The question of how to tell if mushrooms are bad, fortunately, be answered quite easily in most cases based on a few characteristics. However, the following tends to apply: If you are not quite sure whether the mushroom in front of you is still good, it is better to refrain from eating it.
How To Tell If Mushrooms Are Bad – Characteristics
As good as mushrooms taste, unfortunately, they spoil pretty quickly. Don’t eat mushrooms that have gone bad, as there is a risk of food poisoning.
- Unpleasant odor: Most fresh mushrooms have an aromatic smell of forest, earth, or wood. On the other hand, if the specimens in your refrigerator smell rotten, fishy, like carrion, or even fermented, they should no longer be eaten.
- When storing in the fridge, be sure to keep mushrooms away from strong-smelling food like fish or meat, as they easily absorb foreign odors. There are also exceptions: for example, the patty and the veined morel smuggling smell unpleasant, but are edible. For example, the strong smell of chlorine in veined morel cups disappears when heated.
- Discoloration: The older the mushrooms are, the darker they usually become. Dark brown to black spots on the cap and lamellae are clear indications that the mushrooms are being decomposed. Exceptions here are mushroom species that turn black shortly after harvest, such as the giant polypore. If in doubt, it is better to dispose of all other types.
- Slimy and soft consistency: The discoloration is accompanied by a soft and slimy surface. The consistency of fresh mushrooms differs from species to species, the common types of mushrooms such as button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, or chanterelles are firm when fresh and crack when you break them apart.
- Mold: If the mushroom is covered with mold, it is definitely inedible. Mold on mushrooms is usually black. If, on the other hand, white filaments appear, it is usually the fungal filaments of the fungus, the so-called fungal mycelium. You can eat that. The same applies here: If in doubt, refrain from consumption.
With proper storage, the mushrooms will last longer
Mushrooms consist largely of protein and water and are therefore an ideal breeding ground for various bacteria. This is why they spoil much faster than vegetables, for example.
- The decomposition process is accelerated by heat, lack of oxygen, and improper storage. For example, do not buy mushrooms in plastic packaging, but rather loose.
- The vegetable compartment of the refrigerator or a cold cellar room are good places to store them at home. In general, however, you should consume mushrooms quite promptly within a few days.
- Also, make sure the mushrooms are fresh when you buy them. Even if you collect mushrooms in the forest yourself, there is no precise way of predicting how long they will be good. Also, be careful when transporting the mushrooms to avoid crushing them.
- Mushrooms last longer if they are dried. As long as they don’t have any rotten spots, even mushrooms that are a few days old and have dried up in places are edible.
- Tip: Maggots often eat their way through the inside of mushrooms that you collect yourself. Therefore, cut open each specimen in the forest and generously cut out infested areas.