Before heading out into the forest with a basket or preparing supplies for the winter, it is worth remembering the five principles of quiet hunting.
1. Without exception, all mushrooms can contain toxins and be hazardous to health. Do not collect them near the road, in the city, near factories and in the fields treated with chemicals. Do not cut off old and wormy mushrooms: at best, after eating them, an upset stomach will occur, and at worst, severe intoxication. Contrary to popular belief, the mushroom does not get rid of harmful substances even by soaking in salt water. The risk of poisoning is then not reduced.
2. Collect only those mushrooms that you are absolutely sure of. I advise only experienced ones to experiment with new species. Sometimes a person eats an unknown mushroom, and then gets scared, signs of food poisoning appear. But in fact, the mushroom was edible, and this psychosomatics worked.
3. Buy only young, fresh and whole mushrooms at the bazaar. They still retain the smell of the forest, cool and sticky to the touch. Inexperienced buyers often try to sell worms. If the cap is intact, check the leg – knock off the bottom and make sure it is intact. The leg of a healthy mushroom is always elastic. If you buy mushrooms from private traders, make sure they have passed the quality control examination.
4. On the day of picking, the mushrooms must be sorted, carefully peeled and washed under running water. Residual soil and other contaminants in canned food can contribute to the formation of deadly toxins that cause botulism.
To protect yourself the following rules must be observed:
• of edible mushrooms, only white mushroom, camelina and real milk mushrooms are safe. They can be used without prior boiling. All others must be boiled in salted water before cooking to get rid of toxic substances. The broth is unsuitable for food;
• be sure to use acetic acid in the workpieces;
• sterilize jars in boiling water for at least 30 minutes;
• mushrooms must not be pickled and salted in glazed and galvanized earthenware dishes;
• Immediately throw away any suspicious canned food that is discolored, emitting gas or smelling bad.
5. Edible mushrooms have counterparts… False mushrooms are similar to edible but not as tasty, inedible, or poisonous. Sometimes the differences are very small, so don’t just rip off the cap, cut off the mushroom completely. Sometimes edible and poisonous caps are the same, but the legs are different.