 cm or more wide

| Northern Hemisphere

| Harvested wild

| Edible with the cap cuticle removed; allergenic for some

| 150px

| Suillus spraguei

| Painted suillus

| Yellow cap with reddish scales; up to 12 cm wide

| Eurasia and North America

| Harvested wild

| Edible

| 150px

| Suillus tomentosus

| Woolly-capped suillus

| Up to 12 cm wide

| North America

| Harvested wild

| Can cause gastric upset

| 150px

| Tremella fuciformis

| White jelly mushroom

| Up to 7 cm across

| Widespread in tropical areas

| 150px

| Tricholoma matsutake

| Up to 35 cm wide

| Eurasia and northern North America in forests

| Commercially harvested

| Prized in Japanese cuisine but can resemble Inocybe pyriodora, a poisonous species with brown spores

| 150px

| Tricholoma portentosum

| Streaked tricholoma

| Up to 11 cm wide

| Europe and North America, coniferous woodland

| Harvested wild

| Edible but resembles poisonous relatives

| Europe and North America

| Edible but can cause rhabdomyolysis if eaten in large quantities

| 150px

| Tuber aestivum

| Summer truffle

| Up to 10 cm wide

| France, Italy and Spain

| 150px

| Tuber melanosporum

| Black truffle

| Up to 10 cm wide

| Europe

| Commercially cultivated

| Choice

| 150px

| Verpa bohemica

| Wrinkled thimble-cap

| Up to 4 cm wide

| North America and Eurasia

| Edible cooked, initially only in small portions; contains a toxin similar to gyromitrin

| 150px

| Volvariella bombycina

| Silky rosegill

| Pale cap, up to 20 cm wide

| Widespread but uncommon

| Commercially cultivated

|Edible when they are usually picked

| Asia

| Commercially cultivated

Mushroom cultivation has a long history, with over twenty species commercially cultivated. Mushrooms are cultivated in at least 60 countries. A fraction of the many fungi consumed by humans are currently cultivated and sold commercially. Commercial cultivation is important ecologically, as there have been concerns of the depletion of larger fungi such as chanterelles in Europe, possibly because the group has grown popular yet remains a challenge to cultivate. Some mushrooms, particularly mycorrhizal species, have not yet been successfully cultivated.

In 2023, world production of commercial mushrooms and recorded truffle collection reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization was 50 million tonnes, led by China with 94% of the total (table).

Safety concerns

Some wild species are toxic, or at least indigestible, when raw. Failure to identify poisonous mushrooms and confusing them with edible ones has resulted in death. Some mobile applications exist to aid with identification, but are unreliable on their own, especially those based on artificial intelligence.

Deadly poisonous mushrooms that are frequently confused with edible mushrooms and responsible for many fatal poisonings include several species of the genus Amanita, particularly A. phalloides (the death cap). Some mushrooms that are edible for most people can cause allergic reactions in some individuals with no prior knowledge of an allergy; old or improperly stored specimens can go rancid quickly and cause food poisoning. When eating any fungus for the first time, only a small quantity of one species should be consumed at a time, allowing for several hours to identify any potential allergic reaction. Even normally edible species of mushrooms may be dangerous, as certain mushrooms growing in polluted locations can act as chemical-absorbers, accumulating pollutants and heavy metals, including arsenic and iron, sometimes in lethal concentrations. On the other hand, cooking preparations may reduce the toxicity of certain slightly poisonous mushrooms (e.g. Morchellas) enough to be consumed.

! Vitamin D2

| ergocalciferol (made from ergosterol)

| style="text-align: center;" | 70px|Note [[double bond at top center.]]

! Vitamin D3

| cholecalciferol (made from 7-Dehydrocholesterol in the skin).

| style="text-align: center;" | 70px

</div>

When exposed to UV light before or after harvest, mushrooms convert their large concentrations of ergosterol into vitamin D2. This is similar to the reaction in humans, where vitamin D3 is synthesized after exposure to sunlight.

Testing showed an hour of UV light exposure before harvesting made a serving of mushrooms contain twice the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's daily recommendation of vitamin D. With 5 minutes of artificial UV light exposure after harvesting, a serving of mushrooms contained four times as much.

Uses

thumb|upright=1.3|A vendor in [[Guatemala with a variety of mushrooms for sale]]

The accurate determination of and proper identification of a species is required to ensure its edibility and to safeguard against poisoning. The Forme of Cury, a 14th-century compilation of medieval English recipes, features a recipe of mushrooms and leeks cooked in broth.

Culinary

A minimal amount of water should be used to clean specimens, ideally in the field. Only select species can be safely eaten raw.

Cooking

thumb|[[Stuffed mushrooms prepared using portobello mushrooms]]

Cooking mushrooms before consumption is often required, both to eliminate mycotoxins, including trace levels of toxic hydrazines, and also to improve palatability and texture. Frying, roasting, baking, and microwaving are all used to prepare mushrooms. Cooking lowers the amount of water present in the food. Chitin, a structural polymer in the cell walls of mushrooms, does not break down until , which is not reached in any normal cooking. However, chitin connections may be broken down by cooking, allowing for easier digestion. Such use of mushrooms therefore falls into the domain of traditional medicine for which there is no direct high-quality clinical evidence of efficacy. (Since about the mid-20th century, some compounds found in fungi have been developed scientifically for medicine, e.g. antibiotics.)

Preliminary research on mushroom extracts has been conducted to determine if anti-disease properties exist, such as for or lentinan. Some extracts have widespread use in Japan, Korea and China, as potential adjuvants for radiation treatments and chemotherapy.

Edible mushroom

Description

Safety concerns

Uses

Culinary

Cooking

See also

References

Sources

External links