Raw Mushrooms are toxic
Call me weird, but I don’t like cooked mushrooms; they taste slimy to me. They’re okay-tasting raw, with some salt and pepper, but I’m never doing that again because I just learned that raw mushrooms contain a toxin called agaritine (1). This “toxin is destroyed by cooking…” except in morel mushrooms, where, “the toxin levels appear higher and may react with alcohol even after cooking (1).” Morels are expensive, and I’ve never seen them in grocery stores, but some places do sell them.
Go ahead and cook your favorite mushrooms in butter and wine, or simmer in a tasty sauce. I’m going to avoid them, and if they’re served to me, I’m going to remove them from my plate and toss them in the trash.
- Source: Greger, M.D., Michael. How Not to Die. Book. New York: Flatiron Books. 2015 pg. 326.
