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Comment by joshgev | Hacker News Reader

I'm surprised to see morels aren't on the list. Anyone who confuses a morel for a false morel is _really_ not paying attention. On the other hand, there are toxic (not deadly) boletes that can more easily be confused for porcini mushrooms. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Even regular morels are (at least around here) toxic when picked and must be properly cooked to be safely eaten. So while delicious I wouldn’t place them on a list of “safest” for that reason.

Toxic mushrooms that can be confused for porcini are very rare in most countries. Rare enough that one can generally neglect the risk of ever seeing one. In places where those are common it might be another story of course.

I think that’s important to stress: advice like this is geographically local . The list of safest mushrooms to pick in North America is not necessarily the same list as it would be in Europe. Use local advice.

With very few exceptions, wild mushrooms are supposed to be cooked before eaten.

Do you have more info on uncooked morel risks?

The morels can be pretty nasty though compared to those on this list. E.g a common mistake is to dry them in a regular kitchen oven. When you do, you’ll risk endning up with bad headache or nausea if your kitchen isn’t well ventilated. This doesn’t exactly happen when drying porcini.

Morel toxicity is mentioned very briefly on the Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella

And it’s even more local than that. In the WA area you will find completely different mushrooms and have to be good at different positive idenfication techniques depending on what type of forest you are in

I was about to post the same reaction to this article, because morels are even more distinctly identifiable than chantrelles, and of course, I've know for 40 years that they're safe to eat.

That's what I've always heard, at least. I realized that I've never challenged the common knowledge and assumptions I've carried around for my entire life. It was worth the effort. I've (unintentionally) never eaten morels without cooking them, and now I know that I shouldn't.

In regard to wild-sourced foods especially, it's good to acknowledge that safety knowledge is stocked with heaps of just-so stories and context-dependent tradition. I'll still snag a few morels when I seen a bunch, but now I know that my collection of common knowledge about them isn't comprehensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella#Toxicity

I used to feel the same way, until I saw examples of gyromitra that look a lot like morchella and vice versa. It also gets complicated because there are varieties of gyromitra that are edible if properly prepared.

Mushroom hunting is a lot of fun, but I’d rather leave something in the field if I’m not 100% sure if the species.

Yeah, I'm Norwegian and when looking up morels to see what the Norwegian name would be the reaction I had to seeing it was that it looks like "sandmorkel" - gyromitra esculenta - which is toxic unless boiled, and which were warned to avoid having too many meals of even after boiling because the toxins build up.

More than one family have ended up hospitalized after standing over the pot just to smell it while boiling...

> On the other hand, there are toxic (not deadly) boletes

Devil's Bolete?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubroboletus_satanas

Deadly for sure, in the right amount. Huronensis is even worse because satanas colour is a flashing warning

> there are toxic (not deadly) boletes that can more easily be confused for porcini mushrooms.

Assuming that B. Huronensis isn't deadly, which afaik is unknown:

https://namyco.org/boletus_huronensis.php

http://www.fungikingdom.net/articles-by-bill-bakaitis/toxico...

The non-toxic but unpalatable bitter bolete is another close lookalike [1]. Personally I have found correctly identifying boletes to be much more difficult than any other mushrooms on the list. The Bolete Filter [2] is a great resource IMO.

Chantrelles are very easy once you understand their characteristics, but I think it's irresponsible for the author to suggest just looking at some pictures of jack o lanterns and calling it a day. During a dry spell of foraging, I once deluded myself into thinking a large patch of Turbinellus floccosus [3] were golden chanterelles, only realizing my mistake a few minutes before cooking dinner.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylopilus_felleus

[2]https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/product/boletus-edulis/

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbinellus_floccosus

> Personally I have found correctly identifying boletes to be much more difficult than any other mushrooms on the list.

Same. I suspect the way to get good at it is to take the Eagle Hill Institute class on boletes when the Bessettes are teaching it, but I haven't actually done that.

False morels are also edible and commercially sold as such in several Scandinavian countries, they just need fairly elaborate preparation and even that doesn't get rid of all the toxins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyromitra_esculenta

Beefsteak mushrooms are pretty common in Michigan, and not really what I would call a false morel, as they aren't very similar (I'm sure they do get called that though).

I always referred to Verpa as false morels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verpa

Indeed, I remember at my very first mushroom hunt I picked up some morels. After I went home and consulted my mushroom book there was no mistaken that what I had picked were indeed false morels. This autumn was third season, and I have yet to find a authentic morels though.

Morels are a spring mushroom.

Heh, no wonder I only ever find false morels...

On the flip side, after moving to the Pacific North West from northern Europe I simply cannot get over how long the mushroom season is here.

Not to mention that if you fail and accidentally pick a false morel, it's still an edible mushroom either way

False Morels (Gyromitra esculenta) can have toxic amounts of hydrazine, it is usually safe WHEN COOKED but a couple people have died from them.

People have been hospitalized for just standing around the pot while cooking.

And a key point is that you need to know how to cook it, e.g. to boil it sufficiently in a well ventilated room and throw away the water.

Same for pheasant back and wood ear.

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