Difference Between the Edible & Non Edible Mushroom
Edible mushrooms are used in cooking to add an earthy flavor to foods. Inedible mushrooms are tasteless, unpalatable, or even poisonous, and can sometimes resemble edible mushrooms. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy way to tell the difference between inedible and edible mushrooms, but here are a few basic characteristics used to differentiate among mushroom species. Does this Spark an idea?
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Cap
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A parasol-shaped cap with scales The cap is the top part of the mushroom. Its size, shape, and color and texture (for example, warty, scaly, slimy, or smooth) all play a part in proper identification.
Stem
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Inedible mushrooms with thin, white stems Stem thickness, shape, texture, color, and how the stem attaches to the cap are also useful in identifying mushroom species.
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Underside
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An edible mushroom with gills The underside of mushroom caps can have gills, or be spongy, veined, smooth, and even spiked. The color of the underside can be helpful in distinguishing some similar species apart.
Flesh
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Mushrooms changing color at bruise sites When mushrooms are cut into or bruised, the flesh may either stay the same color, or darken around the knife-cut or bruised area shortly after exposed to air.
Spore print
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Mushrooms reproduce by making tiny spores. The color of spores can sometimes help determine an edible mushrooms species from a similar-looking inedible one. Spore prints are made by cutting the cap away from the mushroom and setting it for several hours on top of a white or black sheet of paper.
Dangers in mushroom identification
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Because there are so many characteristics to consider when identifying mushrooms, differentiating between edible and inedible species can take years to master. Sometimes even the experts cannot tell an edible species from an inedible one without further examination in a lab. Mistakes can have fatal consequences, so if you aren't 100 percent certain whether a mushroom is edible or not, don't even pick it, let alone eat it.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Dave Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of mozzercork Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Arddu Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Jesse Kruger Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Lali Masriera
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Comments
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I had a mushroom about the size of a walnut in my grass one morning with a black stem. The black streaked into the cap from the bottom and the next morning it was the shape of an egg with hand painted design to make it look like an Easter egg. Is that where we get the idea of an Easter egg? This happened during the week of Holy Week.It must have been a miracle from God the Creator Himself.
