Edible mushroom
Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma.
The most commonly consumed for recreational use are Amanita muscaria (the fly agaric) and Psilocybe cubensis, with the former containing alkaloids such as muscimol and the latter predominately psilocybin.
[2] Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma.
In 2019, world production of commercial mushrooms and recorded truffle collection reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization was 11.9 million tonnes, led by China with 75% of the total: Some wild species are toxic, or at least indigestible, when raw.
[25][26][27] Although in the 21st century primitive digital applications exist to aid with identification, these are unreliable and some inexperienced hunters relying upon them have been seriously poisoned.
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.
Great care should therefore be taken when eating any fungus for the first time, and only small quantities should be consumed in case of individual allergies or reactions.
[29] On the other hand, some cooking preparations may reduce the toxicity of slightly poisonous mushrooms enough to be consumed as survival food, for example, many prized fungi will cause gastric upset when eaten uncooked, such as the Morchella genus.
Additionally, several varieties of fungi are known and documented to contain psychedelic drugs—the so-called magic mushrooms—yet resemble perfectly edible, non-psychoactive species.
While not necessarily lethal to consume, to the uninitiated, an accidentally induced psychedelic experience can run the gamut from benign to terrifying, even depressing or psychotic.
The most commonly consumed for recreational psychoactive use are Amanita muscaria (the fly agaric) and Psilocybe cubensis, with the former containing alkaloids such as muscimol and the latter predominately psilocybin.
In a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving, Agaricus mushrooms provide 92 kilojoules (22 kilocalories) of food energy and are 92% water, 3% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and 0.3% fat.
[citation needed] The content of vitamin D is absent or low unless mushrooms are exposed to sunlight or purposely treated with artificial ultraviolet light, even after harvesting and processed into dry powder.
Testing showed an hour of UV light exposure before harvesting made a serving of mushrooms contain twice the FDA'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.
Accurate determination of and proper identification of a species is the only safe way to ensure edibility, and the only safeguard against possible poisoning.
